Your wedding should be the happiest day of your life, but, according to one professional bridesmaid, there are quite a few warning signs to look out for to see if your marriage will stay the course.
Tiffany Wright charges $132-a-day for her services – which including helping the bride cope with family dramas, writing speeches and even picking out the wedding dress.
The 34-year-old reckons she’s seen enough nuptials to judge which marriages could end in divorce – but pressure from family and society mean many couples still go ahead with the wedding.
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Speaking to the Sun Online, Tiffany said: “In today’s society, weddings are a huge thing.
“In the social media age, having the ‘best wedding ever’ is now a prerequisite for getting married, so just imagine the stress that also brings if the bride suddenly has doubts.
“Calling off a wedding has a lot of negative effects – family disappointment, gossip as to why it ended, financial strain.
“I think some brides just get to the stage where they have spent/planned so much that it’s just easier to go through with it than call the whole thing off!”
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Tiffany has her own website, The Undercover Bridesmaid, and YouTube channel. These are her red flags:
1. Cracking under the pressure
Wedding planning is always stressful, but it’s how the couple deal with the stress which speaks volumes.
Tiffany told Net Mums: “Sometimes I see couples really collapse under the pressure.
“When you have a couple who really want different things for their wedding… this can suggest that they are both on different playing fields.”
2. Being apart a lot on the big day
You’d normally expect a bride and groom to be joined at the hip on their big day.
If they’re spending a lot of time with their bridesmaids and groomsmen instead, it could be because there’s trouble in paradise.
Tiffany told us: “It’s the simple, intimate gestures like a kiss on the head when they think no one is looking, or the desire to hold hands all the time that shows there is a real connection.
“Sure, kissing and hugging when the photographer demands a photo is all good and well.
“But if that’s the only time the couple are being romantically intimate then it might hint that in ‘real life’ (away from the camera) they are not as happy as they outwardly appear.”
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3. When the groom forgets to mention his bride in his speech
According to Tiffany, this happens more often than you think.
She’s even seen speeches where the groom spoke about how gorgeous the bridesmaids look, but forgot to mention his wife at all.
She added to Net Mums: “If your groom mentions yours (or even worse HIS!) ex during the speech, it suggests there may be underlying issues or jealousy that hasn’t been dealt with.”
4. When the father of the bride gives a cliché speech
If it sounds like the best man or father of the bride has Googled a classic wedding speech, then he probably has. And this is not a good sign as it shows there’s not much of a personal connection there.
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5. How they cut the cake
Tiffany joked: “Sure, it’s sweet to feed each other a piece of the cake tenderly, or smear a bit of icing on the tip of your partner’s nose.
“But I have witnessed times when one member of the couple will go full throttle and literally slam a piece of cake in their partner’s face.”
6. Family tensions
Tiffany explained: “I recently attended a wedding where the groom and bride’s brother got into a huge fight (punches were thrown) and the two different sides of the family had to be kept away from each other.
“This doesn’t bode well for the future of the bride and groom’s relationship if their families just can’t stand each other!”