RULE number one at any wedding: don’t upstage or compete with the bride.
But one woman who says she got the “stink eye” and made an enemy out of the bridesmaids insists that her outfit was approved ahead of time.
The Redditor explained that she was told to “dress to the nines” in neutral and pastel colors.
She picked out a gray saree and made sure to show a picture to the bride and groom five months in advance, hoping to avoid any blunders at her first Western wedding.
“I also told her I’d be happy to buy a new outfit if it wasn’t appropriate,” she said, writing under the handle CoachOk618.
“So whatever she says will go.
“She said it was delightful and she’d be glad to have some ‘culture’ added to her wedding pictures.”
When the wedding day arrived, the Redditor sat toward the back of the ceremony without many people noticing her.
However, when the bride changed dress for the reception, the similarities in their outfits captured attention.
“It was the same fabric as my outfit,” she said. “The majority & outer layer of her gown was still white.
“Only the embroidery was the same color as my saree & the underneath fabric had a hint of the same gray as mine (thus making it grayish).
“The groom, his mother, & our friends complimented me for how nice I looked.
“The groom’s mother especially loved it as she kept coming up to me to compliment me more.
“She’s half-Indian and was brought up in the country.
“She too had worn a saree for the special day and seeing someone else in it seemed to be sentimental for her.
“The bride and her bridesmaids, though, were a different ballgame.
“The bride gave me the stink eye. A bridesmaid tried to spill her drink on me.
“Another commented if my outfit was going to turn out white in the pictures.”
The Redditor confessed to feeling self-conscious about standing next to the couple during group photos.
The bride made movements that led to her being stood in a corner before the photographer started snapping.
“As we stood in a group for the bouquet-throwing thingy, the maid of honor asked if I was going to try to catch it like I hadn’t gotten enough attention for the day,” she said.
“On our way back, I asked my friends if my behavior or outfit was inappropriate. They didn’t think anything of it.”
She asked members of the forum if she was the a**hole for “upstaging the bride” with her decision to wear a gray saree.
Thousands of people liked the post and were quick to reassure her that she didn’t do anything wrong.
“You just met a school of mean girls,” one person said.
“There is no telling what such people will get up to.
“I think you had taken every possible precaution with your outfit, in fact much more than most people would have.”
Another commenter said the choice of saree would be considered “too bland” at a typical Indian wedding.
“To think you wear this and get accused of trying to upstage the bride! You did your best,” they continued.
“You checked and double-checked. Chalk this up to experience.”
A third suggested the bride changed her mind about her outfit because she received too many compliments.
“Sounds like the bride was a bit jealous of the positive attention you got from her MIL [mother-in-law],” they said.
