Just got home...

...from absolutely the worst wedding reception I have ever attended! I cannot believe that this couple paid $85 a head for this. Words almost fail me, and as we all know, that's a rarity. The A/C was not working correctly. This is Florida. It was about 1000 degrees in there. The food was beyond lousy. They ran out of salads, so when my escort and I inquired about getting one, they must have taken one salad an split it in 2. The main course was steak and chicken. My steak was so overdone and try I could have shod a horse with it. The service was beyond slow. The music was awful. For some reason I was at the table that got served last, and when they got around to the wedding cake, they "ran out" before our table was served. I don't think I have ever been to a wedding where the bride and groom didn't go around to each of the tables and greet their guests. Suffice it to say, I was very glad to get out of there.

Venting done.

That sounds awful!!!!!! There is nothing worse than an overcooked steak...I'd rather have hamburger than a tough steak. Uggggh.

I can see why you were glad to get out of there...that had to be horribly hot!!! And they ran out of cake? It doesn't sound like it was a very good time!!!!!!

Sounds like a horrible reception I bet you were glad to get out of there!
Our reception was ok when we had it except for 1 MAJOR thing: I couldnt drink alcohol, because I was only 20! Get this: my mother had me wear my wedding gown so people could see it on me ( we married in Vegas..... small wedding at the NYNY hotel/casino and had the reception a week later).... So, I had it on..... got a drink..... About 20 minutes later, I return in jeans and a belly shirt, and the guy wouldnt serve me because I was under 21! You are probably thinking.... jeans, belly shirT? We decided we wanted a casual reception.... we even put that on the invitations....... Of course, everyone showed up in suits & dresses! They cleaned up the dinner part fairly quickly, too..... Oh, and we had a hotel room reserved for us. When we got there prior to the reception, they had left a bottle of champaign in our room ....... the stupid management took it out after they found out how old I was!

Thats so ridiculous that they didn't even serve you at your own reception b/c you weren't 21. I would have been furious! I mean, you only get married once (some people) and it is a special day that you want to remember. I'm only 19 and I got married when I was 18, but we just got married by a justice of the peace. If I had had a reception, I would have wanted them to serve me on my wedding day (although I don't even drink anyways). Enough babbling about me. Deb-that must be so annoying to attend a wedding that was that horrible. I bet the bride and groom must have felt so horrible and embarrassed. I mean, how do you run out of food at a wedding? Obviously, they must have invited too many people for the amount of food that they ordered. I bet you were glad to get the heck out of there!

When my sister-in-law and brother got married, she was only 20, as were most of her friends. I don't remember there being a problem with them being served alcohol. I know none of the "grown-ups" stopped them, I guess it just wasn't an issue for the bartenders.

Deb-sorry that you had such a bad time. I've been to one bad reception, and it felt endless.

Sounds awful! What a way to start a marriage. As for the couple not greeting people - they need a course from Miss Manners.

Deb--I think that's horrible that they bride & groom didn't go around and say hi to everyone! Was it a big reception?

about our reception: my parents did nothing about it.... in fact, I was crying because it poe'd me so bad...... My mother-in-law talked to the manager and the she said it "is like serving a joint to a minor" Oh well....... we ended up having my dad's friend and my husband's brother get me alcohol! I just didnt understand that because in Vegas it was different. We had a dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe the night before the wedding, and I decided to try and order an alcoholic beverage, but the waitress said no..... but, she did say since my husband-to-be was over 21, he could order for me, which I thought was cool! I guess it just depends on the person!

I'll bet the newlweds at the Deb25 wedding were too humiliated to go around to the tables. I think they would be justified in suing the caterers. They spent a fortune! Every table of 8 could have been a major appliance or piece of furniture. I feel sorry for them. They wanted to show their friends and family a good time. That's disgraceful! And no air conditioning? In Florida? Get thee to Judge Judy!

Humiliated?!? No, I think not. They were having no trouble taking up dance floor time with little "prerearranged routines" they had going. Let's see....first it was the groom and his softball buddies in some dance number, next the bride and her sorority sisters in a production. if i knew I was going to the theater, I would have brought popcorn. The endless reminders from the "DJ" to sign the guestbook and sign a huge framed copy of their engagement picture. I swear, the waiters poured the champagne for the best man's toast the minute we walked in, and the guy didn't get up to give the thing for another hour and a half. Meanwhile, the champagne was warm, and the florettes of butter for the nonexistent bread were puddles on the plates. Sad thing is that they had a huge dance floor, which is a rarity, and by the time it was opened up for the guests' enjoyment, many were sick of waiting and had fled. I guess I'm a little 'old school'. I realized that the bride and groom want all their photo opps and everything, but I was raised that you were throwing the party for the enjoyment of your guests. I remember that at my own reception, I scarcely had time to eat, because I wanted to be sure that I had greeted my guests and thanked them for coming. We had brought, as our gift, a card with money. I felt it inappropriate to simply leave it on the gift table, as those things have a way of disappearing. I assured my date that we could hand it to the bride when she came around. Since that was never to occur, we finally had to put in an appearance at the head table and beg for an audience with the queen. All in all, you can be angry at the reception place for failing to live up to its obligations, but in my book, there is absolutely no excuse for being rude.

Rant and rave, part 2, done.

Sounds like they really didn't care or even notice that their guests weren't having a good time. How rude!!!! I would have just kept my money!

sorry to hear about your bad experience. At least it was not your wedding. As a wedding photographer (among other things) I have attended much more than my share of weddings and they were all very nice. For a wedding such as you have discribed $85 a head is not exceptionally high but it should have been adequate for a nice event.
Better luck next time...did you let the mother of the bride know (in a nice way) your feelings. The bride probably is so far out of it that she may not be noticing much. Venting is good much better than keeping it bottled up. don

I'm a soon-to-be Wedding Videographer and I hear horror stories about bad receptions all the time on a video forum I belong to. Alot of the video guys/gals just go with the flow and shoot what is happening. Some of the brides/grooms cannot believe some of the footage, i.e. "We did THAT??"

I think it is written that you must endure a bad wedding reception at least once. I've been lucky I haven't been to one...YET! The closet I came to a bad reception was when I went to my friends with 103 temperture after being at my Grandparents 50th Anniversary.

At my last wedding, the photographer didn't show up, at all. We lived in a very small town and I saw him the day before and reminded him. If not for all of my friends, who were there with cameras, we wouldn't have had any pictures.

Of course, now I've got all of those pictures and the video tape packed away.