My wedding day was kind of miserable

I don't know, ESB, this one might be too depressing for wedding horror story week.

My wedding day was kind of miserable. It is an experience that I would prefer to forget. The good news is I love my husband and I love being married. So perhaps the end justifies (or at least makes more bearable) the means?

My mother was an emotional wreck the whole day of my wedding. It started when I was taking pictures with the bridesmaids and groomsmen before the ceremony. I had to ask her to move to a different spot because she was in the picture. She ran to the bathroom crying. About 15 minutes before I walked down the aisle, my step-father cornered one of my bridesmaids and asked her to tell me that my mother was upset and that I should console her. My whole family is very passive-aggressive and avoids confrontation. Luckily my bridesmaid refused point blank to do this. She had my back.

As we were lining up to walk down the aisle, my mother was visibly upset so I pulled her aside and asked what was wrong. She started crying and told me "You haven't taken one picture with me yet, not one!" (insert foot stomping here). I told her that we were doing family pictures after the ceremony because we ran out of time before. This wasn't very consoling to her. I didn't know what else to do so I gave her a hug and said "I love you mom, I don't want you to be sad. I promise we will take a lot of pictures after the ceremony." She was still not pleased. I learned much later that she spent the whole ceremony with a stony, sour expression on her face. I'm so thankful that I couldn't see her while the ceremony was taking place.

After the ceremony, while we were taking family pictures, my mother was MIA. She was found crying in the bathroom again. Her behavior took me completely by surprise and I spent a good portion of the wedding worrying about her and trying to get her to have some fun. My attempts were futile. I was so anxious I barely had a drop of alcohol. In the meantime, my husband proceeded to get drunk. He wasn't the only one; by the end of the wedding his friends were completely sloshed, which I think was a bit of a shock to my very conservative Christian family. The minute the reception was over my mother went to the car without saying goodbye and insisted on leaving immediately, even though there were a few things I needed her help with. After everything was sorted and we were ready to go, I had a hell of a time getting my husband into the car. Once we got home, he passed out on the floor, halfway under the bed as he tried to get our cat to come out and play. I deiced to leave him there and go out for drinks with my bridesmaids. I needed it.

On the bright side, my bridesmaids were the best. They were extremely supportive the whole time and helped me have some fun amidst all the crazy. They made the ordeal survivable. And the pictures from the event are incredible, so there is that. I can console myself with the fact that at least my wedding LOOKED like it was perfect.

If I had it to do over again, I would elope. Probably in an exotic location. I would bring only my bridesmaids and my photographer with me. And I would match my husband drink-for-drink so that at the end of the night, he would have to carry me home.