“The very first wedding I officiated, the groom forgot the rings. We jumped in my car—he was far too nervous to drive —and peeled out of the parking lot. Some late arriving guests were astonished to see the pastor and groom burning rubber leaving the church. We got back only a few minutes late and I thought everything would be fine. It was until I asked the groom if he promised to leave his wife and cleave to all others. Before I could correct it he said, ‘I do.’”
“My first wedding, I forgot the ‘giving away the bride’ part. She was brought down the aisle by her uncle…once they arrived, I stepped aside so that the singer could start singing their ‘special song,” and of course the bride was fuming because the song was going while she was still standing there next to Uncle Jim! I stopped the song, apologized, and quickly asked the uncle to give away the bride…”
“Once revealed to the bride’s 13-year-old daughter (and Maid of Honor) that the groom was not her father…everyone else knew, but mom had never told her. There was an audible gasp from everyone in the room and I wished I was ANYWHERE else. Not a great day.”
RELATED: How to Live Up to Your Wedding Vows When Things Go Bad
“One time I asked the couple at the rehearsal if they were writing their own vows. They said traditional ones were fine. Unfortunately, I forgot to write traditional vows in my notes and didn’t realize it till the moment of the ring ceremony day of the wedding.”
“I was holding my first wedding. I introduced my sermon by saying, ‘What this sex…no, sorry, this text is telling us…’ No one really listened to the rest of what I was meaning to say.”
“Officiated for a friend in his home state of VA. Didn’t know that in VA the minister had to register in the county. We didn’t discover this tidbit until a week after the wedding. Still counted in Gods eyes! Just not Virginia’s!”
“Very nervous, I said to the groom, ‘Do you take this wedded woman to be your wedded wife?’ He looked at her with an expression that said, ‘Is there something I should know here?’”
“I was 19 when performed first wedding…while sporting mullet pulled back in ponytail (style back then). Grandfather of the bride came up to me and said, ‘Who are you?’ After telling him I was the minister he yelled while laughing, ‘Hey Frank! Come here. This guy is the minister.’”
“The couple was Nick and Lacey and I called them ‘Lick and Nacey.’”
“Last wedding I did: asked the best man for the rings—he tried to hand me the box. I couldn’t open it because I was holding my Bible so I smiled and asked him to – he handed me both rings which I placed in my open Bible and they proceeded to fall on the floor and roll away. Most of the wedding party was late to rehearsal a few days prior so we skipped some parts…After I had the rings back, I looked at the bride and groom and said, ‘I told you we should’ve rehearsed this part…Everyone laughed and on we went.”
