Two newlyweds have been slammed for demanding guests stand in the middle of a river for their nuptials - and refusing to start the ceremony until everyone complied.
Although it's unclear why the couple chose the unusual venue, it clearly meant a lot to the pair, who halted the wedding while they waited for guests to wade through the water.
However, they didn't feel the need to inform everyone about the location in advance - leading to an argument on the big day.
As one shocked guest explained in a post to Reddit, she knew nothing of the plans despite sharing a close connection to the groom and the bride, their sister-in-law.
So you can imagine the guest's shock when they learned the couple and the officiant were to stand on "a little strip of land so they were not wet," while "all attendees were expected to stand in knee-deep rushing water for the whole ceremony."
Meanwhile, "the kids who couldn't easily stand in water that might be as tall as their whole body were left in ankle-deep water nearby" with supervising adults.
But the guest did not wish to stand in the river and refused to enter. "I'm sure it made for great photos, but I personally really dislike mud, germs, insects, and whatever diseases are found in that stream," they explained.
"Apparently most people there knew about the water thing, but I didn't. My husband claims he "forgot to tell me," the guest added.
Unfortunately, the couple did not respond to the news well.
Explaining the argument that ensued, they continued: "The ceremony could have easily moved forward with me standing on the shore, just a few feet away from the kids, but nooooo. The bride and groom apparently refused to start until every person was in the water, and my husband waded in the water back and forth between his sister and me to mediate - my husband was becoming visibly angry at me the longer it went on and kept acting like I was in the wrong.
"The bride and groom eventually relented and the ceremony went on, delayed by maybe 30 mins - in the after-party, I felt that I was being avoided by everyone else, including my husband."
Understandably, social media users were shocked, and the now-deleted Reddit post sparked an outcry when it was shared on Twitter.
One viral post shared by @baddestmamajama included a screenshot of the post, accompanied by the caption: "Wedding culture has gotten insane and should be studied as a symptom of societal collapse." It received over three million views and 30,000 likes.
One viewer agreed: "I've said it before on here and I'll never stop saying it: weddings bring out immature people's demons. Every narcissist tendency, unrequited power fantasy, control issues - all that stuff will be on FULL display." Another replied: "I would have just left. taken the car and gone."
But someone else claimed: "This has nothing to do with 'Wedding culture' normal people aren't demanding their guests stand in water."
Elsewhere, a different commenter warned: "I'm going to tell you as someone from river and lake-country: ankle/calf-deep water can EASILY sweep you off your feet. ESPECIALLY a child. This is not a cute little fun idea. It's f*****g dangerous."
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