Noun: "(dated, communism) a wedding ceremony in the Soviet Union in which the couple pledged loyalty to the state or communism in addition to reciting marriage vows"
1942, Albert Rhys Williams, "Religion in the USSR", Soviet Russia Today, October 1942, page 15:
As the church sought to make these events significant with its ceremonies, so did the Communists with their “Red weddings,” “Red funerals” and “Red christenings.”
“Shall we have a Red Wedding, Ilyosha?” Stesha asked a little later.
1994, Woodford McClellan, Russia: The Soviet Period and After, page 77:
They celebrated “red weddings” at factories, bride and groom standing before a piece of machinery and pledging their loyalty first to the communist state, then to each other.
1997, Orland Figes, A People's Tragedy: The Russian Revolution 1891-1924, page 747:
Red weddings were another Bolshevik ritual, popular among the Komsomol youth. They were usually held in a factory or some local club. Instead of the altar the couple faced a portrait of Lenin. They made their vows of loyalty both to each other and to the principles of Communism.
1998, Ronald Grigor Suny, The Soviet Experiment: Russia, the USSR, and the Successor States, page 186:
Soon "Red weddings" replaced church weddings for dedicated Communists.
2016, Torkel Brekke, Faithonomics: Religion and the Free Market, page 249:
In the “red weddings” of the Soviet Union, Communist officials donned robes and solemnly sanctified marriages in a church-like setting with candles and flowers while speaking from an altar with Communist symbols and pictures of Lenin.
Noun: "(often figuratively) a situation involving carnage, bloodshed, or chaos; a massacre; a mass culling."
2013, Mike Neel, letter published in Hopeless Vitti & Walker Burchielli, Avengers Arena: Murder World, page 143:
I’m just waiting for your AVENGERS ARENA take on a red wedding so | can start to feel comfortable like things are working out and then you prove to me once again why I hate you, and why I hate this book, and why I always come back to it with anticipation.
"Lucifer?" I ask, turning toward Python. I ain't gonna lie, the bitch's name has a way of making a heart skip a beat. After all, she and Profit popped up out of nowhere and mowed down half our wedding party. "What the fuck do you want with that bitch?"
Python drops into the leather chair across from Diesel’s desk. “You can ask that shit after she and your sister’s lil boyfriend turned our nuptials into a red wedding?”
2014, "Dr. Nick", "Reality Checks", Critic (University of Otago), 26 May 2014, page 16:
Every paediatrician, public health nurse and GP that vaccinates can tell you about the truckload of parents who won't immunise their kids because of the risk of autism. There are also the parents that won't have a bar of it for similarly flawed reasons, but talking about them for too long makes me mad enough to invite them all to a red wedding, so I'll skip to the pointy end.
2014, Ian Cheesman, "Beer & Cheeses", San Diego CityBeat, 12 November 2014, page 10:
It either signals the emergence of a greater confederation of California brewing or a diabolical plot to silence our rivals in a Red Wedding-esque explosion of violence.
“I don't want a red wedding. This could easily turn into a Game of Thrones-like situation with fists. Please don't say or do anything that will set Nick off.”
2017, Allison Williams, quoted in Matt Prigge, "Allison Williams' life after Marnie", Metro (Philadelphia), 23 February 2017, page 12:
My emphasis on seeing it live, because it's not like a "Red Wedding" spoilery show, is much more intense now that I'm working with material that should be seen in a theater when it comes out – not on your laptop or your iPad at some point.
I sit in front of Rachel and she examines the state of me before speaking. "I take it things went well."
I sigh and take the cold shot of tequilla she sets in front of me. I've got a cut on my palm from trying to pick up the glass I dropped, and another gash on my knuckles from when I punched Lukas.
“It's as close to a red wedding as we're getting outside the Game of Thrones universe.”
2019, Lynn Elber, "Haddish, stability mark ABC schedule", Stars and Stripes, 16 May 2019, page 18:
Although ABC’s cancellation slate is far from a Red Wedding, these seven shows got the axe: “Whiskey Cavalier,” “For the People,” “Dancing with the Stars: Juniors,” “Child Support,” “The Alec Baldwin Show,” “The Kids Are Alright” and “Splitting Up Together.”
2019, Lóa Hlín Hjálmtýsdóttir, "TV Goddess", The Reykjavík Grapevine, 5 July 2019 - 18 July 2019, page 52:
Þórr grabs the hammer, crushes the skulls of Þrymur and his sister, slaughters all the other guests, does a sickening death drop, and sashays away. Talk about a red wedding, henny. Morals of the story: 1. Drag is art. 2. Weddings always end in disappointment.
2019 July 29, Alison Griswold, “Uber is laying off one-third of its global marketing team”, in Quartz[1]:
A source familiar with the matter told Quartz that Uber employees are referring to the layoffs as the "marketing red wedding," a reference to a massacre that takes place in Game of Thrones.
2021, Megan Garber, "2020 Changed What TV is For", Majalla Magazine, 8 January 2021, page 48:
Prestige implies a certain antagonism between a show's creators and its viewers: a challenge, a provocation, a Red Wedding-style shock to entertainment's typical transactions.
Every day is a red wedding game of thrones day when you live under the surveillance of your parents.
2022, Mashal Khan, quoted in Ayesha Izhar Chaudhri, "A Sociolinguistic Study of Taboos and Euphemisms Surrounding Pakistani Females’ Daily Issues", Global Sciences Review, Volume 7, Number 2, Spring 2022, page 39:
She said, “I would actually be relieved and not tell anyone because I thought it was easier to live without a Red Wedding taking place in my uterus” (Khan, 2019). Red wedding is a euphemistic expression that she has used for the menstrual cycle.
2022 November 3, Kate Conger, Ryan Mac, “Elon Musk Begins Layoffs at Twitter”, in The New York Times[2]:
"Has the red wedding started?" one employee wrote on Slack, a reference to a massacre scene in "Game of Thrones."
2022 November 9, Oliver Darcy, “Analysis: Why the news media got the midterm ‘red wave’ narrative so wrong”, in CNN[3]:
Pundits such as Ben Shapiro noted the view had gone "from red wave to red wedding."