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Here comes the bride – and she’s right on time.
Time is of the essence, especially on a wedding day, inspiring one newlywed to take to Reddit to poll users as to whether or not she’s in the wrong for starting her ceremony exactly on time, though her parents were mysteriously absent at the start of the service.
The bride’s parents ultimately arrived 15 minutes late and missed the entire ceremony, as they had been in a minor car accident while traveling to the venue and did not have a cell phone to spread the news.
Now, the woman says she feels “frustrated” that her folks didn’t make more of an effort to arrive when they were supposed to, while her parents are “furious” with her for not waiting for them.
Time is of the essence, especially on a wedding day, inspiring one newlywed to take to Reddit to poll users as to whether or not she’s in the wrong for starting her ceremony exactly on time, though her parents were mysteriously absent from the start of the service. (iStock)
Though most Redditors agreed that she shouldn’t regret having the nuptials start on schedule, others argued the woman’s choice deeply “hurt” her parents, as their late arrival was in no way intentional.
The bride, Reddit user Lateparents, shared her story Wednesday in a post that has since gone viral with over 30,400 upvotes and 4,700 comments.
Lateparents began by explaining that the only fly in the honey of her “absolutely amazing” Nov. 16 wedding was the fact that her parents arrived late.
“They knew the ceremony time, and my husband and I made it very clear to everyone, both in the invites and in person, that we were going to start exactly at that time,” the author said. “The venue cost us a lot of money (we paid for the entire wedding ourselves) and we were only able to use it for a limited amount of time, so we wanted to make every minute count.”
On the big day, 30 minutes before showtime, Lateparent’s folks still had not shown up.
“My husband and I both called them multiple times but nobody answered," the bride explained. "We waited and waited, and still heard nothing. Finally, the start time arrived and my parents still weren't there."
The wedding coordinator asked the distraught bride how she wanted to proceed – and she elected to start on schedule.
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“All of our other guests were already there, and we wanted to be considerate of their time,” Lateparents noted.
Fifteen minutes later, the bride’s folks walked in. But the entire ceremony was over.
When a bride's parents finally arrived at the wedding--15 minutes after the ceremony began--it was over. (iStock)
“It turns out they did leave early but got rear-ended at a traffic light and had to deal with insurance, police, etc. They only have a landline, no cellphones, so they couldn't get in touch with me,” Lateparents wrote. “Obviously there's no way I could have known this.
“I'm still frustrated with them for not making more of an effort to get to the venue early, and they're furious at me for not delaying the wedding 15 minutes so they could be there,” she concluded, soliciting advice.
Opinionated commenters, meanwhile, had a whole lot to say about the situation, with many assuring the newlywed that she did the right thing.
“You’re not [a jerk] for starting on time, you had no idea how late they would be,” one advised.
“Yes your parents should get cellphones and it would have helped your timing of the event. Yes they will be upset that they missed potentially one of the biggest moments in your life,” the Redditor continued, insisting that neither the bride nor her parents were in the wrong.
“Throwing off the schedule can be a big deal,” another agreed. “DJs and catering, photography, the whole schedule can be thrown into chaos if a ceremony delay occurs.” (iStock)
Another commenter said: “You did your best and had to work with your limitations (venue costs, rental times, etc.), and they had an unforeseen accident. Sure, it'd be nice if they had a cellphone, but not everyone does. In the era before cell phones this sort of thing happens all the time."
And yet another said: “Throwing off the schedule can be a big deal. DJs and catering, photography, the whole schedule can be thrown into chaos if a ceremony delay occurs.”
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Other users, meanwhile, wondered why the woman’s parents would be cutting the timing so close on their child’s special day in the first place.
“Honestly though, who plans to show up exactly when the ceremony is supposed to start? Every wedding I have been to people arrived an hour or so prior to the ceremony,” a commenter wondered.
“EVEN if the parents aren't in the wedding, they are [rude] for not getting there SUPER early for their daughter’s wedding to help her and be there for moral support,” one argued.
“It turns out they did leave early but got rear-ended at a traffic light... They only have a landline, no cellphones, so they couldn't get in touch with me. Obviously there's no way I could have known this.”
Critics of the author, on the other hand, were merciless in their censure.
“I don't understand why she is still mad at her parents for being late once she knew what happened. They left home early but got into a car crash. What did the [bride] want them to do?” one charged.
“Agreed. [The author] has no legitimate reason for being upset with her parents in my eyes,” another said. “I would completely understand and just be happy it was a minor crash and that they are still alive. It could have been much worse. Just be grateful they're OK and you're married.”
“They were in a car accident. I was a passenger in a car accident once that took almost 2 hours to wrap up before we were on our way again,” one shared. “Although I will say that most of the time the parents are already there first thing in the morning helping get the bride prepared and all.”
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Though it was Lateparents’ wedding day, one user blasted the author for not being more worried about what could have happened to her loved ones when their whereabouts were unknown.
“If they don’t show after that long something was clearly wrong. You didn’t have time to send literally anyone down the route the drove or even to their home to check?” they asked in a comment that was liked over 700 times.
“I’ll say [you are the jerk] because you could have at least waited a few minutes (they are your parents) and if they were much later then start. But they didn’t know they’d be late, they obviously didn’t plan it and then they missed their kid’s wedding. That hurts,” they continued. “I feel like they felt bad enough about PLUS they were in an accident. A little slack here was probably due.”
An outlier, meanwhile, was bewildered by why the bride’s parents wouldn’t have borrowed a cell phone for the big day, in the event of an emergency just like this one.
“They didn't bother to borrow a phone from anyone, on one of the most important days of their child's life, and then they had the brass to get mad at [their daughter] for not just waiting indefinitely for them?” they speculated.
Another concluded that there simply had to be “more” to this family’s story.
“Yeah and the way that [the author] specifically mentioned that they paid for their own wedding kind of gives me the feeling that there is more to this story,” another chimed in. “It's possible that OP already felt short-handed, expecting more from their parents in general.”
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