Wedding speeches often include a balance between lighthearted jokes and heartwarming stories about the newlywed couple, but striking the perfect middle ground between the two is essential.
This is why one woman caused a stir when she attended her best friend's wedding and gave a speech laden with jokes about divorce - as she left the bride "mortified".
In a post on Reddit, the woman said her friend Leo recently got married for the second time after his first marriage ended in divorce two years after tying the knot.
And because of Leo's past experience with divorce, she thought it would be okay to joke about his second marriage coming to an end on his wedding day - including by calling his wife Annie her "favourite of Leo's ex-wives".
Get the news you want straight to your inbox. Sign up for a Mirror newsletter here.
She said: "My best friend Leo and I are ride and die best friends.
"Leo got married to a woman around six years ago. They divorced 4 years ago. Now, Leo is engaged to Annie. She is basically fine, but I’ve always called her 'the anti chill. Case in point, she did not want me involved in the wedding party.
"The morning of the wedding, Leo said he felt bad I wouldn’t be a part of the evening. I suggested that I introduce the best man (his brother, my friend). Leo agreed.
"When the reception rolled around, I couldn’t resist adding a few jokes.
"[I said things like] 'Well, it’s so nice to see everyone at Leo’s wedding … again', 'Can you hear me in the back? Don’t worry if you can’t; I’m sure I will have a chance to do this speech again in a few years,' and 'Annie, I can already tell that you will be one of my favourite of Leo’s ex-wives.'
"I’m not completely tone deaf, so I also included a genuine bit at the end about how much Leo means to me."
The woman said she "got a few laughs" from the speech but was later told that the bride was "mortified" by her comments - and she'd even upset her best friend.
She added: "I got some laughs and felt great, but then Leo came up to me and said Annie was mortified that I would joke about divorce at her wedding. He told me to apologise or leave. The drama wasn’t worth it so I bailed.
"Leo has barely spoken to me since; didn’t text me from his honeymoon once. I can’t imagine having this extreme of a reaction to a joke. I think Annie is insecure that there is some truth to what I said."
And commenters on the post were also on the bride's side, with many saying the woman had been out of line with her speech.
One person wrote: "You found a way to be in a wedding the bride didn't want you in and proved she was right not to want you in the wedding."
While another said: "Not an appropriate joke for a wedding. At all."
And a third added: "There is absolutely no need to tell that to a man who is literally just wed. That's just plain insensitive and uncalled for."
Do you have a story to sell? Get in touch with us at yourmirror@trinitymirror.com .
