Bride-To-Be Applauded for 'Stealing' Stepsister's Dream Wedding Venue

Anne Thompson

akstanwyck

More stories by Anne

‘Nosferatu’: How to Make a Robert Eggers Movie, with Help from Mel Brooks and Chris Columbus

In the Photorealistic

September 5 Director Tim Fehlbaum Didn

Time：2023-08-18 19:08

A woman has been praised after she told her stepsister that she could not afford her dream venue for her wedding. Weddings can be a very expensive investment for couples, with the average American spending tens of thousands of dollars on their big day. In a viral Reddit post shared on the Am I The A****** page, user itsnothervenue explained she is getting married next year and that it has been six months in the planning stage. The 25-year-old described the venue as "very famous" and its cost being "astronomical."

Stock image of an expensive wedding. The Reddit user explained that she told her stepsister she could not afford the venue she wanted. Getty

But she also mentioned her stepsister—known only as Lucy—planned on picking the same venue and called the poster "sneaky" for selecting it. She added: "So, Lucy was shouting at me saying I was copying her wedding idea. I tried apologizing, I tried to tell her that just because I'm getting married first it doesn't mean that when she gets married she can't do it there, I even offered to trim the guest list from her dad's side so that if she ever did get married there there would be next to no guest overlap. "Nothing worked, there were tears, and she was calling me a snake and backstabber. Eventually, I just got annoyed and was like, What was I supposed to do? Not pick the venue I wanted just in case you one day have a million-dollar wedding? Lucy, be serious. "Our parents are saying I went for the throat with what I said and I should apologize. I think that as much as I am sensitive to the fact that she might feel a bit annoyed, she has the rest of her life to get married there or anywhere else if she wants and she needs to let it go." Wedding expert and editor of Hitched.co.uk Zoe Burke told Newsweek: "It is so difficult to navigate things like this! Weddings are hugely personal and people will have a specific vision in mind, but how it tends to play out is who is getting married has the final say… "I personally don't think double-booking is a bad thing—every wedding is different, and the person who is getting married later gets a real-time chance to experience a 'test-run,' and the person who gets married first gets a chance to revisit a part of their wedding at a later date, which is always a special experience! "I can understand that some couples will want their wedding to be a unique experience, but to put it into perspective—lots of other people will be getting married at that venue. It's never truly unique to one person, but the wedding you host there will always be unique to you." The average wedding in the U.S. cost about $30,000 in 2022, according to the wedding planning website The Knot. This represented a $2,000 increase on the year before. Since being shared on August 16, the post, titled "AITA for telling my stepsister she can't afford her dream wedding venue after she accused me of stealing it," has racked up an estimated 5,900 upvotes and more than 1,200 comments. The overwhelming number of commenters seen by Newsweek sided with the poster, although others could see the stepsister's point of view. Reddit user Papad******, whose comment was upvoted 9,800 times, said: "NTA (not the *******). My brother and his wife used the same venue I did. I couldn't care less." Cayke_Cooky added: "Everyone has dream locations where you dream about having a wedding or staying there on a vacation that are 'if I win the lottery' type ideas because you would never spend that kind of money on the." While AITAthrowaway1mil commented: "I can see why it'd sting. I empathize with that. But I also think it's childish to make such a big issue about it. In her shoes, I'd probably put on a brace face and congratulate my sister, and maybe vent once to my mom or my best friend before getting over it." Newsweek has contacted itsnothervenue for comment via Reddit. If you have a family dilemma, let us know via life@newsweek.com. We can ask experts for advice, and your story could be featured on Newsweek.