Bad marriage omens

[snopes]

Comment: Here's one that I think is particular to our area, but I'm not
sure. I know you have a section on wedding mishaps, and wanted to ask if
you've heard it told about other places and if you know if there's any
truth to this one.

When I got married two years ago at the Olde North Chapel on North 12th
Street in Richmond, Indiana, the groom's party found an expired bat in the
chapel. They started joking about it being an ill omen, and were told that
in that particular chapel it might be. Apparently a few years before, a
best man had become so tired after partying the night before that he
collapsed during the wedding and cracked his head on a pew, and he died
almost immediately. The marriage expired just as quickly from what I hear.

The bat was one of several mishaps that day, but the wedding was lovely,
no one died, and the marriage is still going strong, but I still wonder
about the dead groomsman/cursed marriage connection.

[Ramblin' Dave]

Most of the stories I know run along the lines of "the more chaotic the wedding day was, the stronger the marriage is." But it's probably a coincidence.

[surfcitydogdad]

Dead bat in the chapel... the wife will become on old bat, or the husband will go batty?

I've never even heard of any bad "omens;" I guess I don't hang out with people who hold or repeat such superstitions. If the friends and family are commenting that the relationship seems bad, that would be a bad omen!

[Fantine]

Originally Posted by snopes

Apparently a few years before, a
best man had become so tired after partying the night before that he
collapsed during the wedding and cracked his head on a pew, and he died
almost immediately. The marriage expired just as quickly from what I hear.

I think the demise of this marriage might have something to do with the personalities of the people involved, who partied so hard the night before the wedding that a groomsman was sick enough to fall and knock himself out the next day.

[robbiev]

Originally Posted by surfcitydogdad

..If the friends and family are commenting that the relationship seems bad, that would be a bad omen!

I'm guessing that catching the groom-to-be bumpin' uglies with the maid of honor in the bathroom a few minutes before the wedding starts would be a pretty bad omen too. Know some folks that happened to. They got married anyway. Then they got divorced not long after, because they groom got caught having an affair. Go figure.

If the only thing the husband & wife have in common is they both love getting stinking drunk all the time...THAT is a bad omen.

Of course, one such couple I know is still married (and has been for 25+ years), so even then it might not always work...

[vanilla]

Originally Posted by Fantine

I think the demise of this marriage might have something to do with the personalities of the people involved, who partied so hard the night before the wedding that a groomsman was sick enough to fall and knock himself out the next day.

Really? I would have thought the death of the groom would have "expired" the marriage. Or do people now stay married to corpses?

That section was badly written. First the groom dies and then the marriage "expires" sometime afterwards. How could they have had a marriage if the groom died immediately after the wedding?

[Katness]

Originally Posted by vanilla

First the groom dies and then the marriage "expires" sometime afterwards. How could they have had a marriage if the groom died immediately after the wedding?

A groomsman isn't the "groom", it's one of his attendants.. sort of a male bridesmaid.

[vanilla]

Originally Posted by Katness

A groomsman isn't the "groom", it's one of his attendants.. sort of a male bridesmaid.

Heck, it wasn't just a groomsman, it was the best man! Gah! Serves me right for reading it too fast! for me!