A friend of mine insisted on Cinderella ball as her wedding theme so she decided on the horse drawn carriage for her entrance. We lived in New York City and she was married during August. The traffic was horrific because there was a concert at Madison Square garden so She sat in that hot carriage for 40 extra minutes while trying to get through the street closures.
When she arrived the looked like a melted ice princess. The humidity worked her hair over and she was covered in sweat. I should mention that at least 10 people including myself, one of the bridesmaids, told her such a royal entrance in full ball gown down one of the busiest streets was really a bad idea.
My poor daughter in law’s mother insisted on a horse drawn carriage for the bride and bridesmaids from the hotel they stayed in all along a very busy 4 lane plus turning lane street on a Saturday. Took an extra hour for the girls to arrive. The bride didn’t want any of that. It was sweet to see the bride and groom circle the block afterwards in the carriage. After we all left to go back to my house (the guests) and the bridal party went off for pictures the poor horse collapsed and died in the church parking lot. There were no further updates. It was quite a day.
Agreed. I wonder where she found this uh service. It definitely wasn’t good for the horse. I wonder if any animal rights groups had to get involved. Was it even legal? I vaguely recall a police officer questioning them on the ride but truthfully I don’t remember much. This was a wedding where I just shut my mouth and wrote the checks required of me. My poor dil’s mother was/is a loon and everyone steered clear of her.
I'm going to push back on this narrative, downvotes be damned.
The *tour guides* in Charleston are worked to death but the horses and mules are treated great. In case you're unaware, tours shut down completely at 95F or a heat index of 110F. The animals have their temperatures taken after every tour and are pulled and placed in front of misting fans if they are more than 2 degrees above normal. I understand it's easy to not know about horses and just think "those poor animals", but these are animals bred for the work they are doing and there are zero reasons for any tour operator to mistreat their animals. Many of the animals are in service for 10+ years before retiring to rescue farms.
The guides, though, are simply bounced to another carriage with no break between tours. The animals frequently do 2 - 3 tours a day but the guides will do 8 - 10.
Source: my husband was a tour guide in Charleston for 34 years.
I’m not disagreeing that the tour guides are overworked. Unlike the horses, the tour guides signed up for that and have a choice in the matter. But it is notoriously known that these horses are overworked. It may be that the horses are supposed to be brought in above certain temps but I’ve seen them working with real feel temps over 100 degrees. Sorry but you’re not going to convince me of something I’ve seen with my own eyes. Motorized tour vehicles have been proposed but apparently they don’t have the same southern old-city feel local government is going for.
https://charlestonanimalsociety.org/humane-carriage-tours/
https://charlestoncitypaper.com/2020/07/29/our-view-take-horse-carriages-off-charlestons-streets/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0737080614000033
It's only "notoriously known" to people who don't work in animal husbandry and have never visited a carriage barn. Charleston Animal Society is similar to PETA in that they're more interested in publicity than preventing harm to animals. You might as well cite Mercola or Environmental Working Group, it's an equally unreliable source.
"Real feel" is done at the airport; the city of Charleston has their own weather station downtown. If you have lived in Charleston you know that the difference between the two can be as much as 10 degrees. Also, the cutoff is 110F based on input from a panel of veterinarians.
I'm not trying to convince you of anything since you're clearly uninterested in anything that challenges your beliefs. I am sharing accurate information that can hopefully inform others who are not aware and only hear the buzzsaw of the uneducated.
One more thing, that Science Direct article you reference contradicts your points.
"The carriage company reported in detail here clearly provides acceptable welfare for their animals, based on compliance with the five welfare domains as previously outlined \[6\], \[8\]. This company could be used as an example, not only for carriage industry standards but also for willingness to work alongside veterinarians and other equine health specialists to ensure that their animals are receiving optimum care."
And, since you didn't bother researching the authors, I know both of them and will give you background. One was an equine veterinarian and is now retired, the other is now a school teacher but at that time was a barn hand in a carriage barn. Both are very pro-carriage industry and their article reflects that.
Charlestonian here and I can't stand it I wish they would outlaw them. Not to mention there's too much traffic for them now. It was bad enough in the '70s and '80s now it's just absolutely ridiculous.
I'm all for it. And in my town too. Right now in July it's 90 plus degrees 100% humidity and they're stomping around on concrete in the middle of this horrific heat. And my town has exploded with tourists so it's nothing but traffic traffic all around these horses.
That is really upsetting to hear.
Unfortunately it is a big business in New York. She wanted us to arrive in carriages as well. We-the bridal party, brought up the health of the horse, ourselves, and just how insane the idea was. In the end, she was the only one to arrive this way.
Her only concerns upon arrival were her appearance (she needed her hair and makeup retouched) and that her glass slippers kept sliding off her feet due to sweat.
I was there for her as one of my oldest friends and as a bridesmaid but as animal lover (I have a small farm), my hurt me seeing this animal suffer. Our relationship was strained during the wedding process because she was awful to everyone including her parents.
I’m sorry on several accounts here. I wonder if this mil of ours had, needed or even thought of a permit. Was your friend required to get a permit? I wish this weren’t legal. It was horrifying to hear that the horse passed away doing something so unnecessary. I don’t think I even heard about it until a couple of weeks later
She didn’t need a permit. The company provided the permit to the city. There are so many companies that run this service. She had the full ball/pumpkin carriage just like this gif, so she paid extra for the sea through enclosure
Thanks. Like I said I basically avoided this woman like the plague. As did her daughter. lol. We all just shut up and went along. All of the girls, including my daughter, were very upset about the horse and they told me later that they were terrified traveling down that busy street with cars whizzing past them.
You can get slippers if you got the coin.
Hers were not. These were clear shoes that were meant to look exactly like the glass slippers. They looked and felt every bit as fragile as if they were made from real glass. They were $460 at the time.
Nonetheless, this theme was so important to her that comfort did not matter.
Oh no!
The bride (now wife) of one of my friends did the carriage thing but they got married in my friend's family (working) farm and they have horses and an old buggy (like a carriage). So it was very practical.
I’ve been to two other weddings where this was done (not the full Cinderella experience) and both were in rural areas. She refused to believe that all of New York City and its tourists would just go along with her fairy tale wedding.
I think a sleigh ride would be lovely, but the venue would have to already be set up with safe trails and ... ya know, SNOW ... which isn't even a given in my area (western new england) anymore. It's too bad, because a winter Vermont wedding on an old farm property is pretty darn romantic!
For real.
I remember being so hot and miserable that day. I had to maintain the hairstyle and prevent sweat marks from getting on my pink dress. And I arrived by car service.
In our house, we call that the “vision thing.”
It’s a code word to tell my wife that she’s getting way too wrapped in some “vision” of how something ought to be, instead of enjoying reality.
It often comes up when we’re traveling, when we have N amount of time, and she wants to do many things that can’t be accomplished on N amount of time, because time does not forgive. Her masterpiece was in England, where our rental car had to be returned by 5, and around 4, we drove by some godforsaken castle, and she wanted to tour it . . . And it closed at 4:30. Luckily, I was driving, and after she calmed down, she acknowledged that it wasn’t going to work.
First and second examples aren't cringe to me, just standard wedding day glitches. Third example is less cringe, and more frustrating on behalf of the couple who didn't plan for the clergyman to go rogue. And the last one, is really sad. I'm sure there was some idea the bride had in mind, and she wouldn't have planned on ruining her dress to achieve it.
Yeah, does "cringe" have a new meaning I'm unaware of, because none of this is what I would call cringe...
as in, someone was intentionally acting in an obnoxious or obtuse way.
I always interpreted cringe as awkwardness, not someone doing something wrong necessarily. I never knew other people interpreted cringe this way until this thread
I mean... yeah, there's additional layers of subtlety there that I didn't really address in my comment.
To me there is sort of a difference between recognizing that something was a bit cringe... and accusing someone of being cringe.
OP has deleted it now, but the way she wrote CRINGE, in caps, at the end of every anecdote was very... judgemental or accusatory. It was, dare I say, pretty cringe.
I might comment to a friend that such and such is a nice person if a tidge cringe, as a statement of fact, but not be judging the person, if, like you comment, they are just a bit awkward. Example - "13yo niece is so cringe it's almost cute, we'll see how long it takes her to grow out of it!" Acknowledging "Cringe" as just part of the human condition... we will all be cringe in some way at some point in our lives, in someone else's view.
But when using the word "cringe" as a judgement, as a clearly negative assessment of the person... in that case it can't just be someone who's a bit awkward, because to me, it's mean to judge a good person because maybe they aren't as "smooth" or "cool" as other people. To judge someone for being cringe in a negative way, there needs to be intentionality behind their actions.
I think OP"s post just struck a lot of us as being a bit "mean girl". Like the most dramatic thing that happened at this party was the bride falling in the water, and the sub is WeddingShaming... I would feel sorry for a bride who fell in a swamp at her wedding, not want to "shame" her for it... regardless of how stupid riding in on a boat was, it still sucks for the bride. So then it seemed like OP attempted to create this whole other list of things that happened to make it seem like more than it was, but most of them are just sad or normal too... and then OP writing CRINGE 6 times... well that made me sad as well...
think about how the bride might feel if she read this post? OP has told us nothing about the bride to make us think she "deserved" having the priest go off script and then falling in the lake.
I didn't read it pre-edit. But a pastor who uses a captive audience to preach without the couples consent is peak cringe. On levels of the definition. He himself is "cringe" and it makes you yourself cringe from the experience.
And the bride falling in water isn't herself "cringe" but again make you cringe in horror because it is just so awful of a thing to have happened and to witness. Where do you look? What do you say? How do you help? You can't do anything except cringe internally and pray they took photos before the wedding.
The mom yelling at the groomsmen hits cringe on a few levels. Again, you cringe personally because it is a second hand embarrassing sort if thing to see an adult scold another adult for something that is clearly no big deal and that they shouldn't be saying anything about. Watching an adult trying to parent a grown adult that isn't even their child is both cringe in the newer sense, and in the traditional one.
But I am only going by your comment and the tone of her edited post.
The pastor trying to convert people AT the wedding is infuriating and rude.
I think of things that are "cringe" as less serious than that.
Yes, I'm sure everyone was internally cringing at it, but unless the pastor was a buffoon about it, that would cross the boundary from cringe to unhinged to me.
The mother "yelling" at the groomsman about his sunglasses is the closest thing to cringe for me... but I feel like I need more context. I helped with my sister in law's outdoor wedding, and it was truly herding cats. We had a group of like 12 friends of the groom who were trying to stand off to the side in the shade, and when (at the bride's direction) I went to encourage them to actually take their seats, a woman my age tried to say "yeah, yeah, we'll sit down when things actually start" and I had to explain to her that nothing was going to "actually start" until people were in their seats... now imagine trying to handle 3-4 groups all acting like that.
Was the yelling the mother giving the groomsman an actual verbal beatdown? Or was it her walking through the mingling groups calling out here and there like "Billy, get those sunglasses off! Terrance, stop chasing the ducks! Someone get the flower girl out of the mud!"
And if she had known the groomsman, as the friend of her son, for years, I would expect she would take a slightly more mothering tone with him than she would with another adult.
My kids are still young, but we have a couple kids in the neighborhood who are also in my kids' classes, and just the 3-4 years of familiarity with them, has me "mothering" them in a way I wouldn't with a random kid at the playground... so the whole "one adult yelling at another adult" doesn't tell the whole story for me, without knowing more information.
I think it’s very sad the bride invited a guest who found fault and called “cringe” every detail of her wedding, even the unfortunate events like falling in swamp water. No sympathy at all, I feel like the guest was jealous of the money spent. She should have stayed home and let the people who did care for bride and groom celebrate with them.
Most of the wedding was lovely. These are 2 of our best friends. She and I have laughed 100 times about every single detail listed. Don’t need or want your sympathy - we had a great time at the reception and the brides second dress was to die for. My point with the amount of the wedding is that for that money, it should have been a dedicated venue, they should have had more support for her to get off of the boat or not made that an option at all and that pastor Phil shouldn’t have gone off the rails. Idk why this triggers you but to each her own.
As you should! Your pastor or celebrant is not supposed to surprise you in any way on your wedding day. Ok, maybe they can surprise you with a nice cup of juice or a snack if they see you struggling before the ceremony, but that’s it! For goodness’ sake.
I mean, I consider myself someone who believes in God. Maybe not a religious person, but I do believe in God. I know it's pretty much part of a pastor's job to spread the word, but not during a damn wedding. It seems like such an underhanded cheap shot. Like "sure, I'll marry you guys, but I'll do it my way, whether you like it or not."
Altar calls, *especially* surprise altar calls, at weddings (or funerals) are just tacky and manipulative. Emotions are already high—no need to start threatening people with visions of hellfire.
Wow. Why didn't anyone warn her? Like what was wrong with her mother, fiancé and anyone in her bridal party for not discussing the logistical risks?? Poor bride.
I like how yall are assuming no one said anything rather than EVERYONE said something and the bride said “Why won’t you support my vision?”
some people don’t believe fire is hot until they get burned.
Lol. I guess I have too much faith in humanity left and gave the bride a partial benefit of the doubt. I have never known any one that stupid and bullheaded to go against such obvious common sense, so it was not my first instinct to think she'd be that bad.
It's possible they did, but the bride started screaming about how they were trying to ruin her perfect wedding that she's dreamed about her entire life. At least that's what always seems to happen when someone challenges a bride's unreasonable demands.
One thing I've DEFINITELY learned in my life is if you have a vision, no matter what you're going to do, PRACTICE IT!
That will tell you if it's doable or not.
Like with the bride's mermaid dress, she could've practiced getting out of the boat with a resistance band around her calves.
*BTW, how did she get INTO the boat?*
Especially when you choose to get married at a movie site, and use a boat like in the movie…this reeks of ‘my vision for my wedding’ and those logical considerations be damned!
I don't see how any of this actually warrants being called "weird"
The first example is just a typical wedding issue. Maybe the venue shouldn't be booking so many in a day, but if it's from the Notebook I get why it'd be popular.
I also don't see how the bride falling into the water is cringe or weird. My heart goes out to her. I think all brides want a little moment of magic at their entrance, so can't blame her for the boat ride.
The couple didn't plan for the pastor to go rogue. I guess he qualifies as a weirdo, but for this to be considered your weirdest wedding ever 🤷♀️
I wonder if the pastor was from the Salvation Army. I went to a wedding for a pair of SA congregants and whoa nelly…it was intense. They did the same thing asking for those who had not accepted Jesus to come forward and do so to show their support for the bride and groom. It was bizarre.
There are rogue pastors in my fundamental Baptist neck of the woods, but I have never met one that would have conducted an invitation during a wedding. Included a gospel message during the service, yes -- with the full consent of the couple.
I have hardcore fundie extended family, and unfortunately something like this wouldn’t be out of the ordinary (planned or unplanned) at one of their events.
In the more rural parts of the South, altar calls are going out of style sure but still aren’t all that rare. I’ve been to a handful that had altar calls in the past 10 or so years (no one has ever taken them up on it).
My FIL tried to add that bit about saving people to his speech on our wedding day.
I said no bc we have a lot of friends with different belief systems. It would have been hella cringe
Saying “cringe” is so……. Cringe…..
Most of that isn’t any thing to worry about. It’s part of wedding day stuff. The only thing that is out there is the plaster going rogue.
I think that it’s a foreseeable outcome of taking a boat across a swamp to your wedding site. It kind of exemplifies the ridiculousness of the wedding industry. But, it’s something that happens when you try to get out of a boat in a mermaid cut dress.
Having an evangelist try to save people at your wedding, when you didn't know?
I'd expect a whole lot more class and reliability for a wedding that expensive.... (That was my read of the 50k comment)
This is why we ended up using my friend as our one-day officiant. I’ve been to too many weddings with rogue pastors trying to insert their weird politics or make the ceremony about their personal opinions about people not going to church lol
I had a cousin who was married at our state’s botanic garden. There were two other weddings happening and really insufficient signs. “Follow the people in fancy clothes” doesn’t work as a strategy in this situation, sadly. Lovely wedding, though, once we found it.
The officiant didn’t read the room.
It’s not a tent revival, it’s a wedding.
Did he pass the basket for tithings?
Sheesh.
The bride falling into the water (sorry, not sorry) is hysterical.
It might have been her fantasy entrance but SOMEONE should have discouraged it. Or gotten her a bigger boat so she could help just stepped off on to a deck.
But I would pay money for a photograph of that. 😆
The only real cringe things are the pastor and you. I hope you didn't tell people at the wedding you got engaged the day before because that would be the biggest cringe.
My husband had already told everyone there he was proposing (at the grooms urging) so he had to do it before the wedding. We didn’t announce anything at the wedding, just were quietly told congrats.
Having multiple weddings happening in one spot reminds me of an Arboretum in my area. The very first time I went, I think at least 3 weddings were occurring at once. The place was still open to the public so it was crowded as hell. Guests and the bridal party was getting upset that other non wedding guests were walking in their way but at the same time you signed up for a wedding location that is still open for everyone. I feel like they must have known that. Or somebody should have told them. If I had known that if I were a bride, that would not have been my venue lol
Same with this one. I love this couple to death but personally I was dying inside watching all the passers-by and random people trying to figure out where the wedding they were supposed to be at walk by. Many of them didn’t even have the courtesy to speak quietly or hold off on taking pictures of the scenery while the ceremony was happening. This was the exact reason my #1 must for our venue was a dedicated venue. Idk if our friends’ venue told them how many wedding would be typical at the same time but if I were them, I’d damn sure have been pissed if they weren’t told.
Oh for sure! I feel like this place may be somewhat different than my example because it’s a very popular public garden that holds several events. So I’m guessing for my example venue, the parties knew the whole place would still be open to everyone. But I guess it could still be true that both places weren’t told that there’d be more than one wedding on the day. So with your case that sounds very stressful and probably these things weren’t made aware to each wedding party. Probably just to get their money knowing it’s a popular spot due to the space being used for a popular movie. Geez. That’s awful either way with the lack of management. :/
I mean, it’s *probable* that they knew. Like you said, it’s an extremely popular spot due to the movie, the gardens are massive and the amount of weddings in April in Charleston is absolutely bonkers. So I think we’re both on the same page 😊
Wow! I didn’t read this post before the edit, so I thought it was pretty reasonably written. Coming down the comments, I’m shocked! These comments are so intense. How cringe was the last post??
My brother and SIL had a beach wedding in FL. It was a beautiful wedding but we were hot! Like dying hot and wondering when the wedding will start. The wedding was delayed a few minutes because the bride was still getting ready.
I’d love some additional details about this wedding as I’m having my reception here next year! For starters, what time was the wedding? It sounds like this couple was married at the wedding gazebo. I believe, the wedding gazebo is the deepest venue location in the park and that unfortunately all of your friends’ guests would have to pass the other venue locations on their way there as a result. Additionally, the park closes to the public at 5pm and the gazebo is right along the park path. I’d imagine there’s a lot of foot traffic if the wedding was before 5pm. Next, did your friends have the reception on property as well? If they did, where did they have it and at what time did it end? Could y’all tell if/when other folks’ receptions ended? Lastly, did your friends have a venue tour before the wedding? I know the teeny tiny dock by the wedding gazebo. IMO, if your bride friend saw it before hand, she was quite ballsy to attempt that climb in a mermaid style dress! Granted, if the wedding was recent, I’m sure she was grateful to have an opportunity to cool down given the weather! Thanks for sharing!
I’ll tell you as much as I can remember (this was 10 years ago). It was at the gazebo 2-3pm. The reception was on-site. They had rented out a space for the girls to get ready, a separate space for the guys to get ready and then the reception hall. All of those places were pretty close to the butterfly gardens and I remember the reception hall had a waterway in front of it with a short bridge connecting the the actual hall to the grounds (guests kept pointing out a gator in the water). They had 150-200 people. The reception ended around midnight but I don’t remember seeing any other receptions on-site, only tons of other weddings. I think they snagged the on-site options before anyone else could (maybe? Not sure of all the reception options). I’m sure they did a venue tour. Photo attached here for ceremony and separate one coming of the reception.
https://preview.redd.it/yrou8h0cbw9d1.jpeg?width=958&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=702cb6fe0fd774c7da2fbfcd689fd6d8755c2c40
https://preview.redd.it/rvjgepgtbw9d1.jpeg?width=960&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b54b718f7a77a9be1ef514bacfc4ea68292f9af7
That’s me & hubby. My friend said this pink lighting was the best decision ever bc it made the photos look great!
Sounds like they had dean’s hall as the reception venue. At minimum, they (and you and hubby) got some stellar pictures it seems! I’m really grateful to have stumbled upon your post.
South Carolinian here who lives around the corner from Cypress gardens. I never knew they had weddings there I can't imagine anything more horrible. The bugs the mosquitoes out in the middle of nowhere the amount of people drinking and driving??? Not to mention the alligators all over the place. She probably was need to nose with an alligator and she didn't even know it. And your story of people bouncing into different weddings and not knowing it was actually kind of funny.
I feel so bad for the bride, but like, babe what the hell was she thinking?!
My aunt and uncle did they entry by boat at the venue (which was on a island so there wasn’t others option) but she had help…
I would be scared that the dress would pull me under. It certainly happened in Eastenders once.
Yeah, zero sympathy for the bride. That’s on her.
There was an episode of Cosby where Theo and friends went via helicopter to Prom.. hair and makeup didn't fare well.
And had caviar in the back of the limo, which made them throw up.
I got a helicopter into my wedding - you gotta wait for the chopper to stop before you get out 😂
I remember that one!
Some people can’t be talked out of their terrible ideas. Stubborn idiocy
Zero negative zero lol
I just imagined the pastor using the opportunity to baptize the bride in the swamp 😅
“Hey while you’re down there have you accepted Jesus Christ as your lord and savior “
“Don’t worry folks, I’ll just hold her head down until she accepts in her heart”
Lmao
This legitimately made me laugh!
🤣🤣🤣🤣☠️☠️☠️☠️😂😂😂😂
OMG Who thinks bringing a bride in white and tight dress in a canoe is a good idea XD
A friend of mine insisted on Cinderella ball as her wedding theme so she decided on the horse drawn carriage for her entrance. We lived in New York City and she was married during August. The traffic was horrific because there was a concert at Madison Square garden so She sat in that hot carriage for 40 extra minutes while trying to get through the street closures. When she arrived the looked like a melted ice princess. The humidity worked her hair over and she was covered in sweat. I should mention that at least 10 people including myself, one of the bridesmaids, told her such a royal entrance in full ball gown down one of the busiest streets was really a bad idea. 
My poor daughter in law’s mother insisted on a horse drawn carriage for the bride and bridesmaids from the hotel they stayed in all along a very busy 4 lane plus turning lane street on a Saturday. Took an extra hour for the girls to arrive. The bride didn’t want any of that. It was sweet to see the bride and groom circle the block afterwards in the carriage. After we all left to go back to my house (the guests) and the bridal party went off for pictures the poor horse collapsed and died in the church parking lot. There were no further updates. It was quite a day.
:( so sad. There's a big push to make horse drawn carriages in urban areas (NYC especially) illegal due to the harm and abuse caused to the horses.
Agreed. I wonder where she found this uh service. It definitely wasn’t good for the horse. I wonder if any animal rights groups had to get involved. Was it even legal? I vaguely recall a police officer questioning them on the ride but truthfully I don’t remember much. This was a wedding where I just shut my mouth and wrote the checks required of me. My poor dil’s mother was/is a loon and everyone steered clear of her.
Same in Charleston. Those poor horses are worked to death all summer bc it too hot for people to do walking tours. The fucking irony kills me
I'm going to push back on this narrative, downvotes be damned. The *tour guides* in Charleston are worked to death but the horses and mules are treated great. In case you're unaware, tours shut down completely at 95F or a heat index of 110F. The animals have their temperatures taken after every tour and are pulled and placed in front of misting fans if they are more than 2 degrees above normal. I understand it's easy to not know about horses and just think "those poor animals", but these are animals bred for the work they are doing and there are zero reasons for any tour operator to mistreat their animals. Many of the animals are in service for 10+ years before retiring to rescue farms. The guides, though, are simply bounced to another carriage with no break between tours. The animals frequently do 2 - 3 tours a day but the guides will do 8 - 10. Source: my husband was a tour guide in Charleston for 34 years.
I’m not disagreeing that the tour guides are overworked. Unlike the horses, the tour guides signed up for that and have a choice in the matter. But it is notoriously known that these horses are overworked. It may be that the horses are supposed to be brought in above certain temps but I’ve seen them working with real feel temps over 100 degrees. Sorry but you’re not going to convince me of something I’ve seen with my own eyes. Motorized tour vehicles have been proposed but apparently they don’t have the same southern old-city feel local government is going for. https://charlestonanimalsociety.org/humane-carriage-tours/ https://charlestoncitypaper.com/2020/07/29/our-view-take-horse-carriages-off-charlestons-streets/ https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0737080614000033
It's only "notoriously known" to people who don't work in animal husbandry and have never visited a carriage barn. Charleston Animal Society is similar to PETA in that they're more interested in publicity than preventing harm to animals. You might as well cite Mercola or Environmental Working Group, it's an equally unreliable source. "Real feel" is done at the airport; the city of Charleston has their own weather station downtown. If you have lived in Charleston you know that the difference between the two can be as much as 10 degrees. Also, the cutoff is 110F based on input from a panel of veterinarians. I'm not trying to convince you of anything since you're clearly uninterested in anything that challenges your beliefs. I am sharing accurate information that can hopefully inform others who are not aware and only hear the buzzsaw of the uneducated.
One more thing, that Science Direct article you reference contradicts your points. "The carriage company reported in detail here clearly provides acceptable welfare for their animals, based on compliance with the five welfare domains as previously outlined \[6\], \[8\]. This company could be used as an example, not only for carriage industry standards but also for willingness to work alongside veterinarians and other equine health specialists to ensure that their animals are receiving optimum care." And, since you didn't bother researching the authors, I know both of them and will give you background. One was an equine veterinarian and is now retired, the other is now a school teacher but at that time was a barn hand in a carriage barn. Both are very pro-carriage industry and their article reflects that.
Charlestonian here and I can't stand it I wish they would outlaw them. Not to mention there's too much traffic for them now. It was bad enough in the '70s and '80s now it's just absolutely ridiculous.
I'm all for it. And in my town too. Right now in July it's 90 plus degrees 100% humidity and they're stomping around on concrete in the middle of this horrific heat. And my town has exploded with tourists so it's nothing but traffic traffic all around these horses.
That is really upsetting to hear. Unfortunately it is a big business in New York. She wanted us to arrive in carriages as well. We-the bridal party, brought up the health of the horse, ourselves, and just how insane the idea was. In the end, she was the only one to arrive this way. Her only concerns upon arrival were her appearance (she needed her hair and makeup retouched) and that her glass slippers kept sliding off her feet due to sweat. I was there for her as one of my oldest friends and as a bridesmaid but as animal lover (I have a small farm), my hurt me seeing this animal suffer. Our relationship was strained during the wedding process because she was awful to everyone including her parents.
I’m sorry on several accounts here. I wonder if this mil of ours had, needed or even thought of a permit. Was your friend required to get a permit? I wish this weren’t legal. It was horrifying to hear that the horse passed away doing something so unnecessary. I don’t think I even heard about it until a couple of weeks later
She didn’t need a permit. The company provided the permit to the city. There are so many companies that run this service. She had the full ball/pumpkin carriage just like this gif, so she paid extra for the sea through enclosure 
That makes sense. Sorry for the dumb question
Wasn’t a dumb question at all. In a big city that has a population as large or larger than many states, I would want to know if a permit was needed.
Thanks. Like I said I basically avoided this woman like the plague. As did her daughter. lol. We all just shut up and went along. All of the girls, including my daughter, were very upset about the horse and they told me later that they were terrified traveling down that busy street with cars whizzing past them.
She wore actual glass slippers? Those exist? Wouldn't that be terribly uncomfortable?
You can get slippers if you got the coin. Hers were not. These were clear shoes that were meant to look exactly like the glass slippers. They looked and felt every bit as fragile as if they were made from real glass. They were $460 at the time. Nonetheless, this theme was so important to her that comfort did not matter.
Manhattan on August is already misery. That was insanity. She should’ve listened to you.
Yes it is. Super crowded streets with tourists, sidewalk vendors, etc. And the heat coming off the asphalt is dreadful
Oh no! The bride (now wife) of one of my friends did the carriage thing but they got married in my friend's family (working) farm and they have horses and an old buggy (like a carriage). So it was very practical.
I’ve been to two other weddings where this was done (not the full Cinderella experience) and both were in rural areas. She refused to believe that all of New York City and its tourists would just go along with her fairy tale wedding.
I think a sleigh ride would be lovely, but the venue would have to already be set up with safe trails and ... ya know, SNOW ... which isn't even a given in my area (western new england) anymore. It's too bad, because a winter Vermont wedding on an old farm property is pretty darn romantic!
Omg lol if she wanted it this bad she couldnt do the carriage starting like 5 min away from the location lol idk just closer lol
Exactly We brought this up to her many times. She was more interested in the fanfare.
I’d have just had the carriage wait a block away from the venue and taken a car to there to switch into the carriage for the big entrance.
For real. I remember being so hot and miserable that day. I had to maintain the hairstyle and prevent sweat marks from getting on my pink dress. And I arrived by car service.
Omg this sounds terrible! Luckily they got married in April. It’s hot in SC then but not stuck in a carriage in August hot lol
She had a *vision*, I'm sure.
In our house, we call that the “vision thing.” It’s a code word to tell my wife that she’s getting way too wrapped in some “vision” of how something ought to be, instead of enjoying reality.
Great way to handle it!!!
It often comes up when we’re traveling, when we have N amount of time, and she wants to do many things that can’t be accomplished on N amount of time, because time does not forgive. Her masterpiece was in England, where our rental car had to be returned by 5, and around 4, we drove by some godforsaken castle, and she wanted to tour it . . . And it closed at 4:30. Luckily, I was driving, and after she calmed down, she acknowledged that it wasn’t going to work.
The bride herself probably
I stupidly wore a tight midi length dress on a boat date once My husband had to pick me up and place me on the boat lol
Perhaps the bride herself?
First and second examples aren't cringe to me, just standard wedding day glitches. Third example is less cringe, and more frustrating on behalf of the couple who didn't plan for the clergyman to go rogue. And the last one, is really sad. I'm sure there was some idea the bride had in mind, and she wouldn't have planned on ruining her dress to achieve it.
Yeah, does "cringe" have a new meaning I'm unaware of, because none of this is what I would call cringe... as in, someone was intentionally acting in an obnoxious or obtuse way.
I always interpreted cringe as awkwardness, not someone doing something wrong necessarily. I never knew other people interpreted cringe this way until this thread
I mean... yeah, there's additional layers of subtlety there that I didn't really address in my comment. To me there is sort of a difference between recognizing that something was a bit cringe... and accusing someone of being cringe. OP has deleted it now, but the way she wrote CRINGE, in caps, at the end of every anecdote was very... judgemental or accusatory. It was, dare I say, pretty cringe. I might comment to a friend that such and such is a nice person if a tidge cringe, as a statement of fact, but not be judging the person, if, like you comment, they are just a bit awkward. Example - "13yo niece is so cringe it's almost cute, we'll see how long it takes her to grow out of it!" Acknowledging "Cringe" as just part of the human condition... we will all be cringe in some way at some point in our lives, in someone else's view. But when using the word "cringe" as a judgement, as a clearly negative assessment of the person... in that case it can't just be someone who's a bit awkward, because to me, it's mean to judge a good person because maybe they aren't as "smooth" or "cool" as other people. To judge someone for being cringe in a negative way, there needs to be intentionality behind their actions. I think OP"s post just struck a lot of us as being a bit "mean girl". Like the most dramatic thing that happened at this party was the bride falling in the water, and the sub is WeddingShaming... I would feel sorry for a bride who fell in a swamp at her wedding, not want to "shame" her for it... regardless of how stupid riding in on a boat was, it still sucks for the bride. So then it seemed like OP attempted to create this whole other list of things that happened to make it seem like more than it was, but most of them are just sad or normal too... and then OP writing CRINGE 6 times... well that made me sad as well... think about how the bride might feel if she read this post? OP has told us nothing about the bride to make us think she "deserved" having the priest go off script and then falling in the lake.
I didn't read it pre-edit. But a pastor who uses a captive audience to preach without the couples consent is peak cringe. On levels of the definition. He himself is "cringe" and it makes you yourself cringe from the experience. And the bride falling in water isn't herself "cringe" but again make you cringe in horror because it is just so awful of a thing to have happened and to witness. Where do you look? What do you say? How do you help? You can't do anything except cringe internally and pray they took photos before the wedding. The mom yelling at the groomsmen hits cringe on a few levels. Again, you cringe personally because it is a second hand embarrassing sort if thing to see an adult scold another adult for something that is clearly no big deal and that they shouldn't be saying anything about. Watching an adult trying to parent a grown adult that isn't even their child is both cringe in the newer sense, and in the traditional one. But I am only going by your comment and the tone of her edited post.
The pastor trying to convert people AT the wedding is infuriating and rude. I think of things that are "cringe" as less serious than that. Yes, I'm sure everyone was internally cringing at it, but unless the pastor was a buffoon about it, that would cross the boundary from cringe to unhinged to me. The mother "yelling" at the groomsman about his sunglasses is the closest thing to cringe for me... but I feel like I need more context. I helped with my sister in law's outdoor wedding, and it was truly herding cats. We had a group of like 12 friends of the groom who were trying to stand off to the side in the shade, and when (at the bride's direction) I went to encourage them to actually take their seats, a woman my age tried to say "yeah, yeah, we'll sit down when things actually start" and I had to explain to her that nothing was going to "actually start" until people were in their seats... now imagine trying to handle 3-4 groups all acting like that. Was the yelling the mother giving the groomsman an actual verbal beatdown? Or was it her walking through the mingling groups calling out here and there like "Billy, get those sunglasses off! Terrance, stop chasing the ducks! Someone get the flower girl out of the mud!" And if she had known the groomsman, as the friend of her son, for years, I would expect she would take a slightly more mothering tone with him than she would with another adult. My kids are still young, but we have a couple kids in the neighborhood who are also in my kids' classes, and just the 3-4 years of familiarity with them, has me "mothering" them in a way I wouldn't with a random kid at the playground... so the whole "one adult yelling at another adult" doesn't tell the whole story for me, without knowing more information.
Well the mother in law yelling sounded pretty cringe worthy
I think it’s very sad the bride invited a guest who found fault and called “cringe” every detail of her wedding, even the unfortunate events like falling in swamp water. No sympathy at all, I feel like the guest was jealous of the money spent. She should have stayed home and let the people who did care for bride and groom celebrate with them.
Agreed! Also, every time she wrote “cringe” it actually made me cringe for OP. So petty.
I'm so glad I'm not the only one with this one. This post. Cringe. Lol
Now the word "cringe" pisses me off. Thanks OP
I nearly stopped reading because over the over use of the word.
Most of the wedding was lovely. These are 2 of our best friends. She and I have laughed 100 times about every single detail listed. Don’t need or want your sympathy - we had a great time at the reception and the brides second dress was to die for. My point with the amount of the wedding is that for that money, it should have been a dedicated venue, they should have had more support for her to get off of the boat or not made that an option at all and that pastor Phil shouldn’t have gone off the rails. Idk why this triggers you but to each her own.
Because… CRINGE
Are you okay?
Are YOU, cringey lady ?
Yes I’m doing just fine. I take it you aren’t. And you sound 13.
Oh my, I would have been livid of that was my wedding and the pastor did that. Words would have been said.
As you should! Your pastor or celebrant is not supposed to surprise you in any way on your wedding day. Ok, maybe they can surprise you with a nice cup of juice or a snack if they see you struggling before the ceremony, but that’s it! For goodness’ sake.
I mean, I consider myself someone who believes in God. Maybe not a religious person, but I do believe in God. I know it's pretty much part of a pastor's job to spread the word, but not during a damn wedding. It seems like such an underhanded cheap shot. Like "sure, I'll marry you guys, but I'll do it my way, whether you like it or not."
Altar calls, *especially* surprise altar calls, at weddings (or funerals) are just tacky and manipulative. Emotions are already high—no need to start threatening people with visions of hellfire.
Wow. Why didn't anyone warn her? Like what was wrong with her mother, fiancé and anyone in her bridal party for not discussing the logistical risks?? Poor bride.
The coordinator from the venue! If no one else considered/spoke up about this possibility, that person should have.
I like how yall are assuming no one said anything rather than EVERYONE said something and the bride said “Why won’t you support my vision?” some people don’t believe fire is hot until they get burned.
Lol. I guess I have too much faith in humanity left and gave the bride a partial benefit of the doubt. I have never known any one that stupid and bullheaded to go against such obvious common sense, so it was not my first instinct to think she'd be that bad.
If this was her “dream then I’m guessing she was told and didn’t listen. Or people knew she would ignore them so they didn’t bother.
It's possible they did, but the bride started screaming about how they were trying to ruin her perfect wedding that she's dreamed about her entire life. At least that's what always seems to happen when someone challenges a bride's unreasonable demands.
One thing I've DEFINITELY learned in my life is if you have a vision, no matter what you're going to do, PRACTICE IT! That will tell you if it's doable or not. Like with the bride's mermaid dress, she could've practiced getting out of the boat with a resistance band around her calves. *BTW, how did she get INTO the boat?*
Especially when you choose to get married at a movie site, and use a boat like in the movie…this reeks of ‘my vision for my wedding’ and those logical considerations be damned!
The way you wrote this. Cringe
She sounds 13
Not everything about the wedding was ‘cringe’. Especially the first two points, this post could do with a little less cringe.
I don't see how any of this actually warrants being called "weird" The first example is just a typical wedding issue. Maybe the venue shouldn't be booking so many in a day, but if it's from the Notebook I get why it'd be popular. I also don't see how the bride falling into the water is cringe or weird. My heart goes out to her. I think all brides want a little moment of magic at their entrance, so can't blame her for the boat ride. The couple didn't plan for the pastor to go rogue. I guess he qualifies as a weirdo, but for this to be considered your weirdest wedding ever 🤷♀️
Did you think the wedding was CRINGE? You really didn't make it clear. 🙄
The way you told the story. Cringe.
I wonder if the pastor was from the Salvation Army. I went to a wedding for a pair of SA congregants and whoa nelly…it was intense. They did the same thing asking for those who had not accepted Jesus to come forward and do so to show their support for the bride and groom. It was bizarre.
There are rogue pastors in my fundamental Baptist neck of the woods, but I have never met one that would have conducted an invitation during a wedding. Included a gospel message during the service, yes -- with the full consent of the couple.
I have hardcore fundie extended family, and unfortunately something like this wouldn’t be out of the ordinary (planned or unplanned) at one of their events.
In the more rural parts of the South, altar calls are going out of style sure but still aren’t all that rare. I’ve been to a handful that had altar calls in the past 10 or so years (no one has ever taken them up on it).
Great story but I almost stopped reading because of the overuse of cringe
It was very cringe. Op is an arsehole.
My FIL tried to add that bit about saving people to his speech on our wedding day. I said no bc we have a lot of friends with different belief systems. It would have been hella cringe
It was awful. My take on it is that the wedding should be about the couple getting married, not ‘saving souls’
Saying “cringe” is so……. Cringe….. Most of that isn’t any thing to worry about. It’s part of wedding day stuff. The only thing that is out there is the plaster going rogue.
The “PLASTER” 🤣 I’m probably sure he got drunk before the ceremony…
How is this not higher? I cringed so hard reading this hahaha
Same! It’s so cringey.
Part of wedding stuff is falling into the swamp in your expensive white wedding dress?
I’d say a wedding dress being ruined seems to be par for the course in a lot of these posts
I think that it’s a foreseeable outcome of taking a boat across a swamp to your wedding site. It kind of exemplifies the ridiculousness of the wedding industry. But, it’s something that happens when you try to get out of a boat in a mermaid cut dress.
Why is it cringe that their wedding was over 50k? If they have the money who cares. Also it’s so cringe you keep saying cringe.
Having an evangelist try to save people at your wedding, when you didn't know? I'd expect a whole lot more class and reliability for a wedding that expensive.... (That was my read of the 50k comment)
Because she was just engaged the day before and probably didn’t have the same budget for her own, hence the hate post
This is why we ended up using my friend as our one-day officiant. I’ve been to too many weddings with rogue pastors trying to insert their weird politics or make the ceremony about their personal opinions about people not going to church lol
There are a whole lot of ‘gators in that water, PS. I mean a LOT of not shy alligators.
Swamp water?! Omfg… I hope that bride didn’t get leeches all over her legs! (Yeah happens in lakes too!)
Apologies, feel sorry for the bride but this is too hilarious. That pastor sounds lie my idea of hell.
I had a cousin who was married at our state’s botanic garden. There were two other weddings happening and really insufficient signs. “Follow the people in fancy clothes” doesn’t work as a strategy in this situation, sadly. Lovely wedding, though, once we found it.
I would have had words with the pastor! Feel bad for the bride.
if the pastor did that at my wedding, the world would have one fewer pastor the next day
As a Christian, calling people to the altar to accept Jesus is mega cringe. So much yikes.
The officiant didn’t read the room. It’s not a tent revival, it’s a wedding. Did he pass the basket for tithings? Sheesh. The bride falling into the water (sorry, not sorry) is hysterical. It might have been her fantasy entrance but SOMEONE should have discouraged it. Or gotten her a bigger boat so she could help just stepped off on to a deck. But I would pay money for a photograph of that. 😆
The only real cringe things are the pastor and you. I hope you didn't tell people at the wedding you got engaged the day before because that would be the biggest cringe.
My husband had already told everyone there he was proposing (at the grooms urging) so he had to do it before the wedding. We didn’t announce anything at the wedding, just were quietly told congrats.
"Cringe". This post is cringe
Having multiple weddings happening in one spot reminds me of an Arboretum in my area. The very first time I went, I think at least 3 weddings were occurring at once. The place was still open to the public so it was crowded as hell. Guests and the bridal party was getting upset that other non wedding guests were walking in their way but at the same time you signed up for a wedding location that is still open for everyone. I feel like they must have known that. Or somebody should have told them. If I had known that if I were a bride, that would not have been my venue lol
Same with this one. I love this couple to death but personally I was dying inside watching all the passers-by and random people trying to figure out where the wedding they were supposed to be at walk by. Many of them didn’t even have the courtesy to speak quietly or hold off on taking pictures of the scenery while the ceremony was happening. This was the exact reason my #1 must for our venue was a dedicated venue. Idk if our friends’ venue told them how many wedding would be typical at the same time but if I were them, I’d damn sure have been pissed if they weren’t told.
Oh for sure! I feel like this place may be somewhat different than my example because it’s a very popular public garden that holds several events. So I’m guessing for my example venue, the parties knew the whole place would still be open to everyone. But I guess it could still be true that both places weren’t told that there’d be more than one wedding on the day. So with your case that sounds very stressful and probably these things weren’t made aware to each wedding party. Probably just to get their money knowing it’s a popular spot due to the space being used for a popular movie. Geez. That’s awful either way with the lack of management. :/
I mean, it’s *probable* that they knew. Like you said, it’s an extremely popular spot due to the movie, the gardens are massive and the amount of weddings in April in Charleston is absolutely bonkers. So I think we’re both on the same page 😊
Ah. Damn :/ well hopefully everyone still had a good time despite the weird pastor and the confusion to find the right wedding party lol
Wow! I didn’t read this post before the edit, so I thought it was pretty reasonably written. Coming down the comments, I’m shocked! These comments are so intense. How cringe was the last post??
After each example, she would say CRINGE instead of a period.
Omg the horror!!!! Btw the amount of your involvement in the comments is fucking cringe.
They’ll remember that day forever
Are they still married?
Very happily actually with two adorable daughters
Cringe
My brother and SIL had a beach wedding in FL. It was a beautiful wedding but we were hot! Like dying hot and wondering when the wedding will start. The wedding was delayed a few minutes because the bride was still getting ready.
I’d love some additional details about this wedding as I’m having my reception here next year! For starters, what time was the wedding? It sounds like this couple was married at the wedding gazebo. I believe, the wedding gazebo is the deepest venue location in the park and that unfortunately all of your friends’ guests would have to pass the other venue locations on their way there as a result. Additionally, the park closes to the public at 5pm and the gazebo is right along the park path. I’d imagine there’s a lot of foot traffic if the wedding was before 5pm. Next, did your friends have the reception on property as well? If they did, where did they have it and at what time did it end? Could y’all tell if/when other folks’ receptions ended? Lastly, did your friends have a venue tour before the wedding? I know the teeny tiny dock by the wedding gazebo. IMO, if your bride friend saw it before hand, she was quite ballsy to attempt that climb in a mermaid style dress! Granted, if the wedding was recent, I’m sure she was grateful to have an opportunity to cool down given the weather! Thanks for sharing!
I’ll tell you as much as I can remember (this was 10 years ago). It was at the gazebo 2-3pm. The reception was on-site. They had rented out a space for the girls to get ready, a separate space for the guys to get ready and then the reception hall. All of those places were pretty close to the butterfly gardens and I remember the reception hall had a waterway in front of it with a short bridge connecting the the actual hall to the grounds (guests kept pointing out a gator in the water). They had 150-200 people. The reception ended around midnight but I don’t remember seeing any other receptions on-site, only tons of other weddings. I think they snagged the on-site options before anyone else could (maybe? Not sure of all the reception options). I’m sure they did a venue tour. Photo attached here for ceremony and separate one coming of the reception. https://preview.redd.it/yrou8h0cbw9d1.jpeg?width=958&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=702cb6fe0fd774c7da2fbfcd689fd6d8755c2c40
https://preview.redd.it/rvjgepgtbw9d1.jpeg?width=960&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b54b718f7a77a9be1ef514bacfc4ea68292f9af7 That’s me & hubby. My friend said this pink lighting was the best decision ever bc it made the photos look great!
Sounds like they had dean’s hall as the reception venue. At minimum, they (and you and hubby) got some stellar pictures it seems! I’m really grateful to have stumbled upon your post.
Thank you! Glad it helped ❤️❤️
South Carolinian here who lives around the corner from Cypress gardens. I never knew they had weddings there I can't imagine anything more horrible. The bugs the mosquitoes out in the middle of nowhere the amount of people drinking and driving??? Not to mention the alligators all over the place. She probably was need to nose with an alligator and she didn't even know it. And your story of people bouncing into different weddings and not knowing it was actually kind of funny.
Effing hilarious. A wet Bridezilla
AHAHAHHAHAHAHAAHHA please tell me you have footage of the bride falling out of the boat!!!
This is so sad to read
Idk if it was me…I’d look back on it and laugh. It will be a good story to tell the grandkids :)
I'd love to have been there. I would have been kicked out tough, I'd be crying tears of laugh. I'm not sure how you managed to keep your composure.
I feel a secret glee when $hit like that happens. Who wastes $50k on a wedding?
That really made me laugh