When we receive a wedding invitation, it’s an exciting moment. Weddings are often celebrations that include lots of fun elements, such as music, dancing, and, of course, delicious food. Couples spend months and sometimes even years painstakingly planning their wedding to achieve their dream day. As good guests, we celebrate the couple and ensure the focus remains on them, not on us. A Redditor in the AITA forum recently went to a college friend’s wedding and brought her own food along. Now, she’s wondering if that was a bad choice.
The original poster explained that she has a serious medical condition that requires a special diet. When she RSVPd for the wedding, she noted that on the card in the space for dietary restrictions. OP later heard back from the bride, who said she couldn’t make any guarantees but hoped her friend could “make do with the salad and fruit.”
OP didn’t love the response, but she also didn’t want to bother her friend. Instead, she brought her own safe foods to the wedding. She explained that when it was time to eat, she “discreetly went outside for 5 minutes, ate it quickly, then came back in to join everyone. I didn’t make a scene, didn’t bring smelly food, didn’t take anything away from the event.”
Unfortunately for her, the bride’s new mother-in-law saw OP and made a huge scene. She accused OP of making the couple look cheap and embarrassing them. She slammed OP and said the day was “about the couple, not about your diet.” Some friends agreed, and now OP worries it was a bad choice.
Redditors didn’t see the problem and most sided with OP.
“NTA. You took care of your own needs. That’s it,” someone wrote. “Is it somehow respectful to eat food that would physically harm you? LOL. No.”
Many commenters think the MIL was stirring the pot for no reason.
“The groom’s mother is looking to make trouble where it doesn’t exist,” one comment reads. “Ignore her.”
Others believed the bride acted selfishly.
“I’m not impressed with the bride either. Most professional caterers can easily make special request meals that are gluten/dairy/nut/shellfish/allergen free for one or two guests,” a Redditor wrote. “My daughter’s wedding caterer made meals for 5 different allergies and didn’t charge extra.”
A fellow food allergy sufferer totally understood OP’s plight.
“I will say that there has only been one event that was fully safe for my celiac family member to eat at. Cross contamination is so pervasive and I wouldn’t trust a typical kitchen to not make them sick,” the person explained. “Having said that, celiacs and others with serious allergies should be able to bring their own food everywhere there is an event because fainting is not a solid option.”
In the end, OP did what she had to do and it didn’t hurt anyone. Too bad the MIL just wanted more drama.
These stories are based on posts found on Reddit. Reddit is a user-generated social news aggregation, web content rating, and discussion website where registered members submit content to the site and can up- or down-vote the content. The accuracy and authenticity of each story cannot be confirmed by our staff.
