The Infomercial Star Who Almost Came to Our Wedding and 4 Other Really Random Facts About Our Nuptials

My best friend just got engaged (congrats again, Melissa and Jared!), so I’m very much back in the wedding swing of things. The other night, Paul and I were reminiscing about our own celebration, and we remembered these five bizarre facts.

1. The guy who screams “Ow!” in the WaxVac commercial was supposed to attend.
You know that overly dramatic man who kicks off the infomercial for an ear wax removal product by cotton-swabbing his ears and then shouting in pain? (Here’s the video if you’ve managed to escape this omnipresent ad). That’s my mom’s former coworker whom she invited to our wedding. He wound up flaking at the last moment–one of two guests who replied yes and then didn’t show; more on that below–probably because he knew he was on the cusp of stardom.

2. Paul’s friend JD’s car broke down on the way to our wedding–and we didn’t believe him.
Paul’s college buddy alerted Paul on our wedding day that he wasn’t going to make it on account of car trouble (he lived a few hours away). We were disappointed JD wouldn’t be attending, but we assumed it was because he had a wild Friday night. Fast-forward 10 months to my friend PJ’s wedding. My friend Robin brought a date whom we learned, after some conversation, happened to live with JD! He confirmed the car trouble story–and was the poor sap who had to fetch our friend in Connecticut.

3. Whether or not guests’ relationships lasted depended on their table assignment at our reception.
Obviously, a seating chart can’t alter one’s romantic status on its own, but there did seem to be a link to a relationship’s survival and where that couple sat at the party. For instance, both unmarried couples at Paul’s work friends table broke up shortly after our honeymoon, while across the dance floor, three unmarried couples at another table all got engaged (two sets are now married). Coincidence? Yeah, probably.

4. As soon as the last person walked indoors from our outdoor ceremony, the heavens opened up.
You may have heard this story before because I bring it up a lot: As I got ready for my wedding, it rained on and off. When we arrived at the park to take photos before the ceremony, the sky was gray, but the rain had stopped. When the ceremony started, the sun came out, and oh man, was it bright. The sky darkened as a receiving line formed outside the cocktail hour room, and I swear, when the final guest entered that room and we were all safely inside, there was a downpour that didn’t relent until well into the reception.

5. Multiple guests got in their cars to head to our wedding…a week early.
Paul and I got married May 31, the Saturday AFTER Memorial Day. But according to some invitees, it was the Saturday DURING Memorial Day Weekend. Several guests actually declined our invite because they thought it interfered with their Memorial Day Weekend plans. A couple of those people contacted me the week of the wedding to admit their mistake and see if they could change their response! But my favorite stories are about the family friend and my middle-school friend who got all dressed up and ready to go to our wedding…on May 24. I think one even went all the way to the hall, about two hours from his home, only to find out the event was the following weekend. I felt awful, but short of adding a line to my invitation “THIS IS NOT HAPPENING DURING MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND,” I don’t think I could’ve prevented it.

So what’s the most random fact about your wedding? Any pseudo-celebs on your invite list?