It’s true. Sometimes we put too much faith in the belief that adults will act like adults. We don’t take into consideration heartbreaks, family fights, or general personality disorders.
We had a gorgeous bride and a doting groom. It was a wintertime wedding with sparkly things everywhere. The bride was wrapped in a beautiful faux fur shrug and looked like a million bucks. Her groom couldn’t keep his eyes off his beautiful bride. The photographer was trying to capture all this love and beauty to be cherished forever by setting up a family picture.
It was a medium-sized group and the photographer was doing her level best to get everyone in the frame. She moved and adjusted and got everyone where they needed to be. She then invited the groom’s dad to remove his Blu-Blocker sunglasses and his Bluetooth for the picture. He said no. Then the bride (very gently) asked him please remove it just for the picture. That’s when the earth cracked…
The groom’s dad called the bride some very inappropriate and somewhat colorful names because of her request. The groom quickly told his father not to speak to his wife that way. And almost immediately, the groomsmen grabbed him by his short hairs and dragged him to the gate.
My staff and the couples’ guests were stunned for what seemed like a few minutes, but I’m sure it was only seconds. As the venue owner, I was glad that someone else was taking care of removing him – I didn’t want to worry about him for the rest of the evening. But one of my staff members – having a cooler head than mine – followed them out and removed the groomsmen from his neck. She explained life to him as best as she could and asked him to rethink his departure. She also put him on notice that if he acted up again that the police would be his next escort off the property.
(Side note – his Bluetooth had dialed my desk phone in the melee and my voice mail had recorded the entire incident.)
The groom’s dad sat very quietly and obediently at his table for the rest of the evening. Not sure if he was embarrassed or scared. Either way – he wasn’t invited into any more photos and I don’t believe he danced with the bride.
Note to self: Some things you just can’t take back, no matter if you felt justified at the time. Wedding days should be off-limits for outbursts. If you can’t act like an adult, get a babysitter.
