A bride revealed how she refused to wear the wedding dress her stepsister had made her for her big day, angering her father.
The unnamed woman, believed to be from the US, took to the famous Reddit thread Am I The A**hole to unravel the family feud.
The 25-year-old revealed she married her now-husband, 27, two weeks ago – and her choice of dress caused a bitter split in the family.
Her stepsister had offered to hand-make the bride’s outfit, but what she delivered was “the wrong color, the wrong style, and three sizes too big.”
A bride has caused a stir online after revealing how her 21-year-old stepsister’s determination to hand-make a wedding dress sparked a bitter family dispute.
In the post, which was shared over the weekend, the bride explained: ‘My now-husband and I paid for most of the wedding, but my father covered some costs.
‘My father’s girlfriend, “Stella”, has a 21-year-old daughter, “Zoey”, who is finishing her studies in fashion.
‘She wants to enter the wedding dress industry once she graduates. When I started planning my wedding, she offered to design and make my dress.
The woman continued: ‘I I was hesitant at first as I was excited to choose my own dress. I agreed because I didn’t know Zoey well (my dad had only been dating his mom for two years) and I thought this might be a good opportunity to bond.
‘Plus, I’d seen some of her work (she’d made a couple of party dresses in college) and, honestly, she looked good.
‘We met several times to discuss our ideas. During those, I realized that our styles were drastically different, but we still managed to agree on a design. I gave Zoey my measurements and asked her to update them for me.
But the relationship began to deteriorate as Zoey continually refused to share updates.
‘Every time I asked him how he was doing, he said he would send me pictures of his progress when he got home (he never did). “It took longer than expected to finish and I didn’t receive the dress until a month before my wedding,” said the exasperated bride.
The 25-year-old revealed she married her now-husband, 27, two weeks ago – and her choice of dress caused a bitter split in the family (file image)
‘It looked nothing like the design we had agreed upon. It was the wrong color, the wrong style, everything. It looked like exactly the kind of dress Zoey would want to wear, but she knew she would never wear something like that. I really didn’t like that dress.
‘When I tried it on, I discovered it was also three sizes too big. Although I knew I could probably alter it, I really didn’t want to wear that dress on my wedding day.
The woman, whose nuptials were quickly approaching, said she contacted Zoey to express how she felt about the creation.
“I called Zoey and told her I wouldn’t be wearing the dress. I told her it looked lovely, but not the style we had agreed on, and I thought it would be better for me to find a different dress.
“I offered to pay her for her work (I had made the dress for free), but she refused and hung up on me.
‘I went to a bridal shop with my bridesmaid and we found a beautiful dress that didn’t need much alteration. It looked exactly how she wanted it,’ she divulged.
Then came the day of the ceremony where the bride walked down the aisle in the store-bought dress.
‘Zoey seemed to be on the verge of tears during the ceremony and Stella gave me dirty looks throughout the reception. When I approached them a while later, they were both brief with me.
“My father, Stella, and Zoey left less than an hour after the reception.”
She continued: ‘My My father and Stella called me the next day and scolded me for how I had treated Zoey.
‘This had been my first time making a wedding dress and she was excited to see me wear it. They said it was an insult of me not to wear the dress she had put so much effort into.
“I tried to explain why I hadn’t worn the dress, but they both insist that the dress was beautiful and that I could have absorbed it.”
The woman concluded: ‘My husband and my younger sister (not Zoey) are on my side. I’ve felt guilty about this ever since I decided not to wear the dress. Am I the idiot?’
Her post was quickly inundated with many conflicting comments, as most users agreed that she was not wrong and rated her Not The A**hole (NTA).
She provided more context in the comments as she shared: ‘I don’t think he did this for attention. I think she got carried away and made the dress she wanted, instead of the one we had agreed on.
‘In retrospect, I regret agreeing to this. I think in addition to the reasons I mentioned, I felt a little pressured by the fact that there were parts of my wedding that my father was paying for.’
She added: “Also, if the finished dress had been delivered to me sooner, I might have had more time to make alterations.”
‘They know what I requested. They know I’m not lying. Do not care. The dress can be altered to fit me. The size was an inconvenience, but not a problem. “If I really wanted to wear the dress, I would have altered it.”
Her post was quickly inundated with many conflicting comments, as most users agreed that she was not wrong and rated her Not The A**hole (NTA).
One person wrote: ‘NTA. The important thing about being a designer, especially a bridal designer, is to listen to the bride and know what kind of dress she looks like.
‘You probably didn’t get any progress photos because she knew that was her style, not yours.
‘It was your day and your wishes should have been honoured. She never prepared you for the fact that it was nothing like you wanted.
‘She made your day all about her. Your father should have backed you up.
One person wrote: ‘NTA. The important thing about being a designer, especially a bridal designer, is to listen to the bride and know what kind of dress she sees for herself.
Another commented: ‘NTA! You were as fair as possible when you turned down the dress.
You were generous to accept it while you did it. If Zoey can’t satisfy a customer, she doesn’t know what she’s doing. I’m sorry your father didn’t defend you.
A third person added: ‘NTA. If Zoey wants to start a career as a custom dress designer, she needs to learn how to work with clients. How to listen to her needs and execute what was agreed.’
Someone else agreed: ‘Zoey thought you were going to be her pet project because her parents had made her feel like the world should submit to her every whim.
He can sulk all he wants. And tell your dad that if he continues like this you will cut off contact with him for a while.
‘You are a newlywed, go enjoy marital bliss and let Zoey be a girl. You don’t have to endure your wedding day.
‘They tried to do it on Zoey, and you didn’t let it happen. Too bad he’s not learning his lesson. She looks like a brat.
While many commented on the bride’s dress situation, many users criticized the father’s behavior on his daughter’s wedding day.
But other readers focused more on her father’s behavior at the wedding.
One person wrote: ‘Your dad is the asshole here for abandoning your wedding. Sorry, OP.’
Another added: “For your dad to leave his own daughter’s wedding early because the adult daughter of the woman he’s been dating for two years got mad, he’s crazy.”
A third person commented: ‘I find it crazy how people treat their stepchildren better than their real children!
It was your big day and your father couldn’t care less.
“The NTA and I would be very careful with your interactions with them from now on, because I doubt your feelings will be considered from now on.”