'The groom's Dad stood up and loudly said, "It's not too late, son!"': 25+ Wedding ceremony objectors who couldn't resist halting the ceremony

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Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Mar 22, 2024 11:00 AM EDT

You know what they always say at weddings: "Speak now, or forever hold your peace." In most cases, the phrase is just ornamental. In most cases there's nothing to speak about, because only the newlyweds' opinions should matter on their special day. Even if you don't think the couple are right for each other, it's common practice to hold your tongue and let them make their own poor decisions at the altar. 

In the olden days, people were asked to object to a wedding if someone suddenly found out the bride and groom were cousins, for example. Back in the days before the cars or the internet, a couple might not know about that until a great-aunt showed up to spoil the wedding for everyone. Basically, asking if anyone objected to the marriage had an important purpose in the past. Today, it seems like the objectors are scorned exes, loud children, dads who can't resist making a dad joke, and sometimes even animals! 

These people shared their stories of the times they've actually seen a wedding guest object. Some stories are funny, while others are just crazy, and you can read them all below. My favorite is the seagull story: it's not every day a birdo chooses to interrupt your big day. 

Next up, this sister-in-law got a startling awakening after her introverted behavior finally caught up with her at a family birthday party. 

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  • 01
    Has anyone actually seen in person at a wedding any people who have objected? What's the story? Angled Luffa Went to a wedding by the shore, and when the officiant asked this question, a seagull who had come to watch gave a really loud squak
    via Nathan Walker on Unsplash
  • 02
    Has anyone actually seen in person at a wedding any people who have objected? What's the story?
    via u/IncognitoAstronaut10
  • 03
    maeveomaeve Incredibly anti-climatic, an ex-boyfriend stood up and said he was still in love with the bride so the wedding couldn't go ahead. Officant said that wasn't a valid reason, he sat back down.
    via u/maeveomaeve
  • 04
    curtludwig I was shooting a wedding video, the preacher gets to that part and just as he says. "Or forever hold your peace" there was a HUGE peal of thunder.
    via u/curtludwig
  • 05
    Lighting had hit a TV tower on the other side of the valley. I'd seen the strike and had just enough time to think "thats gonna be loud" and cover my ears.
    via u/curtludwig
  • 06
    After the thunder died away there was a long pause and the preacher said "Well thats never happened. before." It was awesome. AFAIK they're still married...
    via u/curtludwig
  • 07
    I saw this once. The pastor is asking this and people are looking around 2/3s of the way back is a very pregnant young lady standing up. People start to turn to look at her. She say "I'm sorry, I have to pee" That was as a close one.
    via r/AskReddit
  • 08
    Zloiche1 My grandmother did when my loser uncle(her son) got married the 4th time. She told the woman she could do better.
    via u/Zloiche1
  • 09
    There wasn't an objection, but my cousin's rehearsal dinner was nuts. The bride and the maid of honor were both pregnant by the groom and the best man.
    via r/AskReddit
  • 10
    But vice versa of what you think. It all came to a head because the best man spoke up that the wedding was a bad idea.
    via r/AskReddit
  • 11
    Bobdehn Funny story: my oldest sister was getting married for the third time. The first two were big weddings, but this one was small, just immediate family. The "rehearsal" was immediately before the ceremony - the pastor came out to talk us through what would happen and when, and what our cues for
    via u/Bobdehn
  • 12
    participation would be. At one point he said "And here, I will ask if you will love and support them as a couple, and you respond..." From the front row, Dad boomed "NO!" The pastor looked stricken. Dad explained "She's 42 years old. She can support herself." Family, include the bride, laughed. The
    via u/Bobdehn
  • 13
    pastor then explained he was talking about spiritual support, not financial. Which, of course, Dad knew fully well. Cut to the actual ceremony, about 15 minutes later. The pastor was actually wincing as he came up to the fateful question. "Will you love and support Judith and Clark in their lives together?"
    via u/Bobdehn
  • 14
    The relief was palpable as everyone said "yes." But then the pastor realized that there was another question right after this one that he forgot about earlier. Again, you could see it on his face as he made a decision. His next line went like this: "Isthereanyoneherewh oobjectstothisunion? Dearlybeloved,letuspra y."
    via u/Bobdehn
  • 15
    I was cracking up (as quietly as a could) for the rest of the service. And Dad had an impish smile all day. Oh yes, the best part of the ceremony was the amateur bagpipe player who couldn't keep all of his chanters going, so when he played Amazing Grace at the end, he'd have to hit the bag repeatedly, making it go WAAAMP each time.
    via u/Bobdehn
  • 16
    neeee neeeeeeee neee neee WAAAMP WAAAMP neeeeeeeee neeee neeeeeeee neee WAAAMP WAAAMP WAAAMP neeeeeeeeee neee neeeeeee neee neee neeeeeee neee WAAAMP WAAAMP WAAAMP neeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Such a blessed day.
    via u/Bobdehn
  • 17
    ijustwanttogotojacuz⚫ The groom's Dad stood up and loudly said, "It's not too late, son!" right as the bride was coming down the aisle. She sobbed the whole way down and the show went on. They're divorced now.
    via u/ijustwanttogotojacuz
  • 18
    ParticularThese 7503. So kinda, but not really. I was maid of honor at my best friend's wedding, and her dad had some mental health issues along with a tendency to be annoying. I knew that when the groom had asked her dad for permission to marry her, he had technically said no. So
    via u/ParticularThese 7503
  • 19
    we were all on pins and needles a bit. The time came for the "does anyone object" question, and the dad steps up to speak, and I watch my friend's face go completely ashen and I'm ready to throw up or throw hands or something. And the dad says, "growing up, [bride's name] always hated this song, and we
    via u/ParticularThese 7503
  • 20
    always joked that we'd sing it at her wedding, so here it is!" And he and her mother proceed to sing the song, while I bore a hole in his face with my eyes and a few of the guests try to force awkward courtesy chuckles. It. Was. Awful.
    via u/ParticularThese 7503
  • 21
    Cheap_Rain_4130 · My friends best man yelled 'This is a mistake!'. They are no longer friends, but he was 100% correct. She's awful.
    via u/Cheap_Rain_4130
  • 22
    _Internet_Hugs_ . I wasn't there personally, a good friend was. Guy waited until the very end, almost before the officiant called "I pronounce you..." because there wasn't actually a part where they said "If anyone objects". So the guy marrying them is about to pronounce them husband and
    via u/_Internet_Hugs_
  • 23
    wife and some dude stands up from the back and shouts "I object! You can't marry him Sheila!" (Fake name.) The officiant looked around, looked at the bride, and she just looked at the officiant and said, "You were saying?". And the wedding went on. The officiant said the last words, they kissed and the guy starts yelling,
    via u/_Internet_Hugs_
  • 24
    "How could you do this to me!? We should be together!" The bride whispered to the groom, the groom whispered to the groomsmen, and the groomsmen all headed down the aisle together. They didn't make it three feet before the yelling guy got out of his pew and ran out of the church. They followed him for good measure, but I guess he really left.
    via u/_Internet_Hugs_
  • 25
    At the reception the Bride's mom went around explaining that the guy had been a family friend who the parents used to joke that him and the bride would get married, but stopped about the time the kids started school because it made the daughter mad. The guy never got the memo that it was a joke and basically considered her his betrothed.
    via u/_Internet_Hugs_
  • 26
    Nothing anyone could say to him would convince him that she was not going to marry him. He'd never done anything illegal so she couldn't get a restraining order or anything. He was just obsessed. They didn't know how he found out about the wedding because they had kept the details away from him, even his parents (who were still great family friends) didn't
    via u/_Internet_Hugs_
  • 27
    know the time and place and weren't going to be there because they didn't want to chance him ruining it. They had security, but only for the reception. They didn't think they'd need it for the church but they were wrong.
    via u/_Internet_Hugs_
  • 28
    And when I asked what the bride whispered to the groom and what the groom whispered to the groomsmen: "That's him."
    via u/_Internet_Hugs_
  • 29
    AngledLuffa Went to a wedding by the shore, and when the officiant asked this question, a seagull who had come to watch gave a really loud squak
    via u/AngledLuffa
  • 30
    Professional-Chef-40. My sister had her wedding in our backyard. When asked if there are objections, the family dog got up, walked to the minister, barked once, turned back and sat down
    via u/Professional-Chef-40
  • 31
    Crafty240618 The night before my cousin's wedding, her ex bf showed up to her parents house with the intention of making an 11th hour plea for her not to go through with the wedding and take him back instead. Luckily she was out with her sisters dropping the cake off at the hotel for the reception so she didn't
    via u/Crafty240618
  • 32
    have to deal with it, and my uncle eventually got the guy to leave (threatened to call the police in the end). The next morning at the church, there were a load of guests very discretely put on the alert that this guy could show up and try to disrupt things. Luckily the wedding went off without a hitch, but we found out later that he actually
    via u/Crafty240618
  • 33
    HAD turned up at the church, but the sacristan had been standing just outside the door and clocked him heading in and managed to hold him. off in the carpark. Apparently it was just getting to the point that the sacristan was worried the ex was about to make a dash for the church when a car pulled up and 3 of his friends got out and
    via u/Crafty240618
  • 34
    kinda talked him down and then took him away.
    via u/Crafty240618
  • 35
    Saint_Lazy Ex-girlfriend of the groom was also the bride's cousin and not happy. Wore a borderline scandalous red dress to the wedding. You could see her waiting for the moment but the bridal party had already paid off the minister to skip "if anyone here has any objections".
    via u/Saint_Lazy
  • 36
    When the minister said "you may now kiss the bride" and she realized she wasn't getting a chance she stormed out, down the middle aisle stomping her heels. But the organist was playing, people were clapping for the couple, and she never got her moment.
    via u/Saint_Lazy
  • 37
    jersey8894 Was at a wedding years ago, when the question was asked the bride's father stood up and asked her "Are you absolutely sure you want to marry this guy?" Since the back 2 rows on the grooms side had a bet on this we all were then cleared to start drinking! To be fair,
    via u/jersey8894
  • 38
    they are still married and still in love and her Dad still hates the man because he works for himself and not a company. Her Dad hates that he has a successful business.
    via u/jersey8894
  • 39
    Thatswilde9 Kind of, but during the reception. When my friend got married she intentionally didn't ask her dad to make a speech, knowing he didn't approve of the groom, and during the reception he got rip roaring drunk and snatched the microphone out of the DJ's hands and made one anyway. He went
    via u/Thatswilde9
  • 40
    on for a good few minutes about how the groom was trash and his daughter could do much better before several of her cousins managed to wrestle the microphone away from him and get him into a car to take him back to the hotel. It was super cringy.
    via u/Thatswilde9
  • 41
    Tigeraqua8 I was at a wedding held next to a lake. Just at that moment, a speed boat zoomed past towing a skier. He yelled out "Don't do it"!!!!
    via u/Tigeraqua8
  • 42
    The-Sassy-Pickle . Wasn't me, but my parents. They were getting married in a registry office. Waiting in the ante-room for the previous wedding to end, they were very surprised to see 3 policeman run in and cart the groom away in handcuffs for bigamy.
    via u/The-Sassy-Pickle
  • 43
    Bigamist or not (they never found out), the dude had already paid the photographer, so he stayed around and shot my parents' wedding for free!
    via u/The-Sassy-Pickle
  • 44
    Furlong284 When I officiated for my friends, I phrased it as "If there's anyone here who may I object to this marriage, you had a decade to make your opinion known, so can it!"
    via u/Furlong284
  • 45
    ERedfieldh Guy stood up and said he had the bride a few months prior. Then another guy got up and said the same. It was some 'I'm Spartacus' going on as another and another stood up.
    via u/ERedfieldh
  • 46
    Turns out she'd been making the rounds through this guy's family. None of them were going to say anything but one guy cracked and it was enough for the guilt to overflow on the rest. Including the best man who was bright red in the face when he stammered out that he had, too, not but a two weeks prior. Open bar though, so that was nice.
    via u/ERedfieldh
  • 47
    xubax Not exactly. 40+ years ago, at a cousin's wedding, when the vows were being said, "til death do you part" a loud "HAH!" came from the back, from the bride's sister's husband.
    via u/xubax
  • 48
    The bride and groom were divorced about 6 months later. The brother in law was also an but it took the sister longer to decide to divorce him.
    via u/xubax
  • 49
    misstheatregeek. Not an objection, but definitely an awkward moment. One of my uncles was getting married, and his soon- to-be wife wasn't quite as well-liked by certain members of our family (she was more liberal than some others, she was seen as "dramatic" or "eccentric", etc.)
    via u/misstheatregeek
  • 50
    I don't remember the exact words, but during the vows she was making comments about their cats and something about musical theater, and was pretty emotional. One of my other uncles said not quite under his breath, "Jesus, good luck man," when it was DEAD silent. It made my stepdad chuckle, and my mom and my aunt gave them the dirtiest looks.
    via u/misstheatregeek
  • 51
    They got divorced a few years later because my uncle is trash. I felt bad for her, because I really liked her, but she's honestly doing much better without him.
    via u/misstheatregeek
  • 52
    Princessdelrey My dad objected to his aunts wedding with my big bird puppet. I was 8 and it's a strong memory of mine realising my dad was a drunk and a
    via u/Princessdelrey
  • 53
    whovian5690 My favorite is from when this question was asked before and I can't find the comment, but I'll give the gist:
    via u/whovian5690
  • 54
    F22ish is marrying a guy sameish age that she's known for years. Her little sister (8ish) basically knew him her whole life. She called him her best friend and said they were gonna get married. During the wedding, the question was asked, and it was dead quiet so almost everyone heard the lil sis object under breath. Pretty wholesome
    via u/whovian5690
  • 55
    Desert_Damsel · My cousin was planning wedding #3. I apologized to her Mom, my Auntie, that I wouldn't be able to attend. She replied, 'Oh don't worry dear, you can come to the next one!'
    via u/Desert_Damsel
  • 56
    MakesCakes Eats Mud. My father was a pastor. It happened once during a wedding he was performing. A woman stood up and said that the groom could not get married because he was already married and she was his wife. Dad cancelled the wedding.
    via u/MakesCakes Eats Mud
  • 57
    The_JDubb My daughter just got married last week and I asked the Minster why he never asked that question. He explained to me that it isn't really asked anymore, for obvious reasons. He said to many people are doing it just to try to be internet famous, and most of the time don't even mean it.
    via u/The_JDubb

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