9 runway brides explain the simple reasons they ran

Marriage isn't just a huge party and playing house.

It's a legally binding journey to commit yourself to another person to the rest of your life. Basically, you should really think about whether your values, finances, and priorities *really* align with your partner's before getting married.

That's what these brides-to-be on Reddit did — and that's also why they cancelled their weddings.

And we have to say, they're better off for it.

Responses have been lightly edited for grammar and clarity.

"I tried to picture myself saying my own vows, and I just couldn't. I felt like I was going to be sick just thinking about it. ... I called off the wedding a few days later. The guilt was horrible... [but] there is no doubt in my mind that if we had gotten married, we'd be divorced by now. Our relationship was not a good one..."

— Reddit user snappykitty

"I was 19, he was 21. I realized that we were both still emotionally immature and chickened out. We were high school sweethearts. My one regret is that we went from being best friends to no contact. Haven't spoken to him in well over a year."

— Reddit user earlysong

"I started becoming interested in Christianity. He said he wouldn't marry a Christian, so it was either him or God. I chose God... Still single but it was definitely the right choice!"

— Reddit user Bipolar-Betty

"I called off my wedding four days before the big day. Two of my bridesmaids (my best friend since high school and my cousin) got into a huge fight because they found out that the groom was sleeping with both of them. It was cheating within cheating and was easily the most surreal and heart-breakingly awful experience of my entire life."

— Reddit user throw_away_it

"I had realized I was very unhappy. Largely because I couldn't watch him drink anymore. I later realized there were other reasons like misaligned money values, differing life outlooks, etc. The shame is we really loved each other. I just couldn't make it work anymore. But I trusted myself and tried to convince him he could be happier with someone else too."

— Reddit user littlelorax

"I realized we weren't ready to make a marriage work. There are a number of skills that a couple NEEDS to have before they can really succeed in a relationship that's meant to last a lifetime: compromise, forgiveness, sacrifice, acceptance. Shortly before the wedding I realized that we didn't have those skills. And ultimately, I couldn't bring myself to start something that I knew couldn't last forever."

— Reddit user throwaway823746

"I called off the wedding about six months before. We were broke, in our 30s, and paying for it ourselves. My fiance kept pushing me to make the wedding bigger and bigger, and wouldn't listen to reason that we DID NOT HAVE THE MONEY to do this. But he wanted to impress his father who always thought he was a failure. It really showed me his true colors and how crazy he could be, so I broke off the engagement and I canceled everything."

— Reddit user ahydell

"We met when I was 19 and he was 24. He was working for the summer on a J1 work and travel visa. We started dating around the end of his stay, and a few months later he proposed. The visa process was a huge ordeal. I don't know if it was the pressure and he just gave up, if there was someone else, or if he realized he couldn't actually spend a few years pretending to like me until he could get his green card and divorce me."

— Reddit user ritualcontrition

"He threw a table at me, punched through a wall next to my head, called me names, etc. I only said yes because I was so afraid of what would happen if I had said no. Luckily, I got brave and ran. Never looked back."

— Reddit user Teaspo0n