‘Mortified’ Woman Wears White Gown to Cousin’s Wedding After Being Told Wrong Dress Code

A woman has shared the “most humiliating” moment of her life — the day she mistakenly wore all white to her cousin’s wedding.

In a post on Reddit’s Wedding Shaming forum, she described how, fourteen years later, she’s still haunted by the fashion faux pas. Back in June 2011, when she was 20, her aunt told her that her cousin’s upcoming September wedding would be a “total white wedding.” The invitation didn’t mention such a dress code, but her aunt insisted that everyone should wear white — advice that turned out to be disastrously wrong.

“I was the only person dressed in white at the entire wedding,” she wrote. “People were staring and whispering. I was mortified and on the verge of tears.”

The woman had double-checked with her aunt “several times” to make sure she was correct. Her aunt repeatedly assured her that white was the theme and even helped her choose and pay for a long, strapless white gown. Yet on the wedding day, the aunt herself didn’t wear white — claiming she “just didn’t want to.”

The mistake left the young woman humiliated. “It was one of the most embarrassing moments of my life,” she said.

None of the other guests had heard of a white dress code, leaving everyone confused about her outfit choice. “My mom wanted to take me shopping last minute, but it was Sunday morning in a small Italian town — everything was closed,” the woman recalled. “We also couldn’t afford another dress, so I had to endure the humiliation and stay in white.”

Years later, she eventually made amends with her cousin, who admitted she didn’t even remember anyone wearing white that day.

Instead of blaming the woman, Reddit commenters turned their attention to her aunt, questioning why she would give such misleading information. Many believed it was intentional. “That’s awful — does your aunt hate you? Why would she do that?” one user asked. Another added, “She knew exactly what she was doing. You don’t misinterpret something like that by accident.”

The poster, however, disagreed. “I don’t think it was malicious,” she wrote. “She just isn’t very bright sometimes. She’s stubborn and doesn’t like to admit when she’s wrong.”

Reflecting on the incident, she concluded that her aunt had likely misunderstood the idea and never bothered to double-check. “It wasn’t meanness — just stupidity,” she said. “She was convinced about the white theme, and all four siblings in her family, my mom included, are stubborn as hell.”