Bride's Wedding Sign Branded 'Toxic and Not Funny' Online - Newsweek
A bride and groom's humorous choice of sign outside their wedding has sparked delight and outrage online, with some enjoying the joke and others failing to see the funny side.
In a video shared by celebrant Bex McMonagle, who performs wedding ceremonies, a sign can be seen inviting guests into the wedding of U.K. couple Rebecca and Jack—but there's a twist.
Evidently eager to inject a little humor and personality into proceedings, the sign instead welcomes friends and family to "Becca's wedding, featuring Jack." The words "Becca's wedding" appear in large, cursive writing, while "featuring Jack" is printed just below in small, plain text.
For time untold, weddings have been seen as occasions that should be steeped in tradition, but that has changed as couples increasingly look to personalize their big day.
Wedding news and information website The Knot surveyed around 12,000 couples who married in 2022. They found 33 percent incorporated a unique theme into their wedding—a 13 percent rise on the number who did similar in 2017.
As a celebrant, McMonagle is at the forefront of this growing trend. "I give couples fun, unique and personal wedding ceremonies, that are extra memorable," she told Newsweek.
"Normally, the wedding ceremony can be seen as the boring bit before the party that you have to sit through, but with what I do as a celebrant, it sets the tone, it's entertaining, both funny and sentimental, and has guests really engaged right from the start."
A former TV producer, she is always on the lookout for couples seeking "something a bit different, not stuffy and overly traditional," but rather a wedding that "feels like them," which is where Becca and Jack came in.
McMonagle said that the sign was something the bride, Becca, saw while looking on the online marketplace website Etsy for inspiration. She said: "They discussed it together, and it's just their humor—the point of their wedding is to be very them—their personality, having everything they want for their day and this screamed them."
"It's obviously very tongue-in-cheek, and plays to the stereotypes people have about weddings and wedding planning—they both planned the day together, and this was a bit of harmless fun."
McMonagle loved the sign and wished she had had something similar at her wedding five years ago. "My husband and I planned everything together, but when you get caught up in things, you can think about it as 'my wedding' rather than 'our wedding,'" she told Newsweek. "It's like Monica and Chandler from Friends."
McMonagle said all the guests and, of course, Jack, the groom, found it "really funny" and they weren't alone in that respect. Posting a video of the sign to her TikTok account, bexthecelebrantuk, McMonagle asked: "Isn't this one of the best wedding signs you've ever seen?"
Many viewers were inclined to agree. "I bet it was a brilliant wedding if they have this humor," one user wrote, with another commenting: "This tells me that you both are hilarious people who are blessed to have found each other."
A third added: "This is hilarious, but I also immediately think Jack is a fun guy too!"
Despite the largely positive response, though, some were less than impressed with the sign. "Am I the only one that thinks this is very toxic and not funny at all?" one critic wrote, with another responding: "nothing screams 'the goal is the wedding, not the marriage' more than this."
A third naysayer wrote: "Funny, but also kinda sad like it's his wedding too."
A picture of the sign was also posted to Twitter where it received a similarly mixed response, with one user reposting it alongside the comment predicting they would be "divorced by the end of the decade."
The negative comments surprised McMonagle. "It is very clearly a joke, and if Jack hadn't felt comfortable with it or felt disrespected in any way, Becca would not have had the sign," she explained. "But both found it funny, and again, like the rest of the wedding, was so 'them.'"
Ultimately, she believes it is important to remember weddings are a matter of personal taste. "When it comes to weddings, everyone has opinions and not everyone is going to like all of your choices. This sign isn't for everyone, and that is fair enough," she told Newsweek.
"Your day should be what you want as a couple, which is exactly how Becca and Jack planned their day, and it really was beautiful, memorable and fun."
Though she acknowledges people are entitled to their own opinions, McMonagle said she had been dismayed by some of the negative comments posted in response. "I think 'toxic' is a strong view—I can't see how anyone thinks it is a serious sign, with genuine views," she said.
"The comments of "Jack should divorce her" or "I give it a year," to a couple who literally got married a matter of days ago and are on their way to their honeymoon is awful and makes me feel sick."
Despite the negative remarks, McMonagle would always encourage couples to follow their hearts and have the wedding they want rather than "planning a wedding the way think think it should be done."
Has a wedding come between your relationship with a loved one? Let us know via life@newsweek.com. We can ask experts for advice, and your story could be featured on Newsweek.
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