Awkward Wedding Kisses: You May Now Kiss The — Hey, Wait A Minute! 15 Cringing Kisses in One Video

Wedding kisses are supposed to be, well, romantic — not awkward. In fact, the wedding kiss is generally the highlight of any wedding ceremony, sealing the new married couple’s union in front of family, friends, and the world.

But it doesn’t always work out that way.

Check out this video, compiled by our blissful buddies at BuzzFeed, who combed the always-amusing site Awkward Family Photos — the same bunch who earlier brought you some of the most awkward bridesmaids you’ll ever endure.

You can check out the awkward bridesmaids at this link.

Well, weddings are just awkward, it seems. This video brings you 15 of the most cringe-worthy wedding kisses you’re ever likely to see. And why shouldn’t the awkwardness of weddings extend to its most sacred tradition, “you may now kiss the bride,” anyway?

The tradition itself has some strange beginnings. In earlier, more innocent times, man and women were not even supposed to kiss at all until their holy bond of matrimony had been sealed. And they certainly weren’t allowed to do, you know, anything else.

So the wedding kiss was actually a couple’s first kiss — ever. At least, that was the theory that the wedding kiss tradition still celebrates today, as woefully outdated at it may be

An alternate tradition holds that the kiss is a bond that keeps evil spirits out of a couple’s marriage. How well it works for many couples — well, that’s debatable.

But as integral as the wedding kiss seems to most of us, there are many different cultural traditions where a kiss to conclude a wedding ceremony is optional at best.

Watching this video of awkward wedding kisses, well, maybe it’s better that way.