A wedding is supposed to be a happy and joyous occasion, where two people stand before their loved ones and vow to stay together through thick and thin.
But something that can often cause tension and awkwardness within a wedding party is the much-anticipated speeches, in which it's common to make a sly dig or two about a couple's relationship.
And one bride-to-be was left horrified after her brother-in-law made a risky speech at their rehearsal dinner, unveiling a secret about her past that she thought would "ruin" her marriage before it had even begun properly.
The Mirror reports that she was described as 'the one that got away' in the awkward speech, alluding to the brief fling she'd shared with her brother-in-law before dating her husband.
Taking to Reddit, she wrote: "I met my husband through his brother (Chris) who I had a crush on in college. I never was clingy or never acted on my feelings and I never really allowed myself to get too close to him because I knew that my feelings weren't reciprocated.
"Chris knew however I had a crush on him or at least he felt it. He would always say that I was 'girlfriend material' and that he wouldn't want to lead me on. He wanted to have fun before that. He would say this to others but even once to me.
"On two occasions he would text me that he had feelings for me, only to apologise later and retract his words but on Christmas four years ago he texted me that he was in love with me and wanted to take me out on a date. He said he was done playing around and wanted a relationship."
One New Year's Eve, she had invited Chris and his brother to a party, and she said she had "got to know" the man who would eventually become her husband.
"He was shy and hated attention and he was just the best and soon after he asked me on a date. We are married now. Our wedding was last Wednesday", she shared.
"I want to make two things clear. I never went beyond a crush on Chris and only after I fell for my husband that I understood what love is. He is everything to me and I love him more than anything. I never told anyone about my crush and when I met my husband I didn't tell him either. Chris wasn't happy I was seeing his brother and he's been cold towards me since. Even when it got serious between my husband and I."
Things got even more awkward when Chris revealed all of this in his rehearsal dinner speech, causing great upset to his brother and the bride.
She continued: "Chris held a speech at our rehearsal dinner and he basically outed everything and ended with how he regretted not asking me out sooner and how he will always regret it.
"It was very awkward afterward and nobody talked, and on our wedding day my husband did everything to act normal and he made sure everything was as planned but I could feel that he was hurt and angry.
"After the party, he asked me if I loved Chris and if I dated him for that reason. I started crying because it was absolutely not true. We started dating and became friends and I made sure it was him I wanted before committing and I never loved anyone like I love my husband."
The woman claimed that her husband is now so upset that he "barely talks to her" and people in the thread's comments were equally as baffled as to why his brother had thought to bring everything up in his speech.
One wrote: "Your husband's brother is a massive a**hole. Totally trying to sabotage your wedding day by some pathetic last effort to what? Share his clearly not reciprocated feelings on the eve of your wedding lol cmon brother in law….What a total d****ebag.
"I think your husband will get over it. Probably won't want you two spending one on one time (I think that has more to do with feelings towards his brother that are justified).
"Give it time. You did nothing wrong here. How would you ever know that a crush that literally barely got vocalised would turn to this? Your husband's brother just sucks."
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - sign up to our daily newsletter here.
