For many families, pranking the happy couple on their wedding day is a tradition. But some people don’t take well to pranks, and some pranksters take it far too far. Take some advice on planning out a prank that will leave everyone laughing and make the day better, rather than ruined.
The Golden Rule of Wedding Pranks
First and foremost, a prank is only a prank if the victim(s) laugh about it as well. Otherwise, it’s just bullying. Make sure your prank is gauged to leave the couple chuckling afterwards, not result in tears or anyone storming off. Nothing that results in damage and nothing that can’t be cleaned up in moments. Remember, the couple will be under a lot of stress, this wedding is the result of months of planning and possibly a lot of expense. If your prank ruins their day, you could easily cost your friendship with them.
When it comes to pranks at weddings, you absolutely do not do anything that takes attention away from the happy couple. This is their wedding, and the cardinal rule for behaviour of wedding guests is that you don’t pull the focus away from them.
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Judging Your Audience
If you don’t know the bride/groom well enough to know if they’d take a prank in good fun, then you shouldn’t be pranking them at all. Pranks with an adult theme shouldn’t be carried out in front of the couple’s family unless you know that they’d all be able to laugh it off.
If the couple have hired a wedding planner, then it can be worthwhile to include them in the planning. They have been with the couple during the months of planning the details of the wedding and will know how important certain aspects of the wedding will be for them. This can ensure that you add fun to the wedding rather than cause problems.
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Consider the Consequences
A little paper confetti in the air vents of the couple’s getaway car is going to be harmless. It’ll make a bit of a mess, but it’s not going to ruin anyone’s hair, make-up, or clothing. Flour or glitter, on the other hand, would be a bit of a nightmare.
Likewise, smashing the bride’s face into the cake is going to ruin her hair and makeup, which she’s probably spent hours and a small fortune getting perfect. Not to mention the fact that some cakes use wooden skewers for support which could your prank into a very serious trip to the hospital.
Horror stories are everywhere on the internet of people who just didn’t know where to stop with pranks. Dumping water over the bride or throwing her in a lake, causing catastrophic damage to her dress are generally stories that end up with broken friendships and maybe a thrown punch or two. Smearing cooking oil on the seats of the couple’s car is likewise just asking for trouble.
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Timing is Everything
Some pranks need to be carefully choreographed. A lost or wrong ring prank needs to be held just long enough to make the couple gets what is going on, but not long enough that they think it’s real. The same principle holds for wrong flowers or inappropriate outfits. Make sure you carry these pranks out with enough time to bring out or get changed into the “real” thing.
The dropped “spare” cake is another example of the importance of timing. You get a duplicate of the cake made (possibly in a cheaper style) and it’s dropped as it is brought out, only for the real cake to appear afterwards. Again, the prank will fail if the couple are left hanging too long before the real cake is brought out.