A wedding crasher is someone who attends a wedding uninvited. Unlike the 2005 film which takes its name from the term, the objective of a crasher may not be to “hook-up” and have sex with guests that were invited but to enjoy free food, cheap or free alcohol, or the party atmosphere.
Wedding crashers usually don’t crash the actual wedding ceremony (bride and groom on the altar with a priest) because of the lack of social significance to them and to achieve the previously stated objectives of
entertainment, so they’re usually found at the wedding dance, reception, and/or dinner.
The nature of
wedding crashers means they may cause trouble at weddings. Since they usually don’t know the people getting married (or other people attending) there is no significance, concern, or respect for the wedding attendees. For example, a crasher may get
belligerently drunk and cause a ruckus at a wedding with no remorse since the people there mean nothing to him or her.
Wedding crashers are difficult to keep out since receptions and dances tend to be large and most don’t require an actual paper invitation for proof. A small wedding where only family members are invited maybe a situation where a crasher would be
easily spotted.
In rural areas or smaller towns where an “everyone knows everyone” environment is prevalent because of small population, inadvertent wedding crashing may occur when people not invited to the wedding ceremony attend the reception or dance after because they have some sort of social tie with people at the wedding. An example would be the person knows the bride and groom, who due to the fact maybe a friend of them would have their presence permitted at the wedding despite being uninvited.
Wedding crashing may also occur with people who know people at the wedding but are not invited because of disputes with guests or even the bride and groom. An angry ex-boyfriend may crash a wedding as a form of vengeance, for example.
