A woman is asking for advice on Reddit after she accidentally ruined her sister's wedding dress.
The poster was the maid of honor for the recent wedding, but disaster struck when she wine spilled all down the front of the dress. In a post to the AITAH [Am I the A*****e] subreddit on November 6, the woman, writing under the username rodeds-, said they were at the reception following the ceremony when the bride asked her to hold her glass of wine.
But a cousin of theirs then hugged her from behind, causing the woman to spill wine down the front of her sister's wedding dress. She said she felt "awful" about what had happened, but now the sister has ordered her to pay for the cost of a new dress to replace it.
Elizabeth Soos, founder of Australia's Auersmont School of Etiquette and Protocol, told Newsweek that she understands the "emotional significance of a wedding dress," having been a bride herself.
But the woman's "immediate apology" should have been a "mitigating factor in easing tensions after the wedding. It was never on purpose," Soos added.
The woman wrote on Reddit: "I get why she's upset, but it was an accident, and I can't afford to replace it—her dress was thousands of dollars, and I'm saving up for a house."
At first, her sister said she could either pay for a new dress or pay for cleaning. But when the poster offered to pay for the cleaning, the sister suddenly said that was "not enough."
The family has become divided over the matter, with some telling the woman to pay and others thinking the bride is overreacting.
The average cost of a wedding dress in 2023 was around $2,000, according to The Knot Real Weddings Study, which surveyed close to 10,000 couples in the United States. It remains a strong tradition, with 98 percent of the brides surveyed choosing to wear a dress for the ceremony.
Soos said that to resolve the situation, the bride should "consider professional cleaning and restoration services" rather than demanding money for a new dress.
"Modern cleaning techniques have advanced significantly, making it possible to remove wine stains from delicate fabrics like wedding dresses," she said.
The poster took to the subreddit's community to ask if she was in the wrong for refusing to buy her sister a new dress.
Reddit users responded in droves with advice for the woman, including a bridal shop owner who said Woolite Insta Clean "works better than dry cleaning or spots and stains."
Others were confused by the bride's request, with one asking: "Why exactly cleaning is not enough? It makes no sense to buy a new dress."
Another agreed: "Tell her you'll buy a new dress for the next marriage, she won't need it til then."
"A new dress request is ridiculous," another said, while one user said the cousin who caused the accident should be the one held accountable.
As one commenter summed it up: "I think covering the cost of the cleaning is nice and reasonable. But she's ridiculous for demanding a new dress, does she actually plan on wearing it again?"
Newsweek has contacted u/Roseds- on Reddit for comment on this story and could not independently verify the details of this case.
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