People daydream about the perfect wedding, but sometimes mishaps happen — and they end up being the best parts. Here are nine weddings that didn’t go according to plan because of hungry dogs, tropical storms, and ripped dresses…
“My fiancé Qiess and I took 10 weeks of dance lessons to prepare for our first dance. But as he went to dip me, he accidentally stepped on my dress, and we both fell to the floor. I learned afterward that my parents had also fallen during their first dance. We take that as a good sign, since they’ve been happily married for 35 years!” — Jordan (photo, above, by Abbie Sizer Photography)
Jordan’s parents at their own wedding
“My dog, Winnie, was the worst behaved guest at our backyard wedding. She stole food, destroyed my bouquet, and went swimming in the pond only to shake her wet fur all over our guests. But she also offered comedic relief and was a very beloved bridesmaid.” — Jenn
Photo by Eileen Meny Photography
Leslie: “We were supposed to have our ceremony in a beautiful outdoor spot, but the weather forecast showed that it was going to pour. Our wedding planner suggested we move into the party tent, but I couldn’t hide my disappointment. It was not where I wanted the ceremony to be.”
C.A.: “Luckily for us, the place where we were getting married was also where we had met during an artists’ residency, so we knew the staff really well. The COO was like, ‘We’ll do the ceremony in the barn. Follow me!’ She even brought in a beautiful rug from her house.”
Leslie: “In all my wedding Pinterest boards, I’d actually had pictures of ceremonies with rugs!”
C.A.: “It ended up being stunning. We could smell the rain, and everyone was huddled together.”
Photo by Lillywhite Photography
“I ripped my dress after hugging my very tall cousin, and I was standing in an awkward way to hide it. My mom noticed something was off (as moms do) and somehow found a sewing kit. We snuck away for a few minutes while she fixed it. I remember feeling very taken care of.” — Marika
Photo by Kendra Ruth Photography
“Our wedding vibe was ‘English countryside,’ and we planned to drive to the chapel in a vintage Land Rover. But when I piled in with my mom and bridesmaids, the car wouldn’t start. My dad went to the garage, but then the car began rolling backward, picking up speed. We screamed, and somehow my dad jumped back in when we were mere inches from my mom’s car. Once my heartbeat slowed, my wedding nerves were gone! We laughed about the near-miss the entire drive.” — Rachael
“My fiancée Alicia and I were planning to have a City Hall ceremony, followed by dinner with our moms. But, along with two of her best friends, I also started planning a pre-wedding surprise party for Alicia, featuring martinis and Chicago-style hotdogs. Two days before the surprise party, which she still didn’t know about, Alicia decided she wanted to have a post-wedding celebration at a bar. Her friends and I had to quickly contact everybody to let them know that Alicia would be sending them a separate invitation for something else! We still managed to pull off the surprise celebration, and then we partied all over again the night of our ceremony.” — Isabelle
“A few weeks before our wedding, we learned that our venue had double-booked our date. After some frantic shuffling, we tossed out the idea of an evening reception and embraced a daytime brunch. We saved a ton of money, and the food was delicious: French toast, coffee, and mimosas.” — Brynna
