# If a hurricane derailed your wedding, would you take it as a bad sign? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 24, 2005, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-hurricane-derailed-your-wedding-would-you-take-it-as-a-bad-sign/327742 "2005-10-24T22:33:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2005, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-hurricane-derailed-your-wedding-would-you-take-it-as-a-bad-sign/327742/1 "2005-10-24T22:33:30Z")
As a part of _All Things Considered’s_ coverage of hurricane Wilma on NPR, they spoke with a couple whose wedding in a Mexican resort was ruined/postponed (and the tearful mother-of-the-bride-to-be.) If I were that near-groom, I think I’d have second thoughts. :eek: Would you? ---
**Author:** ![phouka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2005, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-hurricane-derailed-your-wedding-would-you-take-it-as-a-bad-sign/327742/2 "2005-10-24T22:39:29Z")
Well, no, because I tend not to attribute motives to inanimate forces or credit random events with some sort of divinatory power. I would take it as an opportunity to make really bad jokes, rib my fiance, and simplify wedding plans so we could pull it off. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2005, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-hurricane-derailed-your-wedding-would-you-take-it-as-a-bad-sign/327742/3 "2005-10-25T00:29:28Z")
Naah. My dad was born at home on a tiny spit of land between Sydney Harbour and the Pacific Ocean (Camp Cove to any Sydneysiders here) in the middle of “the worst storm in thirty years”. The birth took forever, and nearly killed his mother. He was 13 pounds. Although he derives no joy from what his mother went through, he’s quite proud of his evil arrival. I’d be the same about hurricanes and weddings, I think. ---
**Author:** ![MissGypsy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8491ac/32.png) [@MissGypsy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MissGypsy)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2005, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-hurricane-derailed-your-wedding-would-you-take-it-as-a-bad-sign/327742/4 "2005-10-25T02:01:23Z")
Well, a hurricane derailed my honeymoon, if that counts. Marriage lasted all of 16 months, but it never occurred to me to blame the hurricane. Hmm… Maybe that’s what was wrong… Vengeance of nature, bad karma, cosmic forces conspiring against us… 😉 Nah, just a poor decision to have a honeymoon in the Carribbean during hurricane season, and total lack of planning. ---
**Author:** ![C3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/c3/32/3108_2.png) [@C3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C3)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2005, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-hurricane-derailed-your-wedding-would-you-take-it-as-a-bad-sign/327742/5 "2005-10-25T02:29:23Z")
We had a hurricane hit during our wedding, but the show went on. It didn’t hit full on (Hurricane Irene in '99, just north of Wilmington NC) and I think it was just a category 1, but we got the outer bands of it which caused torrential rain all day on our wedding and caused flights to be canceled the following day. What this meant is that my dad got absolutely soaked trying to keep the generator running during our outdoor ceremony and reception, the guests broke into a rousing rendition of the theme from Titanic during dinner, I wore a Dryz-a-Bone over my wedding dress, and all the Australian guests at our wedding got to stay a few extra days until the airport opened. They also got to indulge in a crabfeast and help my dad pull the boards off his dock so that water didn’t carry it away (it was a brand new dock, recently replaced after Hurricane Floyd destroyed his other one). I always heard that rain was good luck on your wedding day, so we took it to mean we were going to have a fantastic, happy marriage. We’re still married and, if we ever have a girl, we may call her Irene. ---
**Author:** ![badbadrubberpiggy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/57b2e6/32.png) [@badbadrubberpiggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badbadrubberpiggy)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2005, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-hurricane-derailed-your-wedding-would-you-take-it-as-a-bad-sign/327742/6 "2005-10-25T02:42:15Z")
Nope - though since over half our guests are flying from out of state, it would probably mean that they couldn’t make it, and that would suck quite a bit. However, I wouldn’t take it as a sign of the marriage or anything. IMHO, a bigger sign of what the marriage is going to be like is how the two of you handle the disaster and get through it. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Bird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Little\_Bird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Bird)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2005, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-hurricane-derailed-your-wedding-would-you-take-it-as-a-bad-sign/327742/7 "2005-10-25T02:43:29Z")
I would not take it as a bad sign if a hurricane derailed my wedding. I _would_ take it as a bad sign if my fiancee freaked out instead of laughing it off. ---
**Author:** ![Anastasaeon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Anastasaeon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anastasaeon)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2005, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-hurricane-derailed-your-wedding-would-you-take-it-as-a-bad-sign/327742/8 "2005-10-25T02:47:44Z")
Nahhh - I’d take it as bad weather. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2005, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-hurricane-derailed-your-wedding-would-you-take-it-as-a-bad-sign/327742/9 "2005-10-25T06:49:11Z")
No, but I’d take it as a bad sign if my bride didn’t take me up on my offer to go dancing outside in the eye of the storm (Yes, we’d get back inside well before the other sidewall hit.) ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2005, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-hurricane-derailed-your-wedding-would-you-take-it-as-a-bad-sign/327742/10 "2005-10-25T09:06:41Z")
If a hurricane makes all the way to Tokyo, where any possible TP weddings would occur, then bad signs would be the least of the world’s worries. What’s up with people looking at cosmic (OK, large-scales natual) events and personalizing them? ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2005, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-hurricane-derailed-your-wedding-would-you-take-it-as-a-bad-sign/327742/11 "2005-10-25T10:02:09Z")
I can think of things that are more foreboding. Specifically, cold feet. ---
**Author:** ![Madd\_Maxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Madd\_Maxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Madd_Maxx)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2005, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-hurricane-derailed-your-wedding-would-you-take-it-as-a-bad-sign/327742/12 "2005-10-25T11:41:01Z")
Priest: “Speak now or forever hold your peace.” God: \ One clue by four coming up! I’m sooo going to hell for that one. ---
**Author:** ![Eureka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/74df32/32.png) [@Eureka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eureka)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2005, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-hurricane-derailed-your-wedding-would-you-take-it-as-a-bad-sign/327742/13 "2005-10-25T13:18:00Z")
It depends. I mostly think I’d laugh it off, and enjoy having a story to tell for years, but if I was having a destination wedding rather than getting married in my hometown which happened to be in the path of a storm, I might have second thoughts. Of course, the comment above about observing the reaction of one’s spouse to be (and making sure it is similar to one’s own) is also on target. ---
**Author:** ![SkeptiJess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@SkeptiJess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkeptiJess)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2005, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-hurricane-derailed-your-wedding-would-you-take-it-as-a-bad-sign/327742/14 "2005-10-25T13:43:26Z")
> [@Little Bird](#): > > I would not take it as a bad sign if a hurricane derailed my wedding. I _would_ take it as a bad sign if my fiancee freaked out instead of laughing it off. Big time. I don’t believe in ‘bad signs’ and I wouldn’t marry someone who did. ---
**Author:** ![SkeptiJess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@SkeptiJess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkeptiJess)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2005, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-hurricane-derailed-your-wedding-would-you-take-it-as-a-bad-sign/327742/15 "2005-10-25T13:47:24Z")
BTW, although no hurricane hit during my wedding, we did have a number of things go majorly wrong – it’s a very long story but just about everything that could go wrong did. It was frustrating and difficult having to shuffle our plans around at the last minute, but neither of us viewed any of the troubles as a ‘bad sign.’ Shit happens and you deal with it. In February we’ll be celebrating our 20th anniversary. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2005, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-hurricane-derailed-your-wedding-would-you-take-it-as-a-bad-sign/327742/16 "2005-10-25T17:06:14Z")
No. It could even be seen as emblematic of a “whirlwind” romance, or of a “May-December” pairing. 🙂 If the bride and groom don’t share roughly the same sense of humor, they’ve got bigger problems than the hurricane to deal with. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2005, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-hurricane-derailed-your-wedding-would-you-take-it-as-a-bad-sign/327742/17 "2005-10-25T17:12:39Z")
No. It could even be seen as emblematic of a “whirlwind” romance, or of a “May-December” pairing. 🙂 If the bride and groom don’t share roughly the same sense of humor, they’ve got bigger problems than the hurricane to deal with. ---
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2005, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-hurricane-derailed-your-wedding-would-you-take-it-as-a-bad-sign/327742/18 "2005-10-25T17:47:35Z")
Hey, they’re just two kids who like to fuck trying to make it honest! Why would a supreme being try to obstruct it? Unless She/He/It/They had an objection. For instance, they know what the groom and the bridesmaids were doing the night before the wedding. ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2005, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-hurricane-derailed-your-wedding-would-you-take-it-as-a-bad-sign/327742/19 "2005-10-25T18:03:59Z")
> [@Jess](#): > > Big time. I don’t believe in ‘bad signs’ and I wouldn’t marry someone who did. Amen. Seems a bit… self-centered to think a hurricane is a message sent from on high to little ol’ you. ---
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2005, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-hurricane-derailed-your-wedding-would-you-take-it-as-a-bad-sign/327742/20 "2005-10-25T19:16:35Z")
> [@Troy McClure SF](#): > > Amen. Seems a bit… self-centered to think a hurricane is a message sent from on high to little ol’ you. Exactly. Considering thousands of people would also be affected by the same hurricane, seems a little conceited to assume that it would be directed at me. That, and I don’t believe in signs or omens anyway. Unless it was a teeny tiny hurricane centered directly over the altar. That might make me a little nervous. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-hurricane-derailed-your-wedding-would-you-take-it-as-a-bad-sign/327742.md?page=2)