Wedding stories are a separate kind of folklore, and one could collect them and shoot an absolutely amazing action-packed TV show like American Crime Story. Just imagine: American Wedding Story with a selection of the most incredible plots - and, what is most interesting, the writers do not even have to invent them, just come and take from real life.
In fact, a wedding, of course, is one of the most important days in any person's life, but the very preparation for it is often very nerve-wracking and restless. Of course, the newlyweds want everything to go perfectly, without the slightest issues, and very few people get through all the stages of this process completely calmly.
For example, a similar story happened to user u/Both_Ad8736, whose post on the AITA Reddit community has already gained 8.2K upvotes and about 1.8K different comments. The heroine of this story is a bride-to-be, and this plot would be perfect as a pilot episode of our possible American Wedding Story show. So let's talk about everything in order...
More info: Reddit
The author of the post has a SIL "Kate" whom she actually never got along with
Image credits: Jan Kalab (not the actual image)
The author of the post is about to get married, and one of the guests at her upcoming wedding was supposed to be her SIL, "Kate". The Original Poster honestly admits that she and Kate never got along with one another, and explains this, for instance, by the fact that Kate is really possessive of her mother, kind of competitive. Moreover, sometimes it seems to the woman that her mother even loves Kate more than her own daughter.
Image credits: u/Both_Ad8736
The bride's mother promised to give her her own bridal gown in which she herself got married many years ago
Leading up to the wedding, the OP agreed with her mother that she would give her her bridal gown, in which she herself got married many years ago. The woman says that the dress is very beautiful, custom made, with openwork beaded embroidery, and she looks incredibly impressive in it. The OP was looking forward to her appearance at the ceremony in this beautiful gown, and therefore the news from her mom upset her incredibly.
Image credits: u/Both_Ad8736
It turned out that one day, mom asked Kate to try the dress on and then the SIL accidentally spilled her smoothie on it
The mother said that Kate had come over one day, and she asked the daughter-in-law to try on that very dress. Kate agreed, put it on - and at that moment, she had a sudden seizure (Kate has epilepsy), so she spilled her smoothie on the dress and damaged it heavily.
Image credits: Shawn Allen (not the actual image)
To say that the OP was grossed out would be an understatement. Despite the fact that her mother swore to her that she would take the gown to the tailor and have it cleaned and restored before the wedding, the bride's mood deteriorated irrevocably. Mom explained that it was sentimental as it was her dress first, so she just wanted to see Kate in it and she asked the SIL to try it on to take some photos, but that didn't calm the OP at all.
Image credits: u/Both_Ad8736
The bride-to-be was so indignant that she banned Kate from coming to her wedding though all the relatives criticized her for doing so
The woman was outraged to such an extent that she canceled Kate's invitation to the upcoming wedding - even though she understood that she could not blame Kate for having a medical condition. And yet the resentment remained, and the bride-to-be refused to change her mind, even though Kate herself eventually called her "psycho", her brother was upset and decided she's being cruel, and mom once again reminded her it was initially her own dress, and she herself had asked Kate to try it on.
Image credits: Avinash Bhat (not the actual image)
It could be that the woman just has some problems in the relationship with her mom - probably going back to her childhood
“I think in this situation, the problem is not the dress at all - rather, the gown became a kind of trigger in the relationship between the daughter, mother and Kate,” says Irina Matveeva, a psychologist and certified NLP specialist, who was asked by Bored Panda to comment on this story. "Probably, this woman has some kind of psychological trauma about her relationship with her mother - for example, going back to childhood."
“This happens, for example, if in childhood or adolescence the girl lacked maternal attention - or her brother got it more. Accordingly, now she is unconsciously jealous of her mother's relationship with another woman and takes out these psychological problems on her. In my opinion, the author of this story would be helped by an appeal to a psychoanalyst in order to make her attitude towards mom a bit healthier. And just talking to mother would also not hurt," says Irina Matveeva.
Commenters' opinions on this particular case divided and a massive discussion started
Many people in the comments actually agree with an expert. For example, commenters just don't understand why the Original Poster blames Kate at all when it was her mother who asked the woman to try on the dress. Moreover, according to some people in the comments, it sounds like the problem is more with the OP's mom than Kate.
Other commenters do believe that since the dress was promised to the bride-to-be, it was simply unfair for the mom to ask Kate to try it on. And the SIL herself could have politely but adamantly declined the request as well. And now it turns out that the relationship with the sister-in-law has finally deteriorated, and the bride's brother will not come to her wedding either. In any case, commenters strongly recommend that the OP buy herself a new wedding gown.
As we have already said, there are a lot of incredible wedding stories out there, and if you're interested, you can also check out this post of ours about the wedding guest who was the only one not allowed to have a +1 by the newlyweds, or about the groom who kicked his mother out of the wedding because she came with his former in-laws. We also look forward to your comments on this story, because it's always interesting and exciting to have lots of people's opinions.
Exhausted by family or in-law drama like this one? Visit our Family Dynamics Hub for expert-backed guides on toxic relatives, parenting styles, and personal boundaries.