They've seen it all...literally.
A group of people working in the wedding industry believe they've developed a "sixth sense" for figuring out which marriages are doomed.
Weddings photographers and videographers have taken to a Reddit group to reveal the red flags which might indicate that the relationship won't go the distance.
Image Credit: PixabayHow the couple treat each other in the lead up to the Big Day
"Photographer here. A red flag is when one person is critical of the other during the engagement shoot but then posts the photos with the caption, 'about to marry my best friend and my soul mate.'"
Another wrote: "Not a photographer, but I make a LOT of engagement rings.
"It's actually really simple. If they're nice to each other, and nice to me and my staff, they're going to do well. If they're short-tempered, rude, pushy, etc., it's a sign they don't really want to be there."
"Wedding videographer here: I try to get to know both people beforehand, so I can work in their hobbies/unique traits into my product. A big red flag is when one person is clearly trying to change the other.
"I had one dude who loved poker, craft beer, cigars, hanging with his rowdy friends, video games, etc. I planned a cool shoot where I had all his friends in an old west saloon, and he sees his bride to be, etc... but she steps in and declares 'oh, he won't be doing any of those things any more.'
"Poor b**tard just sat there in silence as I awkwardly had to plan them shopping for a Yorkie puppy instead. Half way through post production after the wedding, he called and said he was getting an annulment."
"Ex wedding photographer here. There were only a couple situations where I had doubts about the couple's future and one where I was certain.
"I met the couple in a cafe to discuss their ideas and my services. The girl was very happy, she was very emotional and interested. The guy, however, was rolling his eyes and grunting at everything and I stop trying to get him involved in the conversation after he ignored me twice.
"It made the girl very uncomfortable and she was apologetic of his behaviour. I don't know what happened to them, as they apparently chose to reschedule their wedding and didn't hire me in the end."
Image Credit: PixabayHow they behave when something goes wrong
"I was a wedding photographer for many years. It was pretty easy to tell which couples were going to last and which ones would soon be divorced.
"The main behaviour differentiating the two was whether they were on the same team, helping each other and lifting each other up in the face of the inevitable problems and stress that come with weddings. Good couples tackle problems together. Bad couples take sides and fight/blame each other when something goes wrong."
Another said: "Photographer here. You can tell somewhat based on how the couple treats each other on the wedding day. If they are respectful toward one another (and toward me) during a day full of stress then I think that’s a good indicator of being able to deal with other problems that may arise during a marriage."
Cutting the cake
"Photographer here. To me the biggest sign is the cake cutting. Some people like to smear the cake everywhere as a joke, some people don't. Usually the couple is in sync about this. They know what the other would like and they don't smush cake on the others face if they wouldn't want that.
"Sometimes one of them (usually the groom) will force cake all over the others face and embarrass and upset them. I've seen this happen a handful of times and all of those relationships that I have kept up with have ended in a divorce."
Another agreed: "Wedding videographer here. When I see a new bride or groom aggressively smush cake into the other’s face I usually feel like that’s a strong sign of an unbalanced relationship."
And a third chimed in: "Photographer here. I swear that all of the couples that have split up have smashed the cake in their significant other's face. None of the nice cake couples have."
Image Credit: PixabayBad behaviour on the day
"A red flag was the groom winking at both my assistant and I during the ceremony.
"He was not winking in the sense that he might have been tearing up, or had something in his eye; but there was a part in the ceremony where the couple sat down and he would lean his head back in his chair, look past his soon to be wife and wink at me, or look over his left shoulder and wink at my assistant. It was bizarre."
"Former wedding videographer. After the groom's speech the bride said, which I quote, "well that was fucking stupid". I cut that part out in the final video."
"Wedding band guitar player here. Drunken gorilla-sized groom physically attacked us when we cut off the music after already going over our contracted time.
"Mother of the groom got into the mix and pulled him back. Bride was in tears. They lasted a few months."
The first dance
"I used to help a buddy of mine do wedding videos back in college. I found the bigger the hit they use for the wedding song, the shorter the marriage. Obscure songs seemed to last longer."
