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The bride avoided a potential disaster.
By Sanika Nalgirkar — Last updated on Oct 24, 2023
After a bride’s cousin planned to reveal her dating history with the groom at the wedding, the bride came up with a clever idea that rendered the cousin’s plot void. The bride shared her story about her wedding that could have been ruined because of her cousin on Reddit’s r/TrueOffMyChest thread.
After the bride introduced her to-be-husband to her family, her cousin recognized him as a guy she slept with in the past.
“They met at a party and they hooked up that night but he wasn’t interested in anything more so he told her it’s not gonna happen,” the woman wrote.
Her cousin demanded that the bride should break up with the guy because she thought it was 'gross' but the woman refused to do so. As a result, the cousin decided that she would wear red to the wedding.
“A red dress means that she’s slept with the groom. At first, I thought she was joking but no," the bride explained.
After the woman's cousin refused to back down from her idea, the bride tried to uninvite her. However, her mother warned her that it would turn into a lot of family drama. So, the bride resorted to taking other measures for her wedding day.
The bride asked all her bridesmaids and family members to wear red to the wedding.
“I asked everyone to keep it a secret because honestly, I didn’t want my cousin to have time to find another way to make drama,” the woman added.
A total of 17 girls, along with their partners, wore different shades of red to the wedding. This didn’t sit well with the cousin as she hadn’t expected her plot to be ruined like that.
The bride wrote, “My cousin was shocked and livid because she thought she would be the only one wearing red. She sulked the whole ceremony and left early.”
After the wedding, the bride got emails from her aunt that she hurt her cousin by marrying the guy she used to go out with and for being petty at the wedding.
“I don’t agree. I’m happy nobody ruined my wedding and I’m thankful for my girls who rose up to the occasion,” the woman added.
There are certain colors that wedding guests are traditionally discouraged from wearing.
Most people know that you should never wear white to a wedding and there are those who argue that wearing black is also a way of disrespecting the marriage. But the ban on red might be a lesser-known tradition.
Beyond the belief that wearing red to a wedding symbolizes a past entanglement with a groom, there are also those who argue that red is too eye-catching and takes attention away from the bride.
"Tradition dictates guests avoid wearing red out of fear that it could take attention away from the happy couple,” Gabrielle Hurwitz, founder of Gabrielle Hurwitz Bridal Styling, explained to Brides. “Visually, it’s quite bold. In a photo, your eye is immediately drawn to the color, especially if it’s next to neutrals like white, black, gray, or beige.”
While Hurwitz rejects the idea that the color red inherently has some sort of hidden meaning, it was the intention behind the bride's cousin's choice of attire that ultimately made it an issue.
As one person on Reddit put it, “The hilarious irony at your aunt calling you petty on your own wedding day. Was it not your cousin being petty in the first place that caused the whole 'incident'? You handled it perfectly. Congrats on your marriage!”
Sanika Nalgirkar is a News & Entertainment Writer for YourTango. She has a master's degree in Creative Writing. See more of her writing on her website.