Derek Hough Shares What Went Wrong at His Wedding: ‘It Was Pretty Terrible’

Heavy/Getty Derek Hough shares what went wrong at his wedding.

Derek Hough and Hayley Erbert got married on August 26, 2023, in Monterey, California. The dreamy nuptials were held outdoors and the couple was surrounded by nature as they exchanged vows.

Now, the “Dancing With the Stars” judge and his new wife are chatting with Shawn Johnson and Andrew East about all things love and life. On the November 8, 2023, episode of the “Couple Things” podcast, Hough and Erbert talked about their wedding and Hough shared a few things that went “wrong.”

“There was a moment, I will say. You know, people always say, ‘does something ever go wrong?’ And there was one thing. … The welcome party the first day, right before people showed up,” Hough began. “We’re on a cliff on the ocean in this beautiful cabin. It’s a little chilly. … We’ve got this stone fireplace,” he continued. Hough said that he decided to light a fire to enhance the mood.

Hough turned on the gas to ignite a really large fire. “The thing was aflame,” he recalled. He then left the house and his wife-to-be was inside getting ready. However, the chimney flue wasn’t open and the whole cabin quickly filled with smoke.

“It was pretty terrible,” Hough admitted. They were able to get everything under control, however.

Here’s what you need to know:

Derek Hough & Hayley Erbert’s First Dance Didn’t Go as Planned, Either

In a video shared on Instagram in August 2023, Hough and Erbert gave fans a peek of their wedding day. In that video, there was a small glimpse of the couple’s first dance.

During their time on the “Couple Things” podcast, Hough and Erbert also talked about their first dance. And there was a small issue with that, as well. They came up with this fun idea in which the two of them would be dancing alone with their wedding guests at the door. They wanted fog machines to make the moment even more dramatic — but that didn’t exactly work out.

The idea is that Hough and Erbert would look like they were “dancing on a cloud.” However, the “ground fog” wasn’t staying on the ground. They worried that they’d look as though they were dancing in a cloud rather than on one and decided to skip the fog altogether.

Overall, however, Hough said the wedding was “awesome.”

Derek Hough & Hayley Erbert’s Wedding Was a ‘Fairytale’ With a Side of Mosh Pit

Overall, Hough and Erbert’s wedding was simply magical. In an interview with People magazine, Hough said his special day was like a “fairytale.”

He’s also opened up about his wedding in various interviews since.

“It was so special. It was such a beautiful, beautiful weekend. It was magical,” Hough told Jennifer Hudson on her talk show. He also revealed that his best man started a mosh pit.

“My best man, Mark Ballas, did his best man speech and at the end of it, he was kind of recalling to when we were kids and we used to go to heavy metal and rock concerts. And we started out with a big crowd surf to Korn — so that’s how it started,” he continued, adding, “But then my dad was break-dancing at one point, I’m like, ‘What are you doing over there?’ But it was a lot of fun — a lot of dancing, literally ’til the end of the night. It was awesome.”

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