It’s pretty standard for weddings to have some rules. Some couples choose to have alcohol-free weddings, others ask guests not to bring their children, and a wedding dress code is probably the most common wedding rule of all. But the crazy list of rules this bridezilla sent her guests might go into the hall of fame of the most ridiculous wedding invites.
One of the bridesmaids shared a list of 15 rules that all the guests were sent, which included banning alcohol, vegan and vegetarian options, having a plus-one, and demanding that bridesmaids wake up at 4 a.m., among other ridiculous requests. It seemed like the whole wedding was just an excuse for the bride to have a power trip.
Some wedding rules make sense, but a list like this one left the guests speechless
The bridezilla sent them a list of rules that made guests think she was on a major power trip
Attending a wedding can get pretty stressful as it is, and extra rules make it even more difficult
A wedding is a party — it’s a big celebration of two people’s love, of course, but still, it shouldn’t become so demanding that the people attending it feel like it’s a chore or something they’re forced to do.
Too many rules can deter guests from coming to a wedding. It’s a simple rule of life: people hate being inconvenienced, and it doesn’t matter if it’s someone’s birthday, wedding, or anniversary. A demanding list of rules is almost guaranteed to make guests scoff in disagreement and even consider rescinding their RSVPs.
Wedding guests consider other, much more mundane things to be wedding etiquette faux pas. According to The Knot’s 2024 Wedding Study, long speeches, group dances, and long lines at the bar are the biggest nuisances at a wedding. Other complaints include having to witness an awkward garter toss, slow food service, cheesy favors like koozies with the newlyweds’ faces on them, and unassigned seating.
Dress codes are the most common thing that stresses out wedding guests. According to ThredUp, 58% of guests say that dress codes have become increasingly niche, and that dressing up for a wedding is starting to feel like labor more than leisure.
Attending weddings can be pretty expensive, too, and some people skip friends’ weddings because they simply can’t afford them. According to Bankrate, guests spend an average of $1,200 on the weddings they attend each year.
More than half say they experience financial anxiety about the wedding they have to attend. Shockingly, 31% of guests even have to go into debt to afford weddings. All in all, it seems like attending a wedding as a guest is pretty stressful nowadays as it is, so extra rules and demands really put a strain on people’s wallets, relationships, and mental well-being.
Declining a wedding invitation can ruin a relationship, but it’s less likely to suffer if the excuse is financial problems
Learning to say “No” is an art in itself, not only when it comes to declining invitations. Yet, in a situation like this, if a person clearly does not want to adhere to a bride’s insane list of rules and attend a wedding, they, of course, can say “No.”
As the OP noted in the comments, the relationships will most likely suffer in that case, but it’s always best to ask yourself: do you really want to be friends with a person who thinks such behavior is okay?
Declining a wedding invitation can be hard, and 12% of people who have done it say that it has ruined their relationship with the couple. Research shows that the excuse a guest gives a couple matters a lot. According to one study, if they say they don’t have time, the relationship is much more likely to suffer. If they claim they are in a tight spot financially, the couple is more inclined to forgive them.
“Invitations are just incredibly intimate,” Grant E Donnelly, assistant professor of marketing at The Ohio State University, explained to the BBC. “You’re making yourself vulnerable. When there’s a time-excuse rejection, the inviter infers they [the invitee/s] don't have time for me as opposed to thinking they don’t have time, period. You fill in the blanks.”
“I’m still gonna attend,” the OP wrote, “It’s gonna be a big thing if I don’t attend”
Most commenters found the lifestyle of the whole friend group quite ridiculous, too
