'I legit thought I was in elementary school lunch': 20+ Memorably bad wedding-day meals

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Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Mar 26, 2024 5:00 PM EDT

No couple wants to have that wedding where guests only remember how bad the food was. Out of the dozens of weddings you'll attend in your life, there are bound to be a few that are like that… 

Every wedding has a few memorable moments. At some weddings, the father of the bride will dance like no one's watching, making everyone crack up. Other times, the bridesmaids will get too rowdy, and someone will have to go back to the hotel room to recover. And sometimes there are incidents with kids, like a flower girl who decides she's too shy to walk down the aisle. All of these will make cute memories, at least. If the wedding has dry cake and inedible salmon dinners, that's going to be the incident that everyone talks about for years to come. 

These wedding guests have had some absolutely awful meals come their way, as they shared in a post from u/MsPumpernickel asking, "What is the worst wedding food you have been served?" I feel for the person who cut into the wedding cake, only to realize it was raw inside! And the vegans and vegetarians of the world are suffering at some events---one person revealed that they ate other people's garnishes in order to cobble together a salad. It's rough out there! At least the common theme here was that people left the wedding and got fast food afterwards, so it wasn't a complete disaster. 

Next up, this company chose the worst possible time to revoke their employees' PTO rollover, and had to deal with an almost empty office for months. 

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  • 01
    'We waited 2 hours...and realized there was no food. People were standing around giving the side-eye to the bride and groom as they sat at their cordoned-off table and ate'
    via Jordan Arnold on Unsplash
  • 02
    What is the worst wedding food you have been served What is the worst wedding food you have ever been served at a wedding? When I was young I went to a wedding that occurred over dinner time but all they served at the reception was cheese, crackers, and nuts. I was staving by the end of it and several guests left early because they were hungry.
    via u/MsPumpernickel
  • 03
    A plate of lettuce. It was the vegan option at my sister's wedding. Legitimately just a plate of shredded lettuce with side cups of olive oil and balsamic vinegar as dressing :')
    via r/weddingshaming
  • 04
    pipparak I showed up to a reception once that only had a "popcorn and ice cream bar". The reception was scheduled around dinner time, and there was no previous mention of there not being real food provided on the invites or programs.
    via u/pipparak
  • 05
    ComfortingCloud. Backyard wedding and they said there would be food, it was dinner time reception. They served cold Chick-fil-A nuggets and veggie trays and they didn't have enough for everyone so people were fighting over the nuggets as they were brought out. Fun times. We left to go get food.
    via u/ComfortingCloud
  • 06
    Otterlyridiculous_⚫ It was a wedding scheduled at dinner time and the only food was cupcakes. That you could only get one of. The bride and groom had their own cake. We left early to go get McDonald's
    via u/Otterlyridiculous_
  • 07
    Solid-Wrongdoer3162. "Poached Chicken." Boiled. It was plain boiled chicken with no seasonings.
    via u/Solid-Wrongdoer3162
  • 08
    wrenskibaby The cake, mints and nuts were fine. But the reception was in the cavernous church basement in March and it was really chilly, and the green punch was so cold it was nearly frozen and it turned your teeth and tongue green. Everyone had greenish lips too
    via u/wrenskibaby
  • 09
    kitty-yaya "Buffet cocktail hour" was ritz crackers, turkey pepperoni and cheese, but no alcohol. Only drinks were orange juice, cranberry juice and sparkling water. Coke or Diet Coke was cash only. Sit- down dinner was microwaved lunch meats masquerading as "roast turkey" or "prime rib" with a gravy
    via u/kitty-yaya
  • 10
    on top, corn niblets or peas, and those fancy- cut sweet pickles. What is odd is that it wasn't a matter of money, as the bride's family was very comfortable and gave her a very nice budget.
    via u/kitty-yaya
  • 11
    Chairman Mrrow A tea party wedding (aka cake and punch) during dinner time. Good food but not substantial. ETA- this "meal" was at like 6pm
    via u/Chairman Mrrow
  • 12
    NotoriousTedDbear · We went to a wedding at a fancy country club, it was family plate style service. The tables were the long rectangle type. They put the platters at both ends of the table, we were seated in the middle, never saw any of the food. Asked wait staff for some refills on
    via u/NotoriousTedDbear
  • 13
    the platters and where told sorry, its all gone. We left and went to a fast food place and went home. So I guess it was the worst wedding food we never had.
    via u/NotoriousTedDbear
  • 14
    Mela777 It's a toss up between the one where the food was good but we all got varying degrees of food poisoning, and the one where the wedding party spent 3 hours "taking photos" and everything sat in the warming oven for an extra hour and dried out to the point. of being barely edible.
    via u/Mela777
  • 15
    They did not actually spend 3 hours taking photos, they spent an hour taking photos and then stopped at a bar on the way back and "lost track of time". That wedding was in a tiny rural town where the only place to buy food was a small convenience store a half mile or so from the
    via u/Mela777
  • 16
    venue, and no snacks or drinks were provided for the guests while they waited for the wedding party.
    via u/Mela777
  • 17
    KiraiEclipse Not quite as bad as yours but I went to a "brunch wedding" where we had been given the distinct impression we shouldn't eat breakfast beforehand. We waited in the Florida heat and humidity (literally in a swamp) with no fans or refreshments for at least 2 hours while the
    via u/KiraiEclipse
  • 18
    couple took photos. The only saving grace was that we were in the shade and protected from (most of) the mosquitoes in a screened in porch. When we finally got food, it was lunchtime. Maybe past that for early eaters. The only drink was water (not even an option for sweet tea or lemonade or something). The
    via u/KiraiEclipse
  • 19
    "brunch" was a light charcuterie spread. Everyone tried their best to be considerate of those behind them in line, taking only one of every small item. Think one olive, one slice of cheese, one cracker, one melon ball, etc. Even then, the people toward the end didn't get to try some items.
    via u/KiraiEclipse
  • 20
    Everything was delicious but we were starving and there wasn't nearly enough to go around. I think my husband and I picked up Taco Bell afterwards.
    via u/KiraiEclipse
  • 21
    Travelwithbex I live in Spain where it's generally expected that you gift the couple at least what your dinner was worth. Think 100€s upwards. As a vegetarian in Spain I know that the most I'm going to eat is a fancy salad. One time I was given a plate of sliced tomatoes.100€ for a plate of sliced tomatoes.
    via u/Travelwithbex
  • 22
    CenPhx The worst was the time we were being called up, table by table, for guests to get their dinner from a buffet. By the time my table was called, there was no food. So the worst wedding food I ever had was when I got no food at all.
    via u/CenPhx
  • 23
    duzthislook1nfected Went to a low budget wedding, which I fully support... not everyone has money. However, each table had one bottle of sparkling cider and that was it. No water, no nothing else for 3 hours. I had two young kids with me and we had to leave. I'm in Florida and this was a summer wedding.
    via u/duzthislook1nfected
  • 24
    cupcakecounter. A budget wedding in a church basement (nothing wrong with that). Dinner was "plated" though which seemed odd. Dinner consisted of a local/regional dish I'd never heard of called Chicken and Noodles. I swear it was chicken noodle soup with some cornstarch or something in it to
    via u/cupcakecounter
  • 25
    thicken up served on a slice of wonder bread. Sides were fruit cocktail and carrot sticks. I legit thought I was in elementary school lunch. Lovely couple, still married over 15 years later so they obviously prioritized the marriage over the wedding. We stopped at A&W on the way home.
    via u/cupcakecounter
  • 26
    loCAtek Bride's mom turned into a Momzilla and insisted the outdoor wedding reception be served by her friend who was just starting a small Mexican restaurant but had never catered a wedding. Bride said no, and hired a professional caterer who had experience in outdoor
    via u/loCAtek
  • 27
    venues and could provide nice vegetarian options. Bride sends Momzilla to the professional with the guest's entre choices... but instead Momzilla fires the caterer and hires her amateur friend without telling the Bride.
    via u/loCAtek
  • 28
    Amateur decides that vegetarian means rice and beans (refried, which means lard) and sets up a burrito bar with no way of keeping the ingredients warm. Guests have to eat cold Mexican food... and then it runs out. Worst part? This was MY wedding! The shame.
    via u/loCAtek
  • 29
    MidwestNormal. Worst story is one attended by my mother and sister. - 100 degree day outside and no air conditioning in the hall - One giant pot of baked beans plus a platter of very questionable sandwiches
    via u/MidwestNormal
  • 30
    - When the cake was cut it was still raw in the center So, after eating nothing, and slipping out as soon as they could, mom and sister stopped at a restaurant on the main road back towards home. Soon they noticed some familiar faces coming into the restaurant. Yes, other hungry refugees from the wedding.
    via u/MidwestNormal
  • 31
    palekaleidoscope · I will never forget this one but it was the early 90s, so maybe it was a thing then. I'm a kid, under 10, and I am at the wedding of some sort of distant uncle. It's mostly boring but the monotony is broken when the bride and groom cut the beautiful cake and I'm so excited because I've
    via u/palekaleidoscope
  • 32
    been dying to eat this cake all night. I walk up to the cake table and I ask for a piece from the bride. She says "oh no, honey, we aren't giving out this cake". They then proceeded to hand out pieces of fruitcake wrapped in paper doilies to all the guests. I've never been so disappointed.
    via u/palekaleidoscope
  • 33
    Carby McBagel A cut up tomato on some roasted cabbage. It was the vegetarian/vegan option. It was...not very filling. They also ran out of cake before I got any. I stopped at a taco truck on the way home.
    via u/Carby McBagel
  • 34
    ColaPopz The wedding was just before lunchtime - we needed to arrive by 11am. We had to walk the mile to the reception from the ceremony venue in hot sun. No food or drink (not even water) was provided until well after 8pm. By that time I'd already snuck off for an hour to get water to stop my dehydration headache.
    via u/ColaPopz
  • 35
    RoutineInitiative187. No vegetarian option so everyone at my table gave me their garnishes so I could have a weak attempt at a salad.
    via u/RoutineInitiative187
  • 36
    Tinawebmom My brother decided fancy Mexican food was the thing. We had the entire restaurant. We each got two tacos. The meat was overcooked, dry and flavorless. The food was cold. There was cheddar cheese on the tacos, no salsa on the tacos and none at our tables, no chips, and the drinks were double
    via u/Tinawebmom
  • 37
    what we're used to paying. They even charged for the glass. of water. He payed $75/person for this. The cake was cute.... And simply awful tasting. When we left I hit fast food for my kiddos. We love Mexican food. Whatever this was wasn't that.
    via u/Tinawebmom
  • 38
    sunsetorangespoon ⚫ Went to a wedding reception at a DoubleTree and boy that food was awful. Not sure about the vegetarian option, but I was served a piece of boiled chicken with flavorless bruschetta- like topping and some asparagus that did not have any seasoning.
    via u/sunsetorangespoon
  • 39
    There were also unseasoned steamed garden vegetables. To make things worse, the water from the steamed vegetables got all over the other parts of the dish.
    via u/sunsetorangespoon
  • 40
    ladychelbellington. Lasagna that was really overcooked and mushy. I thought at least there is cake. Cake was burned - they just frosted over it. McDonald's on the way home.
    via u/ladychelbellington
  • 41
    dragongrl Chicken and waffles where the chicken was somehow both undercooked AND burned, and the waffles were just sad. I've never left a wedding hungry before.
    via u/dragongrl
  • 42
    seriouslyisiton Outdoor wedding with a potluck buffet. During the ceremony we watched bugs swarm the food. The MOB tried to shoo the bugs away as best she could. While waiting in the buffet line we watched her admit defeat with the shooing and just stir the bugs into the dishes.
    via u/seriouslyisiton
  • 43
    CosmoNewanda. My cousin had a gourmet mac and cheese bar at his wedding. It worked like a cold stone where people point out their choices then then the server guy cooks/mixes the food. People were waiting in line for over half an hour for one guy to cook their selections, and then they ran out.
    via u/CosmoNewanda
  • 44
    SpicyWonderBread A destination wedding where they only served punch. It was during dinner time.
    via u/SpicyWonderBread
  • 45
    teaANDsnugs I got a salad that had a piece of actual dirty hay....like what you would find on a barn floor, except it was a fancy plated dinner at an art gallery. The courses were so spaced out with speeches that we left before dessert at 10:30pm, and were too tired to even try find another food option.
    via u/teaANDsnugs
  • 46
    princess_kittah cold poutine with burnt fries
    via u/princess_kittah
  • 47
    ms_mayapaya I went to two different weddings where there was no food and the only thing to eat was the cake. I feel like if you're going to have a wedding near dinner time you should warn your guest that there will be no food. That way I can eat before the wedding or just not go. Each time I left early because I was hungry.
    via u/ms_mayapaya
  • 48
    w Devil_in_blackx Microwaved rice and vegetables. Being vegetarian at a wedding
    via u/Devil_in_blackx
  • 49
    sawltydawgD Roast beef at a carving station but it was that weird pressed beef loaf type like at an Arbys. Rubbery gray slabs.
    via u/sawltydawgD
  • 50
    apearlmae I went to a wedding that only served appetizers with an open bar. It was fun, but I didn't think that was the best choice to save money. I couldn't leave early because it was a good friend but I was starving and hit the drive thru at midnight.
    via u/apearlmae
  • 51
    cutencreepy Went to a wedding at a mega church Was told that there would be food trucks outside for the reception. Nope. The church put out a buffet for the wedding party only. Guests were not offered anything, even water.
    via u/cutencreepy
  • 52
    We waited 2 hours for all the photos to be done, and realized there was no food. People were standing around giving side eye to the bride and groom as they sat at their cordoned-off table and ate
    via u/cutencreepy

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