South Dakota Weddings: Drunk Couples, Rowdy Guests

A wedding is supposed to be the ultimate celebration of the beginning of a new chapter in a couple’s life.

But when it comes to South Dakota wedding ceremonies those supposed joyous occasions can take a turn to the dark side very quickly.

The website Lawnstarter surveyed more than 1,200 Americans who were recently married and they show some disturbing trends.

By the time the average bride and groom walk down the aisle, they have consumed 2.2 alcoholic beverages BEFORE the ceremony even starts.

But in South Dakota, you can nearly quintuple that number.

Couples in the Mount Rushmore State polish off more than ten drinks (10.3) between them before saying ‘I do’. That’s second only to New Hampshire’s 10.4 drinks per couple.

Those two states far outpace the rest of the country. Louisiana is third with 6.3 drinks per couple.

Top 10 states that drink the most a wedding ceremony:

1. New Hampshire (10.4 drinks)
2. South Dakota (10.3)
3. Louisiana (6.3)
4. Indiana (5.6)
5. Kansas (5.3)
6. Nebraska (4)
7. Michigan (3.9)
8. Texas (3.8)
9. Utah (3.6)
10. New York (3.3)

All of that drinking on wedding days leads to some less than stellar behavior from those in the bridal party as well as those in attendance.

The same survey showed physical altercations occur at a little more than nine percent of American weddings. And again South Dakota is well above the national average – nearly double at 16 percent.

Those reception rumbles are even more commonplace in three other states (Nebraska 33%, Kentucky 32%, and Kansas 25%) where at least one-in-four weddings feature some sort of rowdy behavior.