Bride Makes Mother-in-Law Feel ‘Rejected’ After Refusing to Honor ‘Family Tradition’ of Wearing Her Old Wedding Dress

A 23-year-old bride-to-be has unintentionally stirred up drama after declining to wear her fiancé’s mother’s wedding dress for their upcoming ceremony.

In a post on Reddit’s “Am I the A——” forum, she asked if she was wrong for making her future mother-in-law feel “upset” and “rejected” after turning down what was described as a “family tradition.”

She explained that she simply wants to feel like herself on her wedding day. “I truly didn’t mean to upset anyone,” she wrote. “I just want to pick a dress that feels like me and makes me confident.”

Soon after the engagement, her fiancé’s mother invited her over to “talk wedding plans.” When she arrived, she was presented with her future mother-in-law’s “very old-fashioned” wedding gown — a dress the bride says doesn’t match her personal style or the vibe of the wedding she’s planning.

According to the post, her fiancé’s mother shared that she had “always hoped her son’s future wife would wear it” and that she had saved the dress specifically for that moment.

The bride says she could tell the dress held deep sentimental value, but she knew she didn’t want to wear it. She thanked her future mother-in-law for showing it to her and explained that, while she appreciated the gesture, she had “always imagined” choosing her own wedding dress.

Later, her fiancé’s mother confided in her son that she felt “rejected” by the decision.

The groom-to-be, 35, told his fiancée that he thought she “should’ve at least tried it” to soften the blow to his mom’s feelings. Still, he ultimately supports her choice and suspects his mother may be pushing so hard because she wants to “keep the dress alive,” especially after his sister also chose not to wear it.

“He knows it’s our wedding and not hers so whatever decision we make will be completely up to us!” the bride wrote.

Commenters on Reddit overwhelmingly backed the bride, saying that a wedding dress is a deeply “personal” choice and that no one should be pressured into wearing something they don’t love. Many also pointed out that, for something to be a “family tradition,” it generally has to be followed at least once.

“Your MIL (mother-in-law) shouldn’t have been upset even if her own daughter didn’t want to wear her wedding dress,” one user wrote, adding that trying it on just to be polite likely would have raised her expectations and led to “even more disappointment.”

Another commenter criticized the mother-in-law’s insistence: “It’s ridiculous for her to think she can push her dress on someone. You should get to choose your dress the same way she got to choose hers. There may be some other way to incorporate a tradition but wearing her dress is too much.”