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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#264: Save the Date

From romantic comedies like 27 Dresses to suspenseful thrillers like Lucy Foley’s The Guest List, it’s no secret that weddings are a compelling backdrop for storytelling. I’ve personally got weddings on the brain after attending a few this summer — and while they all went smoothly, I’m still intrigued by the narrative possibilities of dramatic, comedic, and just plain outlandish weddings!

This week’s prompts draw from those possibilities, though they’re worded in a way that doesn’t necessarily require you to write a “wedding story.” Whether your characters stroll down the aisle or avoid it altogether, now’s your chance to take them on a captivating journey… in sickness, in health, as long as they both shall live, or under any other circumstances you might invent for them.

This week's prompts

Center your story around two people who meet at a wedding.

Character – 72 stories

Write a story in the form of a speech (or multiple speeches).

Character – 24 stories

Start your story with people arriving at a special ceremony.

Character – 31 stories

Write a story from the POV of a plus-one.

Character – 48 stories

End your story with someone saying “I do.”

Character – 113 stories

Stories

“Toasted” by Pat Gordon

Submitted to Contest #264

Hi everyone, I’m Donna. When Lori, I call her Lori, though once we graduated from Hillsburg High, she started calling herself “Lauren,” asked me to be her maid-of-honor, I wasn’t like most girls: quizzing her about colors and dresses, designers, and cuts. I wondered how I was going to capture our unforgettable friendship since 3rd grade in a speech. I didn’t want to bore a room full of people or embarrass anybody. So I made a deal with myself which I’m gonna let you in on. I promise not to do the first if you let me off the hook if I acciden...

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“Sleeping Beauty” by Michael McKean

Submitted to Contest #264

"Friends, family members of my dear best friend, Chastity - this will truly be a wedding to remember," Sarah tapped her microphone and smiled, looking at the audience. Then she looked down at Chastity lying in the glass box at her feet. The flowers draped over her. The veil covering her face. She was the perfect 'Sleeping Beauty.' "Chastity has been my friend since - well, as long as I can remember, really. We go back to elementary school. No, preschool even. I remember one day at recess when she taught me how to click my tongue."&...

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“The Best Man.” by Sean Heffernan

Submitted to Contest #264

Ladies and Gentlemen, *Ahem* If I could have your attention please! As Mikey’s best man and older brother, I wanted to say thank you for attending today on behalf of Lindsey and himself. Today we celebrate the true meaning of companionship, adventure, love, happiness, and the amazing journey of two of my favorite people to walk this Earth. (Pause) I remember when Mom brought Mikey home from the hospital. I was so angry that someone else was about to get all the attention from my parents. “Is Dad going to bring Mikey to the fishin...

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“Climbing the Ladder” by Tempest Phoenix Smith

Submitted to Contest #264

McPherson took a satisfied drag from his newly lit cigarette before getting out of the driver’s seat. Despite the fact that the three girls he transported here wore black, he admired the alluring view as they walked to join the crowd waiting outside the church. Sex on legs. Sex for hire. Sex that he obtained for himself when the time was right. Risky because it was against the business rules, but so very worth it. And not one of them, so far, had dared try to get him in trouble. They probably enjoyed it though they pretended to resist. He kn...

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“Choose Your Parents Well, Part II” by Bob Vaddiparty

Submitted to Contest #264

From a makeshift stage on a grassy patch next to the Talkeetna River, as their friends gathered to witness this most important ritual of her life, Uma peeked through the turquoise curtain, scanning the front row for her parents. She had stormed out of their house last month in a fit of rage. Her mind wandered to those summer nights with her grandparents during her high school years in Ojai and their stories of civil disobedience in the tumultuous Berkeley of the ‘60s. Conversations on religion, society, culture, books, and of ...

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“The Fake Wedding Date” by Dragon The Poet

Submitted to Contest #264

I don’t like drama. I avoid drama. I don’t even like shows with a lot of drama.So why did I ever agree to being this guy’s date to a wedding? The son of a mother who is my mom’s social enemy? And this wedding of some prominent people in this community? I hardly know those people. They’re only a year or two older than me. I made my exit from this giant social community because of how toxic it was. So did my date. Why did we come back?I fix my cobalt blue and forest green saree, Gods know why I decided to wear one. At my ripe age of 25, I stil...

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“James, JS and Tubby” by Meg Lagares

Submitted to Contest #264

No! No this can not be happening. Why did I accept this invitation? How drunk was I? It all sounded so romantic. My newest guy, Dean, is tall, dark, handsome and, ok, suave as all get out. What can I say? I was swept away. We met on a Friday, by Saturday we were hitting up flea markets, outdoor cafes, and inside hotel rooms. We couldn’t keep our hands off each other. It was heaven. That whole weekend was magical. Monday rolled around and we had to put us on hold; those pesky jobs were getting in the way. Right before we tore ourselves apart ...

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“Tying the Knot ” by Grace Krish

Submitted to Contest #264

Today's the big day. Well, not MY big day. It was actually Victoria and Cam's. Personally, I barely knew them, had met them once at their engagement party, which I had been brought along to, with Tom, who I'd been dating on and off for a few weeks. I remember it well, because the partying had been marred slightly by the news above the bar. A shaken newscaster had announced that there had been another homicide, which had been committed by this new serial killer that the public had taken to calling the "Urban Undertaker," which in my opinion, ...

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“Everybody's Secret” by Cameron Turner

Submitted to Contest #264

All the men and women gathered at Carlisle Evangelical Church for what they had been calling “the marriage of a lifetime.” Laughter fills the air as anticipation for the wedding grows. Soon everyone erupts into applause as the groom arrives in his brand new car. It was only slightly less fashionable than all the others he owned and had a dark exterior that seemed to match his personality. I scoffed as the people crowd around him. Benjamin was the pride of the town for his most recent business project. His ambitious product allows adults to h...

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“It Started as a Joke” by Neil Dabb

Submitted to Contest #264

It was supposed to be a joke, Sam thought. It had started with a simple second date, “Be my plus one at my sister’s wedding,” Jenn said. But now.... Jenn’s mother had tried to line Jenn up with a guy Jenn had dumped in high school. Her mother insisted he was a nice guy even after he began aggressively stalking her. Sam’d had a class with Jenn but in visiting she’d never showed interest in dating. Then she called late one Friday evening “Will you be my knight in shining armor?” she’d said. "Jenn?" "I have a stalker who is ge...

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“The Favour ” by Sarah Warrilow

Submitted to Contest #264

The organ pipes up, the church doors open and with the precision of synchronised swimmers everyone turns in their seats to see the bridal procession. I try to keep my composure, but I can’t fight it any longer, and my eyes begin to water. My god this underwear’s tight! It’s my own fault, anything that’s been relegated to the box under my bed should’ve sounded alarm bells. I’ll have to ditch them before the hors d'oeuvres, but discreetly. If John finds out I’ve gone commando he might get the wrong idea. I strain my neck past a sea of headwea...

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“Ashton - Who?” by Bobbie Dee

Submitted to Contest #264

Plus-one. What does that even mean, anyway? At what point did we start replacing meaningful words like companion, friend, or something more heartfelt and of greater significance with a phrase so arbitrary as plus-one. An additional one. What’s to determine who is the additional one and who is meant to be at a given event? I suppose an invitation would decide that… In an instant, I have been reduced to something similar to a leech that simply attaches itself onto another body and tags along for the food, the company, the experience, wil...

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“Plus One” by Johan Persson

Submitted to Contest #264

Plus One “How much further is it?” I said, and then chuckled. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to sound like a five-year-old just then.” She didn’t look away from the road as she answered. “Twelve minutes.” A weirdly specific answer since she wasn’t using a GPS. An old forest towered over the dirt road we were on. The slash of sky visible above us was diming by the minute. “Bit late for a wedding, isn’t it?” She shrugged. I tugged at the cuffs of my dress shirt, trying to make them stick out past the sleeves of the too big suit jacket I’d rented. I’d ...

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“The Plus-one” by Sariha Sohail

Submitted to Contest #264

The Plus-one. His eyes were full of affection and anyone who had ever been lucky enough to have witnessed genuine love could tell that this man was so irrevocably and devotedly in love. And as I stood by his side, my arm in his, I thought about how it felt to be desired by him. Weddings will do that to you. When you’re at an event whose sole purpose is to celebrate love, its impossible not to be consumed by thoughts of the future - and mine was standing right next to me. I had only known him for a few months but what is time when you’re in l...

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“A Super Duper Totally Awesome Party!!!” by Madeline Green

Submitted to Contest #264

There's some spookums ahead so beware. When your friend invited you to the “party of a lifetime”, you imagined gorgeous ball gowns, delectable appetizers, and all the delights of the more privileged. You didn’t think you’d be cast to the side like a slice of stale cake, and yet, here you are. After you and your friend got out of the limousine they “rented”—you don’t believe that; they probably just wanted you to feel better about your financial situation—you rolled up to the party, dressed in not matching, but complementary outfits. This wa...

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$250

Prize money

288

Contest entries

105

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Aug 23, 2024 EST

Won by Lonnie Russo 🏆

Title: Men on the Moon

Submissions must be between 1,000 - 3,000 words and will be approved and published on Reedsy Prompts within 7 days of the contest closing.

Read the full terms & conditions or check out the FAQ if you have any questions!

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