
As someone who has been a bridesmaid many times, I can totally understand why people have mixed feelings about the experience. On the one hand, it is so flattering to know that someone feels close enough to you to want you to be a big part of her special day. On the other hand, being a bridesmaid can be expensive, tiring, and filled with ugly dresses and bridezilla drama.
From inappropriate groomsmen and cheating brides to bailing the bridesmaid dress out of jail, the following 13 stories of bridesmaid duties gone wrong will blow your mind. You might even find yourself thinking that having to wear that ugly seafoam green number wasn't so bad after all!
Some names have been changed to protect the innocent.
Image via Alexander Tolstykh/shutterstock
Thank You?

"Worst bridesmaid experience? Spending close to a $1,000 on a bachelorette party and receiving zero thanks. Then, for the wedding, spending four days out of town with my husband and children doing soooo much work, seriously soooo much work doing set up, take down, etc.
Then she dropped it on me that I needed to feed her entire 'crew' of 25 lunch — on my dime. Then I spent like two hours doing custom airbrush makeup work on her, plus did her whole bridal party for free (if someone would have been counting, it would have netted me about $700 because it's my job). I was so busy with all this stuff that I literally did not shower once this whole time. Ew.
I did it cheerfully with zero grumbling. And I still haven't heard a murmur of gratitude, and I'm still checking my mailbox for that thank-you card on the daily (yes, I got her a f*cking gift)." — Daisy L., Chula Vista, California
Don't Say It!

"I was maid of honor for my childhood best friend. A few weeks before the wedding she found out her fiancé had cheated. She decided to go ahead with the wedding anyways, but the day of she had such cold feet (which, duh!, she should have) and was completely miserable. I was the only one who knew what was going on, so everyone else kept trying to cheer her up while I was secretly trying to get her to call it off.
It felt awful pretending to be happy for her up at the front of the church. And, yes, they are now divorced." — Shayna M., Adel, Iowa
Dress Mess

"My passive-agressive sister wanted all of her 'maids' to be a certain size so she purposely ordered my dress three sizes too small to encourage me to diet before her wedding." — Bree S., Destin, Florida
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The Bail Out

"My then-husband got in an accident while drunk driving on his way to the rehearsal dinner. He had my dress in the car and the car and dress ended up in the impound lot the night before the wedding.
Had to get the maid of honor to drive me there just as it was closing and plead with the person at the gate to let me in after closing. And then had to get my stupid husband out of jail in the middle of the night and drive back to the wedding location." — Brandy L., Flagstaff, Arizona
MIA Groomsman

"When the bridal party dance began, my partner was nowhere to be found (because he was outside getting stoned), leaving me to stand bewildered and alone as I was introduced. Luckily the father of the groom (and the father of said stoner) stepped in and danced very nicely with me." — Jessica B., Saint Paul, Minnesota
The Cheater

"Getting drunk at your bachelorette party? Normal!
Sleeping with the sleazy male stripper you wanted hired 'as a joke'? TACKY!
Doing it in front of your groom's sister, who happens to be your bridesmaid? STUPID." — Marie V., Lansing, Michigan
Drama Queen

"My BFF has always had a flair for the dramatic, but the combo of too many mimosas, not enough food, and her constant fighting with her mother led to an EPIC meltdown right before the ceremony. She ended up crying off her $85 makeup job, and I had to do my best to recreate it with only the makeup I had in my purse." — Layla T., Athens, Georgia
The Mother

"My goddaughter asked me to be in her wedding, which was unexpected but sweet. All of the other bridesmaids were these 22-year-old girls looking to party, and I was 40 and just wanted to go home! I felt like a den mother, dealing with all the catfights and gossip. The bride was sweet, but having 10 sorority sisters and me was a bad combo." — Gretchen W., Greensboro, North Carolina
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The Backup

"I was a friend's personal attendant and 'backup bridesmaid.' Yes, she actually had me listed as a backup bridesmaid. The wedding party included nine bridesmaids, and she really wanted to make sure that things were balanced in case someone was sick. She also wanted me to buy a dress just in case; I convinced her that I could just alter the dress of whoever wasn't there just in case. Luckily, no backup was needed. Being a personal attendant was a pain, though, since she fit the definition of a bridezilla." — Jennifer L., Saint Paul, Minnesota
Bad Groomsman

"During pictures (like we were posed and smiling), the married groomsman that I was paired with decided it was appropriate to pinch my married, pregnant butt." — Rachel W., Des Moines, Iowa
Every Last Detail

"I was in a wedding where the bride dictated everything we wore, down to what underwear we had to buy." — Laura W., Seattle, Washington
Bridal Boobs

"Even though everyone told her not to, my sister got a boob job just before the wedding. Day of, her boobs barely fit in the dress. I had to sew her into the gown so she didn't have a wardrobe malfunction and I am 99 percent sure I saw the priest staring down the front of her strapless gown. She looked like a stripper." — Amy A., Toledo, Ohio
Money Down the Drain

"I was asked to be maid of honor for my best friend. I threw her an amazing shower and then planned a whole bachelorette weekend in Vegas. I paid for everything (the other bridesmaids were supposed to pay me back), and then we got into a giant fight a few weeks before the wedding and she kicked me out of the wedding.
The other bridesmaids never paid me back and I ended up with a credit card bill of over $4,000 and didn't even go to the damn wedding. Ouch." — Paige K., Springfield, Missouri
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