Photo: Brittney Rae / TikTok
Did she take things too far?
By Nia Tipton — Written on Oct 06, 2021
A bridesmaid is going viral and causing a bit of a stir after making several alterations to her bridesmaid dress.
In a series of videos shared on TikTok, Brittney Rae shared clips of her “frumpy” green dress before she began the transformation process of making it into something “less ugly.”
"Watch me try to make my bridesmaid dress less ugly before the wedding this weekend," read the text overlay in Rae's TikTok video, which has been viewed more than 1.9 million times.
In the TikTok, Brittney Rae alters her bridesmaid dress — but not everyone was happy about it.
Some viewers felt as if Rae was trying to upstage the bride in the alterations of the dress, and that the changes seemed drastic. While others argued that Rae had a right to change the dress if she didn’t feel comfortable in it.
The original dress was apparently $300 and was a velvet, wrap-around style gown with a slightly plunging neckline.
Rae also had an idea of how she wanted to alter the dress, showing off her sketch ideas in the video.
From the sketches she showed, Rae was going to adjust the length of the dress, changing the design of the bodice, and shortening the sleeves.
“I had to completely deconstruct it first,” Rae said in her video. “I was a little stressed. If I mess up I have nothing to wear and the bride will KILL ME.”
It seemed Rae was familiar with fashion design and knew how to work a sewing machine. Over the course of her video, she filmed herself reconstructing the dress into a version she was more comfortable wearing.
In a second video that Rae uploaded, it showed the finished product of the newly altered dress.
She had seemed to accomplish everything from her sketch ideas, shortening the length of the dress, with cap sleeves and a deeper neckline.
Rae appeared to be quite pleased with her new gown, but some viewers began accusing her of having ulterior motives with changing the bridesmaid dress.
Brittney Rae responded to haters who accused her of trying to upstage the bride.
She immediately responded to the backlash and criticism, denying that her intention was to steal the spotlight from the bride.
"If I was trying to upstage a bride at her own wedding, I would have to do better than a homemade green dress," Rae said in a separate TikTok video.
Rae paid for the dress herself, and the alterations weren’t too drastic to raise concerns, so she should be able to change the gown if she wants to.
In the comment section of one of the videos, Rae confirmed that the bridesmaids were able to choose their own dresses. The only requirement was that they all had to stick to a certain color.
Since the dress wasn’t handpicked by the bride, Rae has the right to change and alter the dress in any way as long as it isn’t disrespectful to the bridge, which the dress wasn’t.
Rae even made another TikTok video where she gave a wedding update with her and the bride. Everyone seemed happy with the dress, and not even the bride seemed to be angry or annoyed that Rae changed the design of the gown.
From the images, it is unclear if there were any other bridesmaids so anyone who was concerned that Rae would stand out should keep their judgements to themselves!
In the end, Rae altering her dress didn’t cause any harm or make anyone feel uncomfortable, and all power to her for changing a dress to make herself feel more comfortable.
Nia Tipton is a writer living in Brooklyn. She covers pop culture, social justice issues, and trending topics. Follow her on Instagram.