Vault: How Did The Maid Of Honor Ruin Your Wedding?

Summary

The Bert Show (Pionaire Podcasting)

Episode: Vault: How Did The Maid Of Honor Ruin Your Wedding?

Date: December 18, 2025

---

Episode Overview

This episode of The Bert Show dives into the wild, awkward, and even shocking ways maids of honor have derailed weddings—sometimes with jaw-dropping drama. The hosts and listeners share true stories ranging from unreliable best friends to outright wedding sabotage, with a mix of humor, disbelief, and empathy. Instead of the perfect support system, some brides find their maid of honor turned “maid of dishonor,” giving listeners a chance to vent, connect, and laugh at the chaos that can come with tying the knot.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. What Makes a (Dis)Honorable Maid of Honor?

• Melissa Carter opens the topic by sharing how a maid of honor is supposed to be a "safety net," sometimes saving the legal side of a wedding.
  • "The quintessential example of how a maid of honor can be your safety net." (01:03)
• But what happens when the maid of honor becomes a liability—and how bad can it get?

---

2. Listener Stories of Maids of Dishonor

A. Drug Use in the Bridal Party

• Caller 1 shares a second-hand story:
  • Maid of honor caught preparing to use heroin in the backseat on the way to a concert, just three weeks before the wedding.
    • "She turns around and actually sees her getting ready to take a heroin kind of shot thing..." (02:00)
  • Bride cuts the maid of honor from the wedding completely.
  • Hosts react with disbelief:
    • Melissa Carter: "That's dishonorable." (02:40)
    • Radio Host Dan: "You don't want to be toying with a syringe in a moving car." (02:21)

B. The No-Show Best Friend

• Caller 2 (Erica) recounts her once-best friend’s lack of responsibility:
  • Didn’t attend bridal shower or bachelorette party, didn’t help plan, and was unreliable even up to the last minute.
  • Erica (bride) had to do her maid of honor’s hair the morning of her own wedding:
    • "I had to do her hair before my wedding." (03:00)
  • Hosts question why she was chosen:
    • Melissa Carter: "You're the bride, right?" (03:24)
    • Radio Host Dan: "Well, if she's your best friend, you must have known that she was pretty irresponsible." (03:25)
  • Eventually, the bride accepted having fun without her, highlighting a friendship breakdown:
    • "Screw this. I'm gonna have fun without her." (03:31)
  • Ultimate no-show for key events.

C. Crashing the Ceremony—Literally

• Charity (through her husband’s story) shares about a maid of honor who skipped the ceremony start while searching for a bra, only to interrupt halfway through—bra in hand.
  • "She went to look for a bra to wear with the dress and never showed up for the wedding until the middle of the ceremony and just barged in, in the middle of the ceremony with her bra hanging in her hand..." (04:10)
  • Hosts laugh at the lack of details a man brings home about wedding drama:
    • Melissa Carter: "Your husband comes home from that and he's like, 'Oh yeah, the maid of honor shows up in the middle of ceremony with a bra in her hand or something.'" (04:45)

---

3. The Ultimate Maid of Dishonor: A Shocking Betrayal

Erica’s Story (The “Winner”)

• Erica tells the show-stopping story of her Malibu wedding:
  • Lifelong best friend (maid of honor) caught having sex with Erica’s father the night before the wedding, discovered by the bride’s mother. (06:12)
  • Erica immediately removed her from the wedding:
    • "I fired her... you're out of the bridal party. I don't even want you at the wedding. Just, like, disappear." (06:35)
  • She kept the drama from most of the bridal party, but told her fiancé.
  • Emotional impact:
    • The walk down the aisle became “the longest walk of my life” with her father (09:27)
    • "As you're arm in arm with your father... it takes your head out of the whole wedding, you know, and that's not fair." — Jen (07:35)
    • Despite everything, her parents “worked it out,” and her mom was “a real trooper.”
    • Hosts stunned: “Gold medal for maid of dishonor.” (09:50)
    • Callers and hosts agree: every other story pales in comparison, with phone lines dropping after Erica’s reveal:
      • Radio Host Dan: "All the phone lines were lit up with stories... and then you came on and everybody hung up because they must have been going like, 'I can't beat that.'" (08:03)
      • "That's an Academy Award right there." (09:35)

---

4. The Demanding Bride vs. Maid of Honor Dynamics

• Charity calls to suggest sometimes brides are to blame, being overly demanding, leading maids of honor to act out:
  • "I think half the time the maid of honors act the way they do because the brides are horrible." (10:11)
• Hosts debate whether the pressure is part of the job, or if it’s reason to walk away:
  • Melissa Carter: "You have to... As a maid of honor, you have to suck it up and take it." (10:31)
  • Talking about the importance of understanding what the role entails and the right to decline if it’s too much:
    • "...if you're gonna complain about it and it's gonna ruin your friendship, I think you should turn it down." (11:10) — Jen

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "That's dishonorable." – Melissa Carter (02:40)
• "I had to do her hair before my wedding." – Erica (03:00)
• "She showed up in the middle of the ceremony with a bra hanging in her hand..." – Charity (04:10)
• "My mom came and found me and... she found this maid of honor and my dad hooking up." – Erica (06:12)
• (on walking down the aisle after the betrayal):
  "Yeah, it was kind of the longest walk of my life. I think probably for him too." – Erica (09:27)
• "You want to look back at the memories of your wedding as though it was the most precious day of your life. You've got this..." – Radio Host Dan (09:35)
• "She wins the gold medal for maid of dishonor." – Melissa Carter (09:50)
• "If you're gonna complain about it and it's gonna ruin your friendship, I think you should turn it down." – Jen (11:10)

---

Timestamps of Important Segments

| Timestamp | Segment Description | |-----------|-------------------------------------------------------------| | 01:03 | Defining the maid of honor’s role ("safety net" story) | | 02:00 | Heroin use by maid of honor (Caller 1) | | 03:00 | Irresponsible/no-show best friend (Caller 2 - Erica) | | 04:10 | Maid of honor disrupts ceremony for a bra (Charity) | | 06:12 | Ultimate betrayal: maid of honor caught with bride’s dad | | 08:03 | Segment peaks: No more calls, Erica’s story “wins” | | 09:27 | Emotional fallout: walking down the aisle after betrayal | | 10:11 | Discussion: Are demanding brides to blame? | | 11:10 | Advice: Decline the role if you can’t handle it |

---

Tone & Style Notes

The episode maintains The Bert Show’s signature blend of candid, real talk and comedy, allowing listeners to share dark or outrageous wedding stories in a nonjudgmental, sometimes uproarious environment. The hosts’ empathy, playful ribbing, and occasional astonishment keep things light even amid seriously awkward tales.

---

Perfect For Audiences Who:

• Love outrageous wedding stories
• Enjoy group discussions with listener call-ins
• Are seeking cathartic laughs and real-talk about friendship, weddings, or human drama

Note:
Skip to [06:12] onward for the episode’s most shocking story—the ultimate “maid of dishonor!”

Transcript

[Ryan Reynolds]

Hey, Ryan Reynolds here for Mint Mobile. You know, one of the perks about having four kids that you know about is actually getting a direct line to the big man up north. And this year he wants you to know the best gift that you can give someone is the gift of Mint Mobile's unlimited wireless for $15 a month. Now you don't even need to wrap it. Give it a [e-mail] Switch upfront payment.

[Mint Mobile Announcer]

Of $45 for a three month plan equivalent to $15 per month. Required new customer offer for first three months only. Speed slow after 35 gigabytes if network's busy. Taxes and fees extra. See mintmobile.com okay, only 10 more presents to wrap. You're almost at the finish line. But first, There the last one. Enjoy a Coca Cola for a pause that refreshes.

[Melissa Carter]

Get it?

[Radio Host Dan]

The Bird Show. Melissa Carter with the quintessential example of how a maid of honor can be your safety net.

[Jen]

Right? I was a maid of honor for my childhood best friend all growing up. She asked me to be her maid of honor. And one thing the maid of honor and best man also do in a wedding is they are the official witnesses of this wedding. So on the marriage certificate, you need their signatures in order for the marriage to be legal. And so I guess it was an oversight by the minister. I don't know what happened. But at the reception, instead of the minister going to the bride to explain to her, oh, by the way, you're really not legally married yet because there was a signature missing or something, he came to me and I handled and made sure that in the end the wedding was actually legal before they left for their honeymoon.

[Radio Host Dan]

And I mean, that's really what it's all about right there. But when does your maid of honor become your maid of dishonor? When she does something so bad or something so horrid that she completely hacks the wedding. And hey, Dan, you're on all the hits. Q100 hey, morning. Morning.

[Caller 1]

Didn't hack the wedding, but about three weeks out, my cousin in Boston takes her maid of honor and some friends to a concert. The maid of honor's in the backseat with another friend, and for one reason or another, she turns around and actually sees her getting ready to take a heroin kind of shot thing with the rubber thing around the arm and the syringe.

[Radio Host Dan]

You don't want to be toying with a syringe in a moving car.

[Caller 1]

But it was, yeah, three weeks out. Then she got totally cut. And, you know, I got this second hand from the sister. Cause it was. It was like a real taboo, you know, type issue.

[Radio Host Dan]

So the maid of honor was doing heroin? Shooting up heroin three weeks before the.

[Caller 1]

Wedding on the way to the concert.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah.

[Melissa Carter]

That's dishonorable.

[Radio Host Dan]

Yeah. That'll turn you off a little bit. Sure.

[Melissa Carter]

That doesn't look good in a bridesmaid's dress, honey.

[Radio Host Dan]

Morning. All the hits. Q100.

[Caller 2]

Hey. Good morning.

[Radio Host Dan]

Good morning.

[Caller 2]

I had the maid of honor from hell.

[Radio Host Dan]

Okay, who was this person? Was this sister? Best friend?

[Caller 2]

Best friend.

[Radio Host Dan]

Best friend?

[Erica]

Yeah.

[Melissa Carter]

Ex best friend, I assume.

[Caller 2]

Yeah, pretty much. Didn't show up for my bridal shower. Didn't come to my bachelorette party. Did not help me plan anything. Showed up to get her dress that I bought, and then I had to have her spend the night with me the night before the wedding. So that way I'd make sure she was at the church on time and ended up doing her hair before my wedding.

[Radio Host Dan]

Why do you. Why are you picking, like, you. If she was here?

[Erica]

Yeah, I had to do her hair.

[Melissa Carter]

You're the bride, right?

[Radio Host Dan]

She's doing the maid of honor's hair. Well, if she's your best friend, you must have known that she was pretty irresponsible.

[Caller 2]

Well, she was irresponsible back in the day, but she had gotten better. And I didn't think it would be this bad. But, like, the night of my bachelor party, she called me. She was like, okay, I'll be there in 45 minutes. And so we all met at the restaurant, and 45 minutes came. We still hadn't ordered, so the whole party is waiting on her. And finally I said, you know what? Screw this. I'm gonna have fun without her. And we just went on.

[Melissa Carter]

She was a no show the whole night.

[Caller 2]

Yeah.

[Radio Host Dan]

And there's your wedding. You're doing her hair.

[Caller 2]

Yeah.

[Jen]

Rude.

[Erica]

It was bad.

[Radio Host Dan]

Thank you. Hey, Nancy. Nancy?

[Charity]

Yes. Hi.

[Radio Host Dan]

You're maid of dishonor.

[Charity]

Okay, well, my husband was in a wedding. This was not my wedding. But anyway, he was a groomsman, and the bride's sister was the maid of honor. The morning of the wedding, she went to look for a bra to wear with the dress and never showed up for the wedding until the middle of the ceremony and just barged in, in the middle of the ceremony with her bra hanging in her hand, not even realizing that the ceremony was, you know, almost halfway through.

[Radio Host Dan]

She got the wrong time, right?

[Charity]

Well, I don't know. We never found out the details. We just know that, you know, she. She was a no show.

[Jen]

And then she.

[Melissa Carter]

Oh, my God. Yeah, no, that is definitely a story relayed through your husband because a woman would know all the details of that. But yeah, your husband comes home from that and he's like, oh, yeah, the maid of honor shows up in the middle of ceremony with a bra in her hand or something.

[Mint Mobile Announcer]

Right?

[Melissa Carter]

That's all he knows. Like, I had been it that way, if I had just been a guest at that wedding, I would have known every single detail.

[Radio Host Dan]

Hey, Erica, you're on all the hits Q100. Hi.

[Erica]

I have, yeah, the ultimate maid of dishonor story.

[Jen]

Okay.

[Erica]

I got married about three years ago and my husband and I just. We always thought Malibu, California was the most beautiful place we had ever been. So that's where we had the ceremony. Just, you know, everybody flew in and we all stayed in a hotel. My maid of honor was my best friend. Like, I'd known her since I was five years old. You know, just the whole time we were growing up, we were really good friends, so she was like a family friend too. And then the night of the rehearsal dinner, which we had in the hotel restaurant, I was just like relaxing. I mean, all the hard stuff had been taken care of. I had a few drinks. You know, we were just having a really good time. And I guess it was like a little after midnight. My mom came and found me and she was really upset and she pulled me aside. She found she'd just walked, you know, she'd said goodnight. She'd gone up to her room and she found this maid of honor and my dad hooking up.

[Melissa Carter]

Oh, are kidding.

[Radio Host Dan]

Now, hooking up has different definitions, but in this case, I don't think it matters. But were they sleeping with each other or.

[Erica]

They were. Yeah, they were like in the act.

[Caller 2]

Oh.

[Mint Mobile Announcer]

Yeah.

[Erica]

And I mean, this girl had known my father since she was like five years old.

[Melissa Carter]

And your father, on the night before he walks you down the aisle.

[Erica]

Yeah, yeah. It was so disgusting. I mean, I had to fire. I fired her. Like, I mean, you know, like, I confronted her and I was like, look, you know, you're out of the. You're out of the bridal party. Like, yeah, I don't care what you do, but I don't want even want you at the wedding. Just like, disappear.

[Radio Host Dan]

Well, at that point, everything's ruined because now you got this thing going on with your mom and your dad too.

[Erica]

I mean, well, I just. I fired her. I told the bridal party that she had a family emergency and she had to leave. Never. I haven't spoken to her since, I mean, it's been like three years. So I don't know know like what's going on with her now. But yeah, I just didn't want the bridal. I wanted my father to walk me down the aisle, you know, and he and my mom just, I mean there was so much drama. But they, they worked stuff out, you.

[Radio Host Dan]

Know, I hadn't even thought of that angle.

[Erica]

So yeah, they like, they were, I mean, God bless them, they like, they just like, they were like troopers through the, I mean my mom was like a real trooper through the whole wedding and then.

[Jen]

But that is so selfish because the thing is, here you are going down the aisle at your own wedding and I'm sure in your mind, as you're arm in arm with your father, I mean that's just, it takes your head out of the whole wedding, you know, and that's not fair.

[Erica]

And I mean, I had to ask one of my bridesmaids. I mean, I love her dearly, but I'm not nearly as close to her as I used to be to that girl. I asked her to step up and be my maid of honor.

[Radio Host Dan]

I mean, the one who will not be named. I just saw the funniest thing happen. All the phone lines were lit up with people with stories about maids of dishonor. And then you came on and then everybody hung up because they must have been going like, I can't beat that.

[Jen]

She won.

[Radio Host Dan]

That's it.

[Erica]

Yeah, it was really hard.

[Radio Host Dan]

Well, think about this also. Cause you must have had so much resentment towards your father, yet he still had to walk you down the aisle the next day.

[Erica]

Yeah, it was kind of the longest walk of my life. I think probably for him too.

[Melissa Carter]

Oh, and that's the worst too. Cause that walk is the supposed to be so cool. Like Melissa said, he took your head out of the game. Like your head is supposed to be focused on, you know, your love for your soon to be husband and these commitments and these vows you're about to make to each other.

[Erica]

Like it was supposed to be a day about, you know, me and my husband and it became, I mean. Yeah, it became out something else and. Yeah.

[Jen]

Did you fiance. Did you tell your fiance before the wedding?

[Erica]

Yeah, yeah. I mean I was so upset that I.

[Melissa Carter]

Sure.

[Radio Host Dan]

How do you keep that secret? Yeah, well.

[Jen]

Yeah. Yeah. So everybody in the way, Everybody. This big secret that you couldn't tell your bridesmaids, he couldn't tell his groomsmen, but you two and your parents all knew what was going on.

[Erica]

Uh huh.

[Melissa Carter]

And your Poor mom having to hold it together.

[Erica]

I know. She's like a saint. Thank God.

[Melissa Carter]

Wow.

[Erica]

Yeah. Annoying her now.

[Melissa Carter]

You know, she had to sit next to your dad during that ceremony.

[Erica]

Yeah.

[Radio Host Dan]

Oh, man. Boy, what an academy it was.

[Erica]

You know, they danced together at the reception.

[Jen]

They dance together?

[Melissa Carter]

Yeah.

[Radio Host Dan]

That's an Academy Award right there. That is. Oh, unbelievable. And then, you know, when you look back, you want to look back at the memories of your wedding as though it was the most precious day of your life. You've got this.

[Erica]

Steals it. Yeah. That's like.

[Jen]

Yeah.

[Melissa Carter]

She wins the gold medal for maid of Dishonor.

[Radio Host Dan]

Sorry, Erica, but thank you for sharing. Thanks for joining the rest of the segment. Yeah. Bye now.

[Melissa Carter]

Nobody else is on the phone.

[Radio Host Dan]

Yeah, that's it. That's it. Man, they heard that story and checked out.

[Melissa Carter]

That kills that one.

[Radio Host Dan]

Hey, Charity. Hey, good morning.

[Jen]

Good morning.

[Charity]

How are you?

[Radio Host Dan]

Fine.

[Charity]

This is completely unrelated to the last caller, but I think half the time the maid of honors act the way they do because the brides are horrible.

[Radio Host Dan]

You see, I almost think maybe I'm speaking out of turn here, but I think, like, the maid of honor almost has to go in knowing that her best friend or sister or whatever is gonna have one of these breakdowns or is gonna be kind of a different person for a while.

[Melissa Carter]

You have to. As a maid of honor, you have to suck it up and take it. That's part of accepting the job.

[Radio Host Dan]

Am I wrong, Char?

[Charity]

Well, I think to some degree that they can act whichever way they want to as far as breaking down, but they're demanding. They have seven showers or they're expecting you to be at everything at every any day. You know, I just think they're very demanding.

[Jen]

Well, I mean, I kind of agree with Jen and Bert that I think the bride has the right to be. I think as a woman who is asked to be a maid of honor, you have to know what you're getting into. And if you accept it, like Jen said, you gotta suck it up. If you don't think you can do it or handle it, then maybe you talk about. Well, I don't have time to, you know, do. Use justice with your wet. You know, like, you can turn it down. You can, you know, but I think you have to come up with a really good excuse. But if you're gonna. If you're gonna complain about it and it's gonna ruin your friendship, I think you should turn it down.

[Melissa Carter]

Get it?

[Radio Host Dan]

The bird show.

[Boost Mobile Announcer]

Big news. Boost Mobile is now sending experts nationwide to deliver and set up customers new phones at home or work.

[Radio Host Dan]

Wait, we're going on tour?

[Boost Mobile Announcer]

Not a tour. We're delivering and setting up customers phones so it's easier to upgrade. Let's get in the tour bus and hit the road. No, not a tour bus. It's a regular car we use to deliver and set up customers phones at home or work. Are you a groupie on this tour? We deliver and set up phones. It's not a tour.

[Radio Host Dan]

Oh you're definitely a groupie.

[Boost Mobile Announcer]

Introducing store to door switch and get a new device with expert setup and delivery wherever you're at. Delivery available for select devices [e-mail] Hola.

[Mint Mobile Announcer]

What are you reaching for? If you're a smoker or vaper, you could be reaching for so much more with Zyn Nicotine Pouches. When you reach for Zyn, you're reaching for 10 satisfying varieties and two strings for a smoke free experience that lets you lean in for chances to break free from your routine and a unique nationwide community. Whatever you're reaching for, reach for it with America's number one nicotine pouch brand. Find yours in wherever nicotine products are sold near you. Warning. This product contains nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive chemical.