This article was first published in April 2023.
A woman has been accused of attempting to upstage her soon-to-be-married stepdaughter after her extravagant and "absolutely inappropriate" dress-of-choice for the upcoming nuptials was revealed on social media.
Taking to the subreddit 'Wedding Attire Approval' earlier this week, a user by the alias u/dulcinae37 revealed the stunning - but very eye-catching - ensemble the bride's stepmother supposedly picked out for the wedding.
Needless to say, it's an unwritten but universally accepted rule that guests should never risk upstaging the bride with their wedding attire, which goes hand-in-hand with another cardinal sin: wearing white.
As per the photo supplied by u/dulcinae37, the floor-length frock - while not bridal white - is still a creamy eggshell hue, featuring intricately appliquéd flowers and embroidery in several bright colours.
"Stepmom of the bride wants to wear this," u/dulcinae37 captioned the photo. It's not clear what relation the user has to the bride or her stepmother, or if they are in fact the bride.
It didn't take long for riled-up Reddit users to respond with outrage, with the post amassing almost 300 comments at the time of writing.
One of the top comments praised the design of the attention-grabbing dress, but branded it "absolutely inappropriate" for anyone who is "not the main character" at a wedding or other event, with another agreeing: "Is the stepmom trying to overshadow the bride? If so, then this is definitely the dress to do so in."
Many agreed the dress would even make a suitable gown for a bride, with one exclaiming: "My friend just wore this as her wedding dress."
"I think if it could be feasibly worn as a wedding dress by the bride, it's not appropriate for anyone else to wear. And I'd say this falls very firmly into that category," said another, with a user agreeing: "This could easily be a wedding dress. It's floral with a white background. It 100 percent has too much white.
"If I was a guest I would judge the hell out of someone who wore this to a wedding."
"Buy the same dress and wear it to the rehearsal dinner before she can wear it to the wedding," one cunning, but clever, Redditor suggested.
"I don't think it's too white, but it is very eye-catching. It's not her day to show off," another pitched in, while one fellow mother lambasted the woman, branding her as "rude, self-centred, and unkind".
"I'm so sorry you are in this position and hope you have support. Was recently the mother of the groom. I was conscious of my role and while I wanted to look nice, my goal was to blend in photos," they continued.
Some defended the stepmother, with one claiming that several women wore "ornate" dresses to her wedding, and she "barely noticed".
"This whole post baffles me," she added.
Another argued: "Oh please. This is not a white dress, if it matched the formality of the event then what's the problem? I don't get everyone's obsession with wanting their guests to look mousy and bland."
A very similar dress - but not the exact same as the one in the picture - can be purchased on Etsy for just under NZ$600, where it's advertised as a dress for formal parties, graduation parties or bridesmaids.
