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A bride upholds the venue's strict no-alcohol policy on her big day, and unfortunately for her stepmother, this means she can't bring her drink of choice.
For months, the 29-year-old bride-to-be has been preparing for her nuptials, planning every detail of the occasion, from the floral arrangements to the menu.
Part of her desired vision (and her venue's options) is a set menu with only select, exclusive drinks served at the open bar. Between cocktails, beer, spirits, and wine, the bar has multiple drink options—but not the ones her stepmother wants.
When her stepmother asked what kind of wine would be served, the bride kindly told her that there would be a house red and white. On the popular Reddit confession forum Am I The A**hole, the bride explained her stepmother's reaction to this.
“She said that she, my father and our family friends are very particular about the type of Chardonnay they like,” the bride noted. “I told her that I planned to surprise my father (who contributed a generous sum of money to the wedding) by choosing a nice bottle or two of Chardonnay from their special wine menu to have just for them.”
Unfortunately, this commitment was not enough for the bride's stepmother. The stepmother was worried that there was a shortage of the “good bottles” and wanted her friends to have a sip too.
The redditor confessed that the exclusive bottles were $80 each, so she didn't pay more than two. “There is no cheaper Chardonnay option on their menu, all of their specialty wines are quite expensive,” the bride explained.
Although she acknowledged her stepmother's frustrations, she refused to allow her to bring a cooler of wine to the wedding.
“I told her it was a very nice place and she wouldn’t feel comfortable doing it. Would I do it for my cousin’s wedding (which was very nice) that we attended a few months ago?” the bride asked. “She was totally furious and walked out.”
After some thought, the bride realized that what bothered her the most were her stepmother's condescending comments. To her, it seemed like her stepmother was implying that her wedding would be cheap and sloppy.
When her father asked what kind of wine would be served, the Reddit writer was candid and agreed with the choices.
It's not that the Reddit user thinks a big cooler full of wine would ruin the aesthetics, the venue does have restrictions. No guests are allowed to bring alcohol, part of the event rules is that all drinks must be served from the venue's bar.
“Our venue is required to provide and serve all alcohol during the wedding,” she said. “When she asked if they could bring their own wine, I told her the venue did not allow it, although I did not explain the legal requirements for this.”
Readers were left stunned by the Redditor's stepmother, arguing that she had no right to ask if she could bring a cooler full of her own wine to the wedding.
One particularly blunt person asked: “Why do you want to make a scene by showing up in a ‘fancy’ place with a cooler?”
“I want to mention that this is classless,” wrote one harsh Redditor.
One intuitive person mentioned, “I think it’s also in poor taste to buy wine for some people and not others. People will notice and ask, and that makes it awkward for the staff.”
“At our wedding we were told we would lose our entire deposit if anyone was caught bringing anything in…” one experienced person explained.
