A few other tricks for the newlywed’s new home.
Stretch celophane over the toilet.
Loosen all the lightbulbs and leave the switches on.
Leave a fake eviction notice on the door.
Turn up the volume on all tv’s and radios.
Shortning on the underside of every knob and door handle.
Deer rut lure. If you know what it is, you know how to use it.
Oh for God’s sake…the guy is going to be nervous enough as it is.
It’s his wedding. Believe me, unless the guy is a complete moron it’s going to be a memorable day.
The bride and groom are going to be on edge as it is…back off and be supportive. This is not the time for jokes.
Now, after they get back from the honeymoon…
Well, if you can work it out with the other groomsmen and the pastor…
When the pastor asks for the ring, pat around and realize you don’t have it. Look at groomsman #2 and ask where it is. He turns to the next guy and does the same thing all the way down the line until the LAST guy who reaches into his pocket and pulls out a Ring Pop which goes back to the bride and groom. Laugh hysterically and then have the pastor produce the REAL rings from inside his robe. 
IDBB
A good prank must be something that the victim will laugh at… when it’s all over. This rule* applies even more so at a wedding. Keep the pranks in good taste and good humor. And NO pranks at or during the ceremony – that’s just plain disrespectful.
When one of my sisters got married I completely filled their car with styrofoam peanuts.
Another vote for “nothing that will disrupt the ceremony, reception, or wedding night/honeymoon.” Don’t be a clod.
If your or one of your cohorts has access to the luggage, remove the groom’s underwear (you can leave him one pair, if you’re feeling generous). This is pretty standard. But then you can add the patented Dr.J twist to it. The day after the wedding, the groom will get a call from the front desk saying that he has some mail. The mail? A package containing his underpants. For maximum hilarity, mail the underwear a pair a day. (He did this five years ago, and the guy brought it up at our wedding this winter.)
Likewise, I like to put a twist on all the car tricks people standardly play. Sure, decorate/fill/saranwrap the car however you like. But if you’re filling the car, you’ve got the keys, right? And if you have the keys, you can start the car and drive it, right? I think you get the point. That one got brought up at our wedding, too, but she wasn’t as amused as the other victim. But then, she’s now a professional wedding nazi, so she doesn’t really find much humor in weddings. (Her husband, however, just snickers when it comes up. Quietly, so she won’t hear him.)
This is great stuff. Keep it coming. Unfortunately he lives in Florida and most of us live up here (Delaware & PA). The wedding is in New Hope PA so he won’t have his car with him. His luggage though, I think I can get a hold of.
At one of my best friend’s weddings, all of us groomsmen put pieces of paper with numbers from 1-10 inside our tux jackets. When he layed the big kiss on the mrs., we pulled them out, turned, and held them high for the audience to see. It was just like olympic scoring of the kiss. The audience loved it, even the parents of both the bride and groom. Make sure the camera man knows, so he gets a classic photo.
Ace, he should have a rental … Just make sure it’s not bad enough that he pays a damage fee.
One note, my sis was smart enough to get a rental and drive it to the site the day before and not tell anyone … I got to drive her ‘decorated’ vehicle home while they drove off in the rental.
Then there’s the French tradition: serve them champagne and chocolate mixed together in a chamber pot. French weddings are often done at a communal location (they tend to drink a little and it keeps everyone from driving). An American friend, who was also offered a serving from the chamber pot by the wedding party, was sure that it was the “real” thing in the pot . . . to the great amusement of the French.
If he’s going on a tropical honeymoon, or anywhere where he must wear shorts…
pin him down the morning of the wedding and shave one leg, just one. He’ll struggle at first, so have all the groomsmen help, but once you hold the cold hard steel against him, he’ll be too afraid to move too much.
We did this to my best buddy. We had too much pride to shave the other himself to “even it out”, so he had one bare leg for the entirety of his Carribean Cruise.
Now THAT, people, is a heck of an idea. Especially if you do it two or three more times during the reception.
Be careful about doing anything that could be seen as an insult to the bride, no matter how harmless you may think it is. Many people at a wedding will find any insult or embarrassment of the bride tacky. I wouldn’t do anything during the ceremony - you want this to be funny for the bride and groom, and not potentially hurtful or prevent them from enjoying the ceremony. Keep in mind the temperament of the rest of the family also - you don’t want an irate mother of the bride coming after you.
When friends of ours went on their honeymoon, we filled their bedroom and floor of their apartment with balloons. I mean filled their bedroom. We also put notes in some balloons, confetti, money, gift certificates, etc. so they couldn’t just pop them all too quickly.
I was in a wedding this weekend where the dj handed out number cards for one table to rate the kisses at the reception. People thought it was cute, but I’m not sure if it would be appreciated at the ceremony. People are a lot more forgiving of things at the reception (pressure’s off, people have a few drinks and are ready to have fun).
You know the groom/bride and so I’m assuming that you have an idea of how a prank will be received. BUT, I’m with the people cautioning you to watch out for the clod factor. Remember, it’s their day, not yours. I’m more cynical because I personally know about three different couples who severed ties with someone in their wedding party because of “funny” stuff.
That being said, some of these ideas are hilarious…I hope whatever you do ends up being great!
Just going to chime in with “nothing during the ceremony.” Don’t even think about doing anything cute with the rings. Even if the bride and groom ordinarily have a wonderful sense of humor, it’s simply not an appropriate time.
After the ceremony, though, hey, it’s fair game.
I saw the “rate the kiss” gag at a wedding, and it was really cute. At that point in the ceremony, everyone’s happy and ready to applaud anyway. Just make sure the scores are all pretty high.
At our wedding, the best man had my ring duct-taped to the inside of his coat – my husband is big into duct tape, so that was fun. It was minor enough that it didn’t disrupt anything, and I don’t think anyone thought it disrespectful.
The only other thing I remember seeing at the ceremony was also a ring gag – the ring bearer (who was the 18-year-old cousin of the bride), when it came time for the rings to be handed over to the minister, made like he couldn’t find the rings (only for about 2 seconds!), and then opened up his tux coat. Inside were rows and rows of rings (like the old “wanna buy a watch?” guys on the cartoons). He went up to the groom or the pastor (who was in on it beforehand) and let them pick the right one. It was great, actually, because it was at a point in the ceremony when everyone was getting all weepy, and it made us all laugh without detracting from the ceremony (IMO).
Whatever you do, make sure it’s something that even the most conservative person at the wedding won’t find offensive. A prank is not worth losing a friend over. And given how much time and money the couple has probably put into this day, they’ll probably be upset if the only thing anyone remembers about their wedding day is your prank. Don’t piss off the lady in white.
yet one more vote for “don’t mess up the ceremony”. PARTICULARLY if the bride-and-groom-to-be have been the ones who’ve been doing all the planning and arranging themselves. they’ve been stressed out no end by this point. you’re likely to be on the receiving end of Unholy Wrath if you go d!cking with things that affect the ceremony.
once the wedding’s over, they should (hopefully) be relaxed enough to enjoy a good joke.
Why play pranks on them at all? Honestly, this is just mean. What’s the point here? Some of the “pranks” suggested border on the downright cruel and jerkish. If you feel you MUST play a prank, make it completely harmless AND after the Big Day. They’re going to be tense enough without you pulling some “joke” on them. And please don’t move their car around. It’s going to be an exhausting day - they don’t need another half-hour-plus car search on top of it.
And if you really want to see what the Brides and Grooms think of these stupid jokes, and other things that Bridesmaids and Groomsmen do, check out http://www.etiquettehell.com/weddingetiquette/bridesmaids/ebms.htm
Please don’t do the “key” trick at the reception. It’s disgusting and it’s pretty much telling everyone that you think the bride and groom did nothing but sleep around before their wedding. That one’s mentioned, i believe, somewhere in the Etiquette Hell website.
DogMom touches on two important points of a good prank:
A good prank is funny. People laugh at the PRANK, not at the victim. And the prank’s target should eventually look back on the prank, laugh, and acknowledge that you got him but good.
A good prank causes no lasting damage. The target must be capable of undoing the prank. If the target is particularly sensitive, anything that embarrasses or demeans the target will not be reversible. Of course, “no lasting damage” has sometimes been interpreted very liberally…
The point is, visualize your prank. Then honestly visualize how your target will take it. If you even slightly suspect that your target will take it the wrong way, find a different target.
Also, a good prank stands alone. A wedding is memorable in its own right. Which will be the stronger memory: The friend getting married, or your prank at the friend’s wedding?