FINDING out the bride was marrying an entirely different man was just the first wedding day surprise for the bridal party.
One bridesmaid recounted the whole sordid affair — and learning John was out and Michael was in was just the start of it.
Redditor Certainperformance56 recalled how Sarah and her longtime boyfriend John were part of her friend group for years.
When Sarah announced at Christmas that she and John were engaged, it wasn’t a surprise.
The wedding was only a few months away in March, and all the women in the friend group were asked to be bridesmaids.
“We were all so happy as they were going to be the first one of all our friends to get married,” the Redditor recalled.
But after months of waiting, she’d heard nothing from the bride about what to wear or any details about the wedding itself.
No bachelorette party was planned, and there hadn’t even been an invitation.
“Three weeks before the wedding, the maid of honor sent me a message that I should buy a lilac dress,” she said.
She also finally learned the address for the church and the time to be there.
When she arrived, though, the maid of honor said they needed to look after the groom’s family, who didn’t know anyone at the ceremony.
“Then she told me the groom’s name was not John, but Michael,” she said.
The bridesmaid said hi to the groom, noticing that he was very different from John.
“I introduced myself to Michael just 10 minutes before the wedding. He was completely opposite to John in every way,” she said.
“I had no idea who he was, or why she was married my friend, who less than three months ago told me she was marrying John.
“All Michael’s family was there, super happy, and all Sarah’s family and friends were very serious and silent.”
After getting settled into the party, the maid of honor finally dished on why the old groom was ditched for a new one.
“Sarah met Michael on her new office job since last August. They were already together when John proposed and started paying for the house,” she said.
“Sarah canceled the engagement at the end of January when she found out she was pregnant with Michael’s baby.”
The marriage ended up lasting, with the pair going on to have five children together.
“The last I heard, John got very sick with depression and ended up in a mental institution,” the bridesmaid said.
“I also learned many years later that John was not as nice to Sarah as we all thought, and even when he never showed any signs of being abusive, we never knew what happened behind closed doors.
“Sarah was thinking of leaving him for a while but I guess after being with him for so many years she felt marrying him as an obligation.”
