Ideas for stopping a wedding

williamfromkc · Oct 7, 2008

I'm writing a new story and there's a plot twist in which the villain manages to prevent a wedding from taking place. The villain only has one day to stop it and he can't get caught doing it.

The villain (Oliver) is a mysterious gem smuggler and he's trying to manipulate the bride's sister (Anna) who is in love with the groom (Peter) to join him on a scheme. Since Anna won't accept bribes, Oliver wants to get Anna together with the Peter just long enough to use Peter as a tool to get what he wants by kidnapping Peter and holding him hostage.

Any ideas for a creative way to stop a wedding without getting caught?

mscelina · Oct 7, 2008

Death was the only escape I could think of when I was about to get married.

CharlieBabbitt · Oct 7, 2008

I take it you don't want to kidnap Peter to stop the wedding -- too many FBI/police, etc?

Is Peter in on it? He could be "sick" -- something deathly contagious

The wedding venue could have an emergency -- sewer pipe break and the place is flooded with yuck. If the bride always wanted to get married there, every place else is booked (no one else has a big backyard to move to), they could postpone for a week

That's a tough one...good luck!

vixey · Oct 7, 2008

Cause the minister's car to break down (though that would only delay it).

Make bogus phone call to minister that his mother (who lives a thousand miles away) is about to die and he MUST go to her because she MUST talk to him.

Call in a bomb threat for the church (or emergency at church like Charlie said).

DeleyanLee · Oct 7, 2008

Burn down the church.

The church my folks were supposed to get married in got struck by lightning and burnt to the ground the night before the wedding. They almost didn't get married (their pastor called in a major favor at a sister church the next town over--and all the total last-minute shuffling almost shut down the wedding too).

Especially in the era where so many places are booked months, even years in advance, that can be devestating to marriage plans.

williamfromkc · Oct 7, 2008

Good idea

CharlieBabbitt said:
I take it you don't want to kidnap Peter to stop the wedding -- too many FBI/police, etc?

Is Peter in on it? He could be "sick" -- something deathly contagious

The wedding venue could have an emergency -- sewer pipe break and the place is flooded with yuck. If the bride always wanted to get married there, every place else is booked (no one else has a big backyard to move to), they could postpone for a week

That's a tough one...good luck!

I like these! I thought about having Oliver drug the bride the night before and shooting some compromising photos to use to blackmail the bride. But I think that takes too much of the focus off the story.

I also like the idea of kidnapping Peter but leave a fake note for the bride saying he has cold feet and that he's going to Europe to think things over.

But I need to split up Peter and the bride and make him emotionally available to Anna which means he needs to not want the bride anymore.

vixey · Oct 7, 2008

williamfromkc said:
But I need to split up Peter and the bride and make him emotionally available to Anna which means he needs to not want the bride anymore.

You might have to set up this scenario earlier in your story to make it believable. It was done in Four Weddings and a Funeral, but we knew Hugh Grant was only getting married to "settle."

williamfromkc · Oct 7, 2008

I have an earlier scene that shows the bride sort of manipulating Peter into dating her.

What about staging a scenario in which Peter ties one on and ends up in bed with Anna the night before?

vixey · Oct 7, 2008

A bit cliche, but it would work. I know as a bride if I found my fiance curled up in bed with anyone (espeically a sister) that would be grounds for calling off the wedding!!

girlyswot · Oct 7, 2008

Have him send an anonymous letter with (forged if need be) evidence that either the bride or groom is already married to whoever you think would most dramatically stop the wedding in its tracks at the 'If anyone has just cause...' moment. And then you can have the accused party denying everything, the other one not sure whether to believe them, lots and lots of accusations, mistrust, shouting, storming out and so on. Fun for everyone!

Branwyn · Oct 7, 2008

Amnesia.

dirtsider · Oct 7, 2008

girlyswot said:
Have him send an anonymous letter with (forged if need be) evidence that either the bride or groom is already married to whoever you think would most dramatically stop the wedding in its tracks at the 'If anyone has just cause...' moment. And then you can have the accused party denying everything, the other one not sure whether to believe them, lots and lots of accusations, mistrust, shouting, storming out and so on. Fun for everyone!

Or have the villian get help from an accomplice and getting the bride to believe that Peter's been cheating on her. Especially if the woman's pregnant at the time....

Irysangel · Oct 7, 2008

Someone was already married and neglected to mention it?

williamfromkc · Oct 7, 2008

dirtsider said:
Or have the villian get help from an accomplice and getting the bride to believe that Peter's been cheating on her. Especially if the woman's pregnant at the time....

Good idea! I have this image of a very pregnant woman in a coffee shop fiddling with her ring on her finger when it slips off her finger and falls to the ground. Peter, seeing her struggle to get up, tells her to stay seated and gives her the ring. She asks him to put it back on her finger for her while making a joke about being butterfingers. He laughs and, still kneeling, slips it on. Oliver snaps the picture of Peter putting a ring on a very pregnant woman's finger while they're both smiling, gets it developed, and hands it to the pregnant girl to take to the bride.

Then he protests his innocence. But the bride is so hurt and angry, she decides it's time to mention her own REAL affair with Peter's brother.

DeleyanLee · Oct 7, 2008

williamfromkc said:
Good idea! I have this image of a very pregnant woman in a coffee shop fiddling with her ring on her finger when it slips off her finger and falls to the ground. Peter, seeing her struggle to get up, tells her to stay seated and gives her the ring. She asks him to put it back on her finger for her while making a joke about being butterfingers. He laughs and, still kneeling, slips it on. Oliver snaps the picture of Peter putting a ring on a very pregnant woman's finger while they're both smiling, gets it developed, and hands it to the pregnant girl to take to the bride.

Then he protests his innocence. But the bride is so hurt and angry, she decides it's time to mention her own REAL affair with Peter's brother.

In this day and age, get a digital and change the date if there's a date stamp. A nice email or photo-send will take care of the rest.

regdog · Oct 7, 2008

Rather than a pregnant woman why not have a woman with a newborn go the fiancee and say the child is Peter's and have the time of the affair around the time when Peter was a way or the couple was having problems.

Another idea a man who is friend's with the sister goes to Peter and admits to an affair with the bride to be and the sister has given the man details of a birthmark, mole or something that only someone with intimate knowledge of the woman's body would know about. And has a Photshoped picture to back up the claim.

LaurieD · Oct 7, 2008

If you want him (Peter) emotionally vulnerable to the bride's sister, how about some "caught cheating" evidence of the bride emailed to him? He's distressed, the sister is there, she offers him a hug, one thing leads to another. .. Later he's confused, hurt, etc, doesn't even show for the wedding

Cathy C · Oct 7, 2008

If it's a wedding where one or the other of the people is a member of the church, have the villain offer forged "proof" confidentially to the priest/pastor that one of the people is already married. That'll shut it down in a heartbeat and the pastor often won't say where he got the information without threats. (happened to the daughter of a friend of mine. Ruined the whole wedding and it took MONTHS to set it up again. It wound up being an old boyfriend who was getting revenge on her for picking someone else. Took the father of the bride literally walking into the church with a CROWBAR to get him to say where he heard it. LOL!)

williamfromkc · Oct 7, 2008

LaurieD said:
If you want him (Peter) emotionally vulnerable to the bride's sister, how about some "caught cheating" evidence of the bride emailed to him? He's distressed, the sister is there, she offers him a hug, one thing leads to another. .. Later he's confused, hurt, etc, doesn't even show for the wedding

Laurie-
This was actually my first idea. I planned to have Oliver drug the bride and then compromise her. I also had the idea of Oliver secretly taping a conversation with the bride the night before the wedding during which she brags about marrying into money and how she'll be worth millions of dollars as soon as she gets a divorce. Of course her statement would be taken out of context. But I've already painted her as a bit of an opportunist.

Stlight · Oct 7, 2008

Wow Cathy did someone get sued for the price of the missed wedding?

S

Ruv Draba · Oct 8, 2008

Flood or fire in the venue, or the bride or groom's home
Hit bride or groom with a car
Frame bride or groom for a crime so they'll be held for 24 hours
Pay for bride or groom to be abducted
Give bride or groom food-poisoning
Redirect or destroy the wedding-dress
Frame bride or groom in flagrante delicto with another party
Slip bride or groom a drug
Abduct a family member and hold them to ransom
Infect the bride with poison ivy or similar
Fiddle it so that one of them has jury duty
Steal/clone a cellphone and get one to think that the other wants to elope instead

girlyswot · Oct 8, 2008

Ruv Draba said:
Flood or fire in the venue, or the bride or groom's home
Hit bride or groom with a car
Frame bride or groom for a crime so they'll be held for 24 hours
Pay for bride or groom to be abducted
Give bride or groom food-poisoning
Redirect or destroy the wedding-dress
Frame bride or groom in flagrante delicto with another party
Slip bride or groom a drug
Abduct a family member and hold them to ransom
Infect the bride with poison ivy or similar
Fiddle it so that one of them has jury duty
Steal/clone a cellphone and get one to think that the other wants to elope instead

In fact, it's kind of amazing that anyone ever manages to get married at all...

Gillhoughly · Oct 8, 2008

Pre-wedding breakfast/brunch.

Syrup of ipecac in the coffee urn.

Call 911.

Write the results up as a House episode.

Yeshanu · Oct 8, 2008

girlyswot said:
Have him send an anonymous letter with (forged if need be) evidence that either the bride or groom is already married to whoever you think would most dramatically stop the wedding in its tracks at the 'If anyone has just cause...' moment. And then you can have the accused party denying everything, the other one not sure whether to believe them, lots and lots of accusations, mistrust, shouting, storming out and so on. Fun for everyone!

I was thinking along those lines, though we were told in seminary that if this happens during a wedding, we should take all the affected parties to a private place and hear the accusations and examine the evidence in private.

In this case, a fake marriage certificate showing that one of the parties was already married would probably do the trick.

Cathy C · Oct 9, 2008

Gillhoughly said:
Pre-wedding breakfast/brunch.

Syrup of ipecac in the coffee urn.

Call 911.

Write the results up as a House episode.

Yeah, that would work! :ROFL:

stlight said:
Wow Cathy did someone get sued for the price of the missed wedding?

No, it just wasn't worth even more pain. Suffice it to say that they were careful to mention the former boyfriend to the NEW pastor who actually performed the ceremony, so it didn't work a second time. Problem was they couldn't PROVE he said it, and the first pastor refused to testify because of confidentiality issues.

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