Abroad
The hotel responded that it was because the bride took too long to change.
May 18, 2026, 12:06 PM
A day that was supposed to be filled with joy and laughter ended in tears for one bride.
A bride from Xinyang City in Henan Province, China, recently complained that the hotel where she held her wedding banquet served the food too early, causing guests to leave before the celebrations were over.
In an interview posted on Weibo, the 28-year-old bride, surnamed Liu, was seen crying as she recounted the mishaps that marred what was meant to be her special day.
Guests left early
Liu said the wedding took place on the afternoon of Apr. 3 after months of meticulous planning and a budget of over 40,000 yuan (S$7,525).
However, problems arose throughout the day, she said.
According to Liu, the issues began at the start of the ceremony when the lighting technician made a mistake, which was the tip of the iceberg for her.
She claimed the most heartbreaking moment came when the customary toasting session had to be cancelled because most of the guests seated across the 22 banquet tables had already left.
Liu said this happened because the hotel served the food ahead of schedule.
The wedding ceremony was supposed to begin at 11:58am, but the hotel had already served three cold dishes by 11:52am, she said. The hot dishes were also served before the ceremony concluded at 12:35pm.
When Liu returned after changing her outfit, she found the venue nearly empty.
The joyful scenes and toasting photos she had looked forward to never materialised as she had envisioned.
Hotel’s perspective
The hotel, however, offered a different account of events.
Hotel staff claimed that the main reason guests left early was that the bride took too long to change outfits.
According to the staff, Liu spent 46 minutes changing, even though the usual timing for such a change was around 20 minutes.
They also pointed out that the wedding was held on a weekday, and many guests needed to return to work by around 1pm.
As a result, the staff said guests would likely have left regardless of whether the food had been served early, adding that the hotel could not force them to stay.
The hotel denied any negligence in its service, emphasising that it had not received any written instructions from the newlyweds to delay serving the dishes, and therefore did not believe it was at fault.
