Few people get more access to a wedding than the official photographer for the day.
They'll most likely get to know the bride and groom relatively well ahead of and on then big day, and they have a responsibility to make sure everyone is looking as dashing and lovely as possible when it comes to the images that will circulate after the event.
As such, it would be fair to say that wedding photographers get to see a fair bit behind the scenes, and, after years of practice, have quite a good sense of how well the couple are going to fare after the glitz and glamour of the wedding day is over.
Here, then, are the moments that these photographers and Reddit users knew a marriage was doomed.
1. When there's no connection
"We are looking specifically for moments of contact, of intimacy, of emotional connection. It pretty quickly becomes evident when those things are there, and when they are not."
2. The groom's confession
"I went to the bathroom at one [wedding] and the husband was washing his hands next to me and I made some compliment about how things had come together and joked that it must be a good sign for the future.
"He, in a very very apathetic tone said, ’Well, we’ll see how we do’ and walked out."
3. You may now kiss the groom... Or not
"So he poses a kissing shot of the couple, and when he asks them to kiss the bride goes ’oh, no, no thank you’ in this weird little mousey voice."
4. When the bride is unhappy, and the groom... is not
"One couple worried me, because the bride was a tense wreck during the whole ceremony and reception to the point that I didn’t get many useable pictures of her because she looked so stressed out and unhappy,"
"Meanwhile the groom was with his friends having a great time, but not helping her with anything or responding at all to her panic."
5. There's a difference between a wedding and a marriage
"Many couples, particularly young couples, pretty clearly have in mind a wedding but have put little thought and planning into a marriage."
6. The bride who hit on the photographer
"During the reception the bride told him they were going to have an open marriage and basically offered herself up to him, which he politely declined."
7. If the speeches are underwhelming
"I’ve heard some truly heartfelt, touching words shared during toasts ... and have heard others that were seriously underwhelming. If it isn’t easy for you to think of why this person is a good match for your friend, that’s a bad sign."
8. The non-stop arguing couple
"If I only know you for eight hours, but I know you’re upset your new spouse didn’t let you plan any of the wedding, then I’m not sure you have your priorities straight."
9. The groom and best man had some things to work out
"Like once when there was more sexual tension between the groom and the best man than between the groom and the bride."
Take the lead from these excruciating stories, and if you aren't ready to get married, the best thing to do is, well, not get married.
