Quick, Pandas, close your eyes and try to imagine all of the things that weddings simply cannot do without. Odds are that you probably thought of a giant, delicious wedding cake, the happy couple smiling wider than you’ve ever seen them, fun/silly/awesome dancing all night long, frilly decorations, and throwing the bouquet. However, for some people, weddings have to have alcohol—and they won’t take ‘no’ for an answer.
Case in point, redditor u/Mammoth-Middle2910, a bride-to-be, decided to have a dry wedding with her fiance. Since neither of them drink, they didn’t want to spend money on alcohol. However, one of her friends was outraged by this decision. The bride clapped back, and decided to turn to the AITA online community for their verdict if she’d been too harsh or right on the money.
Scroll down for the full story below, Pandas. Whose side are you on? Have you ever been to a dry wedding before? What do you love about weddings the most? Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments.
One couple decided that their wedding is going to be dry—without any alcohol for the guests
Image credits: Luis Tosta (not the actual photo)
However, one of the bride-to-be's friends had a huge issue with that. Here's how their argument went
Image credits: Photos by Lanty (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Mammoth-Middle2910
The subject of drinking alcohol can be incredibly touchy. If you’ve ever told someone that you’re not drinking at a party, you probably had to deflect dozens of questions about all the little whys, hows, and whens, and if you’re able to have fun at all.
The simple fact is that, yes, it’s perfectly possible to have a great party and a wedding celebration without the need for booze. On the flip side, having a glass of champagne at a celebration of life and love also isn’t the end of the world.
However, all things considered, it all comes down to what the happy couple envisions for their Big Day. The OP explained that all of their friends and family know that they don’t drink alcohol and that they’ve hosted a number of dry parties before. So it's not unusual for the couple to want to save a bit of money on alcohol at their wedding. They even had a very witty way of announcing it to their guests on the invitations (we thought it was very creative).
What made the bride-to-be write the post in the first place was due to how she called out her guest who’d said he can’t have fun without alcohol. The AITA subreddit’s community took the OP’s side and stressed the fact that it’s the couple’s wedding and money, so they shouldn’t have to compromise if they don’t want to.
The majority of redditors thought that the OP did nothing wrong. Though quite a few also thought she was wrong to deny her guests the ability to have an alcoholic drink at the celebration. This, in turn, plays into what some internet users called the normalization of alcohol culture.
The science behind the consumption of alcohol has been swinging back and forth for quite some time now. Just like with the research done about coffee and eggs, scientists can’t firmly decide whether or not drinking alcohol in small doses is beneficial or detrimental to your health. (Though there’s no doubt that binge drinking is absolutely awful for you and should be avoided at all costs.)
So while some researchers point out that moderate drinking might make you less susceptible to having heart attacks and strokes and provides a host of other benefits, others point out that drinking any amount of alcohol actually increases your risk of heart disease.
The health improvements seen in moderate drinkers might not actually be directly caused by alcohol consumption, though. Moderate drinkers tend to live healthier lives than heavy drinkers and abstinence: they tend to exercise more, eat more veggies, and smoke less.
In short, the science isn’t conclusive and flip-flops back and forth a little bit, but it’s best to either consume no alcohol at all or have it in very low doses. If you feel like you can’t go to a party or a social gathering without having a few drinks, or that you simply can’t enjoy yourself without alcohol, it might be worth considering seeing a therapist. And it’s certainly no excuse to get angry at your friend and bride-to-be if she wants to have a dry wedding.
Most people thought that the author of the post did nothing wrong
However, some internet users had different opinions. They called the bride-to-be out for her behavior
