Bride Calls Friend 'Selfish' After the Woman Suggests Bridesmaids Can't Afford Custom “Bridgerton”-Inspired Dresses
"She told me it wouldn’t be a big deal for them to shell out a little bit of money on a unique event experience," the friend wrote on Reddit
A woman and her friend are having a disagreement over her extravagant wedding vision — specifically the bridesmaids dresses.
In a post on Reddit's "Wedding Drama" forum, the woman explained that her friend anticipates a Christmas proposal from her boyfriend so she is already kicking off her wedding planning. And she has big ideas, the original poster (OP) said.
"The wedding she is imagining is going to be at least $50k," the OP wrote, noting she intends to invite 200 people and have a Regency theme à la Bridgerton.
The friend wants the entire bridal party (and her family) to wear Bridgerton-inspired looks, with all the trimmings. "The dresses she wants are custom gowns," the OP wrote. "If you haven’t seen the show, picture the most elaborate fantasy-historical costumes you can imagine. Petticoats, corsets, gloves, giant wigs, etc. She genuinely wants her wedding to look like an episode of a Netflix show."
When the OP heard this news, she "spent the rest of the night begging [her friend] to be more realistic" about her plans.
"There’s no way her bridesmaids can afford something like this," she wrote. "But she told me I was being selfish and that all of her friends have good jobs, and it wouldn’t be a big deal for them to shell out a little bit of money on a unique event experience."
The OP continued to try and dissuade her friend from her lofty idea but to no avail. "I kept asking her, but she waved her hand and said that she has a specific vision she knows how to make happen," she wrote.
Now, the OP is "dreading" being asked to be a bridesmaid in this wedding. "She’s not even engaged yet and is already spending my money!" she concluded her post.
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In the comments section, people were firmly on the side of the OP, arguing that it was her friend who was being selfish.
One person wrote: "It's quite selfish to expect others to spend their money to realize your dream. If she asks you to be a bridesmaid, I'd demur and suggest you aren't Bridgerton rich, so you will have to decline. However, if she'll provide the costume, you'd love to do it."
Others advised the OP to "back away" and let her friend come to the realization on her own that she might be expecting too much of her future bridesmaids.
"It’s her wedding and her delusion. Make lots of 'that’s interesting' comments. But stop raining on her parade. She will get plenty of that but stop nagging your friend," one person wrote. "Reality will hit soon. No need for you to be the one to insert reality — that’s her boyfriend’s job."
Another chimed in, "Let her dream and think big. As she starts planning and looking at things, she'll learn and change where necessary."
One Redditor encouraged the OP to bow out of the situation altogether, jokingly writing in the words of Bridgerton narrator Lady Whistledown: "Dearest Gentle Reader... Please make haste in the opposite direction of your friend. When the dreaded nuptials do occur, you want to be far removed from the scandal."
Someone else offered a possible solution to the dress dilemma.
"We have a costume [rental] place locally that has sooooo many Bridgerton-type outfits! (And great quality, not the cheap discount store stuff. She does the clothes for all the theatre productions in our state.) It was $35 to rent for a day," they shared. "If she wants a wedding like that she could strike a deal with a shop and include it in her budget to help her guests look like that."
Others were keen for the OP to provide future updates as the situation unfolded. "I want the update when this ends up on Bridezillas," someone joked.