Unspoken Rules
There are a lot of unspoken rules to follow for everyone involved in a wedding. Wedding etiquette can be a bit of a minefield to navigate. Most guests are probably fine as long as they adhere to one rule: don’t do anything to take the shine away from the bride and groom. For all guests, this should be a complete no-brainer. All you have to do is go, have fun, and maybe give a heartfelt speech.
Whether it be a lack of self-awareness or pure narcissism, some people really have an issue grasping this. There are thousands if not millions of stories of wedding guests drinking too much and letting a little too much slip in their speech or causing a commotion taking away from the bride and groom’s special day. That stuff happens; however, there is one breach of wedding etiquette guaranteed to ruin your relationship with the happy couple for life. Never announce an engagement or pregnancy at someone else’s wedding.
Our friend, “Emily,” had to deal with this breach of etiquette on her own special day. However, unlike most brides, she was a bit more creative. Not speaking to her maid of honor, “Sam,” for the rest of their lives would have been letting her off easy.
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The Big Day
Emily’s wedding went off without a hitch. Both her and the groom’s families were thrilled to see them getting married. It was an exciting day for everyone involved. Everything from the weather to the flower arrangements was immaculate. The ceremony was beautiful and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. All of the guests went into the reception ready to tear the roof off of the place. None more so than Emily’s maid of honor, Sam, and her partner, “Charles.”
The music was bumping, the drinks were flowing, and there wasn’t a single soul at the reception not having a blast. No one was having more fun than Emily and her new husband, who everyone couldn’t get enough of.
When the time for speeches came, both Emily’s parents and her new in-laws gave heartfelt speeches. Everyone was left teary-eyed and grinning from ear to ear. Then came her maid of honor, Sam’s speech.
Sam began her speech with the standard slightly-embarrassing childhood memory of her and Emily. Then seamlessly transitioned it into how she came to know Emily’s new husband and how good they were together. However, things quickly went off the rails when Sam transitioned her speech to talking about her partner, “Charles,” and how great he was for her.
Then Sam ended her speech with, “I know it can be considered in bad taste to announce something like this on someone else’s wedding day, but Charles and I are just too excited to not let the cat out of the bag! We’re engaged!”
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A Break From Protocol
Needless to say, everyone in attendance was quite shocked. Not only was announcing an engagement at someone else’s wedding a massive no-no, but the maid of honor of all people should know better. Unsure of how to react, all of the guests looked at Emily to gauge how she was taking it.
To their surprise, Emily had a big smile on her face. She quickly raised her glass to toast the newly engaged couple.
Despite her outward expression, Emily thought, “Are you freaking kidding, Sam? You and Charles can’t stand to have the shine off of you for a single day. I’ll remember this.”
The wedding guests followed Emily’s lead and raised their glasses to toast Sam and Charles. After seeing the bride had approved of the break from protocol, the reception festivities continued without skipping a beat.
Emily had made a wise decision. She knew her reaction would set the tone for the remainder of the reception. Consequently, it would affect how everyone viewed her wedding as a whole. If she had freaked out and gone full bridezilla over Sam stealing her thunder, the wedding would have been viewed as a disaster. No one wants to start off a marriage like that regardless of how well everything had gone prior.
Regardless, Emily’s feelings were hurt by her maid of honor having the nerve to announce her own engagement on her wedding day. Emily had had her doubts about how good of a friend Sam truly was but the stunt at her wedding confirmed her worst fears. Emily initially wanted to just cut Sam out of her life and let the damage be done. However, she remembered Sam and Charles would likely want to capitalize on the hype they had created for their wedding on her special day and set a date soon.
Emily decided it was best to not let Sam realize it bothered her. All she had to do was wait for the perfect opportunity to decimate their friendship.
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The Perfect Opportunity
As predicted, Sam set a date for her wedding within the same year of announcing her engagement at Emily’s wedding. Typically, a couple would take more time than this to establish a plan for their wedding but deep down Emily knew the real reason for the quick turnaround. Sam wanted Emily’s wedding to be fresh in everyone’s minds and she wanted to outdo it.
To no surprise, Sam asked Emily to be her maid of honor. A bit of a power move to pull on the person whose wedding you tried to hijack with your engagement announcement. Although it was necessary to keep up the “friend” persona between them.
Sam wanted Emily to be front and center while her wedding was put to shame. Unfortunately for her, Emily had been hoping for the exact opportunity.
Emily was the perfect maid of honor to Sam throughout the entire build-up to the wedding. She assisted her with decisions and consoled her during stressful times in the planning. Emily did everything she could to give Sam the best day possible.
Unbeknownst to Sam, Emily had also spent the entire time plotting her revenge. When the big day came around, she was ready to execute.
Prior to the start of the wedding, Emily snuck over to the basket of the flower girl. She replaced the white flower petals with blue ones she had brought from home.
Obviously, the flower girl was unaware of the difference in flower petals used in the ceremony. She scattered them down the aisle to the horror of Sam.
Although throne for a loop, Sam knew she had to save face. Every single person present couldn’t know the flowers were the wrong color because of her reaction. Aside from the blue flower petals, the remainder of the ceremony went smoothly. The guests went into the reception ready to celebrate the happy couple.
Sam, on the other hand, let the wedding planner have it for not checking the basket of the flower girl right before the ceremony.
Emily could overhear her shouting, “Why were there even blue flower petals here?!”
Sam returned to the reception just in time for the speeches.
Emily saw her return to her seat and couldn’t help but grin. She thought to herself, “Blue flower petals are about to be the least of your concerns,” as she stood up to give her speech.
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A Mic Drop Moment
“The speeches took place in front of a massive screen. It had a loop of photos of Sam and Charles, which had been compiled by Emily.” Unbeknownst to Sam, Emily had specially curated some photos specifically for her speech.
Emily took the remote to the projector and began her speech. She recounted fun childhood memories between her and Sam while sharing funny, pre-approved, photos on the screen. Emily transitioned into the first time Sam had introduced him to Charles and how her friend has been “just glowing” ever since meeting her now-husband.
Then Emily turned to Sam and asked, “You’re probably wondering why there were blue flower petals in the ceremony, right?”
Sam gave Emily a confused look, then her jaw hit the floor when she saw the last photo in the presentation.
As she clicked over to the last photo in the presentation, Emily exclaimed, “That’s because I’m five months pregnant and it’s going to be a boy! Hence the blue flower petals!”
The last photo was an ultrasound of Emily’s baby.
There were gasps from the few guests who somehow hadn’t heard of Sam’s stunt at Emily’s wedding. Everyone who had the pleasure of attending both weddings let out an eruption of laughter followed by cheers.
Sam blew a gasket and immediately went full bridezilla. She demanded that Emily be removed from the reception area.
Emily sarcastically shouted, “Gentle! Gentle! I’m pregnant you know!” She high-fived guests while Sam’s mother and a few other family members removed her. Needless to say, it was the last time Emily spoke to Sam or any of her family members.
Although a friendship was the consequence, word quickly spread of Emily’s revenge from guests as a tale of why not to steal the thunder from a bride on her wedding day.
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Thoughts From The Author
Emily, you stone-cold, calculated killer! This might genuinely be the pettiest, most well-thought-out revenge I’ve ever heard. The fact Emily was able to stay completely cool when Sam announced her engagement on her wedding day is simply amazing. Brides are obviously under a lot of stress on their wedding day and an act like that would set off the best of them but not Emily. Emily is different. I’m assuming Emily getting pregnant between her wedding and Sam’s was a coincidence but you could convince me she thought about the revenge beforehand and had a spite baby. I would respect it.
Sam, on the other hand, completely deserved this. I can’t believe her family even stuck up for her after Emily pulled off possibly the greatest revenge of all time. They’re probably as narcissistic as Sam and thought nothing was wrong with her stealing Emily’s shine on her wedding day. Clearly, everyone who witnessed the previous wedding thought Sam deserved it and it was hilarious, which are both true. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. Announce your engagement at your friend’s wedding, don’t be surprised they announce they’re pregnant at your wedding.
This is more aimed at Sam than Emily but why be friends with someone if the entire basis of your friendship turns into you trying to outdo them? Personally, I believe that’s more competition than friendship, and when that happens at a wedding, you might be the victim of stone-cold revenge. Sam probably should have looked herself in the mirror and asked, “Why do I want to outdo my friend so bad,” before announcing her engagement at her wedding. Maybe she will have that realization with her next friendship, probably not.
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