A wedding dress is the most beautiful and precious outfit to any bride. For some they are ok to pass the dress on while some keep it for the memory’s sake or might even wear it for special occasions. But one must not be compelled to share the dress. Read the story that took place here and let us know how you would handle the situation.
Source: Reddit
I (25F) got married to my husband (24M) a year ago. He has a sister (16F). I went a little non-traditional with my dress. I got a big light yellow dress, and a beautiful strapy top with lace. The dress was gorgeous, and of course very expensive. This was definitely my dream dress.
His family isn’t particularly well off, but they’re certainly not poor or lower income. So when they told me at a family dinner that they were having trouble finding an affordable dress for her, I was a little surprised, but gave suggestions like looking at ebay, goodwills website, ect. In my younger days I did pageants and we always resold the dress after at a good discount. They told me they looked but didn’t find anything they like. I told them I hope ‘the dress’ would come up soon.Two weeks passed and we got invited to dinner again at their house. We show up and immediately his sister starts moping. I assume she had a bad day at school and sat down to eat. Then my MIL explained to me she was upset because prom was in 3 days and she still had no dress. I expressed my condolences, and told her that I could maybe help her have some last looks around. That’s when MIL said “Oh, I have an idea, (my name), why don’t you let (SIL) wear your yellow dress. I could probably get it tailored in time.” My SIL immediately perked up – and I felt like I was ambushed. I looked at my husband but he just shrugged. I politely told them I was sorry, but the dress was very special to me, and also SIL and I are quite different sizes. It would fall off her.
MIL then told me she knows a “wonderful seamstress” who could make it fit. Which really upset me, I asked her “What if I ever want to try it on again? it wouldn’t fit me. Even if I lost weight my bust would never fit in a dress tailored to fit her.” SIL ended up bursting into tears, I’m not sure if it was because of me saying no – or me talking about our bodies. My husband and I ended up leaving early. He was very upset with me for not sharing the dress, but said ultimately it was my decision. His family on the other hand was livid with me.
They went radio silent until I saw a post of SIL on Facebook in a beautiful blue dress. I commented saying I’m glad she got a dress, she looked great, and I hope she had a good time – and I got a comment back asking me for my portion of the dress. They have now told my husband I am responsible for either reselling the dress and getting them half back since I have experience with that, or help pay for half. I told them that was ridiculous, but my husband told me to just do it. I told him I’m not going to be pushed over, and he ended up leaving for three days to his moms.
Now I am no longer invited to family dinners or functions, and they only have nasty things to say about me. Saying I almost ruined her prom night. Am I Really Wrong? Should I have just let her wear the dress, or at the very least helped them sell it? At this point since my husband isn’t even on my side, I don’t know. What is your opinion? Please don’t be afraid to criticize. Thank you for your time in advance.
Here are a few comments on the story where it was originally posted:
