A groom was left seriously upset with his future mother-in-law, saying that she “ruined” their wedding for his bride-to-be.
Taking to Reddit’s popular “Wedding Shaming” forum, the man explained that the woman was “a pathological narcissist.”
However, she had impressed him by stepping up in a big way as they planned the wedding, even offering to pay for things such as the wedding dress and the guest’s on the bride’s side, which he noted that they could not afford to do on their own.
As the big day got closer, though, she made one demand that the groom cannot forgive because it upset his future wife.
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In his post, the nearly wed explained that his fiancée’s father had died “long ago.”
To honor her dad, the bride wanted to “walk down the aisle alone, to ‘be’ with her father.”
“That’s how she ALWAYS wanted it to be,” the Redditor explained.
All was going well, until the mother-in-law’s friend, whom the groom described as a “total Karen,” stepped in and convinced the mother of the bride that “SHE should walk her daughter down the aisle.”
He said that the woman convinced the mother-in-law that the bride and groom didn’t think she was “worthy” of the honor, which caused “a huge fight” between the bride and her mom.
After things going “surprisingly, suspiciously great,” the mother of the bride now “demands” the honor of walking the bride down the aisle, and the bride feels like the big day has been “ruined.”
Other Redditors weighed in on the perceived slight, and they were split on their reaction.
Some pointed out that the bride and groom were overreacting and were being selfish and unwilling to compromise after accepting the mother’s money.
“From an outside perspective, it sounds more like your [future mother-in-law] was enabling a dream wedding, not ruining it,” one person chimed in, adding that she was willing to “bankroll” the wedding and only made that one requeset.
They added, “Obviously we don’t know much about the specifics of your relationships, but the two of you come off as much more judgmental, entitled and selfish than her in this story as you wrote it.”
“Take this is a hard learned lesson and never repeat your mistake. Give the $$ back and have the wedding you can afford,” another user wrote.
Someone else agreed, writing, “Bride to be has always wanted [to walk] down the aisle by herself, [but] she also wants a dress she can’t possibly afford bought with her mother[‘s] money, mmmh…”
They added, “If a mother’s request to be included in her daughter’s wedding that she’s helping pay for is enough to ‘ruin’ said wedding, I wonder if MIL is the only narcissist here.”
While they admitted that they didn’t like “attaching strings to gifted money,” the Redditor said that recipients also had to be somewhat willing to compromise.
Ultimately, they wrote that the mother-in-law’s “request is not crazy and it’s not ‘making it all about her.’ ” However, the “bride to be is free to walk alone wearing a dress she can afford and cutting on the guest list.”
Others firmly came out in support of the stressed-out couple, saying that they should prove a point to the bride’s mom.
“You teach people how to treat you. You could cancel the wedding and let MIL take a bath on the non-refundable portions in order to have the wedding that you can afford,” someone opined. “You could tell her that this is a great idea then spring it on her just as she is ready to walk up the aisle (just like she sprung this on you today).”
They concluded, “If you don’t do it your way, on your terms, then you will always regret that you let someone else dictate how your life together started.”
A widowed woman also chimed in, saying that she “would be honored” if her daughter asked her to stand in for her deceased husband. However, she added that her daughter “can honor her father however she chooses.”
Her final piece of advice: “That said my advice to anyone one is elope. Weddings cause too much drama.”