Groom mispronounced vow at the altar and the bride laughed so hard they had to take a break during the ceremony
Wedding jitters are pretty common. While the bride and groom look forward to having a picture-perfect wedding day, they also get anxious about getting their wedding vows right. However, one groom's mispronunciation at the altar while reciting his vows sent the whole crowd roaring with laughter. Even his bride couldn't hold back her contagious laugh and she cracked up as well. Needless to say, Andrew and Melissa Engstrom's wedding was unforgettable for the couple, as well as, the internet.
Even though the incident took place over a decade ago, viral footage from their wedding that captured Melissa's wholesome laughter kept resurfacing on various social media platforms. The wedding that took place in 2009 proved that Andrew and Melissa were destined for one another as they took a brief break between the wedding ceremonies to collect themselves. In the video, Andrew fumbles with his vows when he tells Melissa that he will take her as his "waffly wedded wife" instead of "lawfully wedded wife." Initially, Melissa chuckles a bit along with the priest officiating their marital union.
But soon, Melissa loses her wits and bursts out laughing even louder. She even gestures about eating waffles with her hands as the wedding guests smile over the groom's gaffe. "I've been scared of this all my life," Andrew confesses after messing up his vows and it only escalates Melissa's laughter. "It's okay folks, I've seen this before," the priest remarks in between. The video was originally captured by the couple's wedding videographer Larry McDonough who posted it on YouTube and it has received over 14 million views till now. Soon after, Andrew and Melissa landed an interview with CBS's Harry Smith.
"How did you end up saying waffle instead of lawful?" Smith asks Andrew during the interview. Andrew reveals that the priest was actually his father officiating the wedding as Melissa's dad giggled like crazy next to her. Andrew jokingly blames Melissa's dad for distracting him and mixing up the words "waffle" and "lawful." Melissa adds how the error caused her to erupt into uncontrollable laughter. "We are both theater people, you know. So initially it was like 'Haha' but then it started building in my head that Andrew said waffle instead of lawful. Then people were snickering and I could hear my dad giggling behind me," Melissa reveals, mentioning that at one point she couldn't hold her composure and laughed out loud.
In another interview with Stronger Families TV, the happy couple shared more details about their memorable wedding moment. The pair revealed that they met at Seattle Pacific University when they were both students. Andrew was the one who fell in love with Melissa first and he realized that she was "guarding her heart" and he wanted to "play it right." Melissa revealed that Andrew started writing to her when he was 16 and gave her a journal where he had wished to find the love of his life and a wife. The Engstrom couple also opened up about setting stringent boundaries between them while dating and their engagement period and that helped them to grow close to one another.