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No matter how many hours you spend running through your wedding timeline or making sure every detail is perfectly planned and ready to go, there are always things that can go wrong. But you’re not alone in these mishaps — they could happen to anyone. Here are six real brides who decided to share a wedding day disaster they never ever could have planned for.
1. The groom went MIA.
“An hour before the wedding, I checked my phone and saw a text from my brother that said nobody could find the groom. All the guys were getting ready in the same hotel room suite and I guess they just couldn’t find him anywhere. A few guys checked downstairs and my brother called him about six times. I started to panic because I thought that he just decided to leave me at the altar. I was crying so much that all my make-up came off and my face was puffy. Turns out, I learned about 10 minutes before I was supposed to walk down the aisle, he went out for a walk to relax and just didn’t take his phone. We ended up starting the wedding an hour late because I had to put myself back together and calm down.” — Michelle G., 28
2. A close family member wore white.
“I knew that one of my family members would do something to ruin the day for me. My family and the groom’s family just never got along. At all the wedding events we had, there was always some kind of argument or people just not wanting to talk to each other. The wedding morning was going well and I thought for a second that maybe the day would be fine and our families would behave. I was wrong. His sister showed up in a long white dress. It was her way of saying that she didn’t approve our marriage or care about my wedding day or me. I was really upset but decided to ignore her the whole night and not have her in any photos.” — Lacey M., 34
3. The photographer canceled last minute.
“I never thought this could happen, but at 8am the morning of my wedding, my photographer told me he wasn’t coming because he had the flu. I figured he’d have a back-up person he could send but he didn’t. I was hysterical because how could I have a wedding with no one to capture all the amazing moments? Plus, where could I find another photographer on the same day? A good friend of mine asked a photographer buddy of hers to come to the wedding as her last-minute date. He took all our photos and they turned out nice. We got a full refund from the photographer, but it was still upsetting and stressful.” — Claire D., 31
4. The bride’s hair turned green.
“I had this stupid idea to go swimming in the hotel pool the night before the wedding. I just had my hair colored blonde the same day and ended up going under water. I was drunk and just didn’t realize what would or could happen. The next morning, when I showered, I saw my hair was green. Like really, really green. I almost passed out. I ran back to my salon and had my hairstylist fix it while I sat there in tears. The whole thing took so long that my wedding had to start later than we planned.” — Denise P., 27
5. The fire alarm went off.
“This was totally not our fault but somehow the fire alarm went off in the middle of our party. We didn’t do anything to cause this and the venue felt so bad they gave us back $500. All the guests had to stand outside for 30 minutes so the venue could figure out what was going wrong. It was such an interruption but I think it just made for a good story once the wedding was over.” — Hallie J., 29
6. The wedding rings disappeared.
“Note to future brides: never give your wedding bands to a small child with no adult supervision. Our wedding planner gave the rings to our ring bearer, who was only 4. She put them in his hands and then right before the ceremony, when I went to give him a hug, I noticed he had lost them. We spent a good 25 minutes crawling on the floor until we finally found them underneath a chair.” — Becca D., 25
See More: Real Brides Share: My Worst Wedding-Day Freak Out
Jen Glantz is a “Professional Bridesmaid” and the founder of Bridesmaid for Hire. She’s the author of All My Friends Are Engaged and frequently wears old bridesmaid dresses to the grocery store and on first dates.