Research has shown that contempt is the top predictor of divorce, but perhaps the (un)happy couple should simply ask their wedding guests for honest feedback if they really want to know what's in the cards.
A recent Reddit post which asked, "What happened at a wedding that let you know the marriage was going to end in a divorce?" sparked nearly 12,000 comments, as former wedding guests weighed in on the red flags they had witnessed at receptions. Then, Daily Mail covered the thread, drawing even more comments from its own readers.
Here are some of the earliest indicators of a future trip to divorce court, according to comments:
1. Empty promises: "During the vows they had written for each other, the bride starts with, 'I know I can be a pretty terrible person, and I don't know why you've stuck around, but that's all going to change starting today!' They were divorced a year later."
2. Stubborn standoff: "We knew the couple was in trouble when they frowned during most of the ceremony and later didn't go on a honeymoon because they couldn't agree on a destination. They had plenty of money—just no desire to compromise."
3. Match maid: "The groom said in his speech, 'When I joined a dating agency I never thought I'd be so lucky as to find my own personal cook, dishwasher, and washing machine.'
4. Junk mail: "I was a wedding planner, and [one of the brides] went through all of the invites and threw away [the groom's] family's invites, but left his parents. When the wedding day came, he walked in, looked around, saw his mother, who then told him no one else was invited. [The couple] had a huge argument, there and then at the aisle. Needless to say, the wedding didn't go through."
5. Wedded diss: "The father of the bride at my best friend's wedding told him, 'She's just like her mother. I don't know how you're doing this.' They got divorced less than a year later."
6. Meddling mother-in-law: "The groom looked drunk and the bride seemed incredibly angry. There was this woman walking around during the reception placing bets on when they would divorce. I later found out she was the mother of the groom."
7. Major misnomer: "My now ex called me by his ex-wife's name on our wedding night. The next day his father called me "Catherine." My name is Julie."
8. Honest vows: "The bride had the minister put 'Til death, or divorce, do us part' into the ceremony."
9. Twisted logic: "At the end of the reception the guys are sitting at a table away from everyone else talking and we ask the groom why he proposed. His answer? 'Because she was naked.' The marriage lasted about a year and a half."
10. Tell-tale giggles: "During the ceremony when the priest started asking the bride "Do you take this man to be your...", she started laughing uncontrollably and couldn't stop. Is was cute for about 10 seconds and then things got uncomfortable. They lasted a year and change."
11. Self-sabotage: "The bride told us, as she was going from table to table thanking the guests, that she didn't think it would last. They lasted about a year."
12. Cold shoulder: "She flinched when he turned to kiss her. They were divorced within six months."
13. Sibling rivalry: "During the groom's speech at the wedding, he told us that he was first attracted to his wife's sister.
