Groom Demands Wedding Be Moved To Italy for the ‘Deals’ & Bride’s Dad Puts Him on Blast

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The coronavirus pandemic has led millions of people all over the world to put their lives on pause, self-isolate indoors, and do their best to slow the spread of the disease. But although the outbreak has led to a rise in fear and anxiety for many, some people apparently remain unfazed by it — including those who are jumping on the new travel deals that have popped up. Case in point: In a recent letter to Slate's "Dear Prudie" advice column, one angry dad expressed disgust at his new son-in-law, who recently moved his wedding to Italy to “take advantage of” the newly discounted rates. The chaos that ultimately ensued — as well as the SIL's additional demands — have led the dad to seriously question the kind of man his daughter has married.

In case you've been living under a rock (like this groom, apparently), Italy is in the throes of an unprecedented health crisis.

The coronavirus is, of course, a global pandemic, finding its way into almost every country in the world at this point. Italy has been hit particularly hard, with more than 74,000 confirmed cases and the highest coronavirus death rates of any other country: 7,500. Its hospital system has been overwhelmed and crippled by the growing contagion, and the nation's economy is in tatters as it struggles to contain the virus.

In short: It's not a good time to go to Italy.

But one heartless groom found a "bright side" the rest of us apparently haven't.

"My daughter was getting married to a man who is, for lack of a better word, a cheapskate," read the letter of one anonymous father of the bride. "Per tradition, we were footing the bill for the wedding and reception at a nice hotel near our home and a nice honeymoon to a coastal resort in California. However, as the COVID-19 crisis worsened, my son-in-law insisted they 'take advantage of' the crisis to score airfare, a wedding venue, and a honeymoon in Italy since it was 'a buyer’s market' there and would cost the same as what we were paying now."

Um, wow.

The father of the bride says he issued "repeated warnings" to his future son-in-law, saying this could easily backfire if the crisis got worse.

Stores, businesses, and wedding venues could get shut down, he insisted. Travel could be halted. Or — the worst-case scenario — family members could contract the deadly virus and be thousands of miles away from home. 

But this groom apparently wasn't having it. 

"He insisted and bullied our daughter into going along with his plan," the dad relayed. "I went ahead and canceled the existing reservations here in the U.S. for the 'Italian COVID-19 dream wedding,' but made sure everything was insured."

Well, surprise, surprise ...

It didn't take long for the father's worst fears to come true. On March 12, the White House banned international travel, and the wedding venue in Italy was closed.

In the meantime, though, the original wedding venue where the couple had been due to get married was booked, and the honeymoon resort was apparently sold out.

As a result, the couple was forced to "improvise," according to the dad, and said they did ultimately have a nice but far less elaborate wedding — under a gazebo at a local park. A modest reception followed at the father's home and was catered by a family friend.

The dad gave a hefty cash gift and paid for the couple to stay at a luxury hotel in a nearby city for several nights, in lieu of honeymoon plans being dashed.

Apparently, however, the drama was not over.

"We thought things were fine until son-in-law learned I had covered my bases and had received a full refund," the dad recalled. "He insists we should have given the refund to him in addition to the cash gift we gave. He has now forced my daughter to join him in cutting off contact from us until we 'do our duty as parents of the bride.'”

WHAT?

The dad wonders if the son-in-law has a leg to stand on, or if his daughter just married the cheapest man alive.

"Should we have given them the money we were planning to spend?" the father asked Prudie. "My wife is inclined to just cough up the money to keep the peace with Cheapo, but it was a big chunk of our savings, money we may need even more if we end up out of work because of the coronavirus."

People immediately descended upon the comments section and ripped into the Son-in-Law from Hell with a fiery passion.

One commenter called him a "Groomzilla," whereas another went so far as to label him a "demon."

"Oh my god, what an absolute scumbag that SiL is," another person wrote. "Grotesque inside. I hope they daughter gets away from him!!"

Someone else called the groom "disgusting," before adding that it "Just shows how some people view every event (bridal shower, baby shower, birthday, wedding, etc) as an opportunity to shake people down for gifts and cash."

Surprisingly, though, some people actually criticized the bride in this scenario.

"Your son in law is horrible but I don't have a lot of respect for your daughter because she selected his guy. Shame on her for not standing up for her parents."

Yikes.

Ultimately, though, people were pretty united: The father of the bride should NOT hand over any more cash.

"Don't play your son in law's game," one person advised. "You owe him nothing. Continue to be cordial and loving to your daughter and son in law but tell them money is not an issue you will discuss with them."

And another person had this advice to share:

"Save the cash for when your daughter needs a good divorce attorney. And do get in touch with her to let her know that you will always love her and she can count on you whenever she needs you."

Prudie herself had to agree with people urging the dad not to open his wallet.

In his response, columnist Danny M. Lavery put it plainly: "Do not give this guy money."

"Offering to pay for someone’s wedding is a generous gift, not an opportunity to say, 'Actually, I’ll just take the cash equivalent,'" Lavery continued. "The fact that he’s using increased anxiety and uncertainty over a pandemic to try to chisel extra money out of you is pretty galling!"

It certainly is. 

Lavery was also pretty floored that the man's daughter was going along with her new husband's "outrageous demands," and strongly urged the dad against giving in. 

"It sounds like he would find a way to wield your relationship like a weapon in order to get money out of you regardless, so I don’t think sending them cash would really 'keep the peace,'” he continued. "Let your daughter know that you love her and that you’d be happy to speak with her whenever she’s ready. But don’t give him the money."

Hopefully, the dad will heed that warning and keep his money where it needs to be right now — in the bank. In addition to the fact that he's already laid out more than enough for his daughter's wedding, he makes a very practical point that the COVID-19 pandemic is leading to an unprecedented economic crisis, and he may soon find that he needs that money just to survive.