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Bride Refuses to Wear Wedding Dress Her Stepsister Handmade for Her

The bride explained on Reddit that her 21-year-old sibling, an aspiring designer, delivered a final product that was the "wrong color, the wrong style — everything"

<p>Getty Images</p> A stock image of a wedding dress

Getty Images

A stock image of a wedding dress

A bride is getting grief from her family for not wearing the wedding dress her stepsister made for her.

In a recent post on Reddit's popular subreddit "Am I the A------?" the bride explained that her 21-year-old stepsister, whom she referred to as Zoey, is an aspiring wedding dress designer who is currently completing a fashion degree.

When the bride got engaged, Zoey offered to make her sibling's dress. While the bride said she had been looking forward to choosing her own dress for her big day, she accepted the offer because she thought it "could be a nice opportunity to bond" with Zoey, whom she didn't know very well at the time. (Her father and Zoey's mother, Stella, had only been together for two years at that point, she explained.)

"Also, I'd seen some of her work (she'd made a couple ball gowns in college) and she seemed honestly good," the bride added.

Related: Bride Spends Months Secretly Making Her Own Wedding Dress, Surprises Groom and Bridesmaids with 'Dramatic Reveal' (Exclusive)

The two met up several times to discuss their ideas — and though the bride discovered that her and Zoey's style tastes were "drastically different," they eventually agreed on a final design.

The bride passed along her measurements to Zoey and left her to get on with the dress-making process. Only, as the weeks went by, little progress seemed to have been made.

"Whenever I asked her how she was doing, she'd say she would send me progress pictures when she got home (she never did)," the bride recounted in her post. "I didn't get the dress until a month before my wedding."

<p>Getty</p> A stock image of a wedding dress

Getty

A stock image of a wedding dress

When the bride got a look at the dress for the first time, she was shocked to find that "it was the wrong color, the wrong style — everything." It was also three sizes too big for her.

"I called Zoey and told her I wouldn't wear the dress. I said it looked lovely, but not the style we'd agreed on, and I thought it would be best for me to find a different dress," the bride continued. "I offered to pay her for her work (she'd made the dress for free), but she declined and hung up on me."

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The bride went to a bridal store with her maid-of-honor and picked out a gown she liked. When her wedding day arrived and she made her walk down the aisle, she was met with "tears" from Zoey and "dirty looks" from Zoey's mom, Stella.

"When I approached them later, they were both short with me. My father, Stella and Zoey left less than an hour into the reception," the bride recalled in her post.

Related: Woman Finds $6K Designer Wedding Gown at Goodwill for $25, Plans to Wear It 'Whenever That Time Comes'

The next day, she got an earful from her unhappy family members.

"My father and Stella called me and told me off for how I'd treated Zoey. This had been her first time making a wedding dress, and [she] had been excited to see me wearing it. They said it was insulting of me to not wear the dress she'd put so much effort into," the bride wrote.

"I tried to explain why I hadn't worn the dress, but they're both insisting the dress was beautiful and I could have sucked it up," she added, noting she's now feeling "guilty" about not wearing the gown.

<p>Getty</p> A stock image of a wedding dress

Getty

A stock image of a wedding dress

In the comment section, however, many people were quick to reassure her that she was not in the wrong in this particular situation.

"The thing about being a designer, especially a bridal designer, is listening to the bride and what sort of dress they see themselves in. You likely didn't get any progress photos because she knew this was her style, not yours. It was your day and your desires should have been honored," one Redditor wrote, adding, "She made your day all about her. Your father should have had your back."

"If Zoey wants to launch a career as a custom gown designer, she needs to learn to work with clients," another person agreed. "As in listen to their needs and execute what was agreed upon."

Related: Bride Wears Her Grandmother's Wedding Dress from 1961 That Was Kept in an 'Old Bag' in Basement

Yet another commenter chimed in: "Suck it up and wear a dress you didn’t like that didn’t make you feel like an absolute queen on your once-in-a-lifetime special day? Sooo NTA [not the a------]."

Other commenters suggested that the bride never should have agreed to Zoey's dress offer in the first place.

"OP, why did you agree to her making your dress in the first place? I don't mean to be funny, but 21, freshly graduated from fashion school, doesn't sound like the most reliable option to me. She has no professional experience whatsoever," one person wrote, adding, "I would have proposed she design a garment (not a whole outfit) for the reception maybe, or for the rehearsal dinner the night before."

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