Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Sacked as a bridesmaid

188 replies

rainbowsprinkle · 22/04/2019 10:58

So last week my SIL sacked me as. bridesmaid and I genuinely don't know whether IABU or her.

Just for context, I am a student and she is several years older than me and has lived with her fiancé for about six years. We were all delighted when he proposed last autumn because it's something she's wanted, and has made clear she's wanted, for a long time.

Anyway, there was an initial problem because she'd asked some family members to be bridesmaids (before the proposal) and changed her mind, leaving them pretty cross. As a consolation she told them that they could go wedding dress shopping with her, but on the week of the day said they couldn't come because there wasn't enough room in the taxi.

So - already some bad feeling in the family, but I was pleased to be asked and looking forward to it.

Even though the wedding was two years away I was asked to pay £60 for hair, £70 for make-up and £40 for specific coloured shoes. I said I would pay for hair and shoes but that I would do my make up myself. I'm good at it, and could definitely have done the make up she wanted, but she was cross about it (i should say that she's buying the dresses, which are £20 each).

Then a chat was set up to discuss the hen do. I won't have a car or an income, so said I would travel up to 90 mins (my mum would take me) and pay up to £150. Was this mean do you think? It felt in keeping with what everyone else was saying, and we found lovely properties that fit the bill. In the end, the bride chose something much further away. Those of us without transport were worried, so told her we would struggle to attend. She said she would do a meal for those of us who couldn't go, which was fine.

The last straw was finding out that she had been very critical and unkind about the fact that me and my bf got engaged. She had phoned and FaceTimed people to say that we had taken the shine off her wedding, had stolen her thunder, that it was her time to shine etc.

I contacted her to say that I'd heard about this and that we should clear the air, but instead I was sacked. I'm not worried about that really - in many ways it's a relief tbh - but if IABU then I need to apologise, because I always do if I'm wrong.

Again, for context, I didn't know that my bf was going to propose, it was a surprise. We've been together three years, so it felt right. We haven't set a date yet, so I don't think we've stolen her thunder and our wedding will definitely be after hers. I suppose that I have been talking about wedding stuff, because I'm excited, but imagined that we'd be able to talk about things together. She lives an hour away while we live in the same town as both of our families, so people have been taking an interest and asking lots of questions.

So in her last message she said that I had taken the attention away from her, that I had obstructed everything she'd planned, that I hadn't offered to help (I genuinely didn't know that she would need any help yet, absolutely expected to be helping with invitations and favours and things nearer the time).

So, I'm a lot younger than the other bridesmaids and feel that, if I've genuinely behaved badly or done something wrong, I need to make it right. So, AIBU?

OP posts:
YouBumder · 22/04/2019 13:18

She sounds like an arsehole. I’d be thrilled to be off the hook!

IamPickleRick · 22/04/2019 13:20

I’ve been a bridesmaid 5 times and have never paid for my makeup. I’ve always done it myself. I’ve paid for my hair twice. I’ve paid for my dress once. I have always paid for my shoes.

Doing your own make up is totally fine, you may have to use certain products that the MUA doesn’t have etc

The power has gone to her head. Hiring and firing bridesmaids left right and centre... she either wants you or she doesn’t. She sounds like someone who always has to have an issue.

MarthasGinYard · 22/04/2019 13:22

She's done you a huge favour

What a BZ

Perhaps your DB will see the light

stanski · 22/04/2019 13:23

You've dodged a bullet!
I resigned from being a bridesmaid once because of all the unnecessary drama and tbh it was like a weight being lifted off my shoulders.
You've not done anything wrong. No need to apologise. She's a bridezilla

DontDribbleOnTheCarpet · 22/04/2019 13:23

Oh dear, it's going to be a long two years, isn't it? Since she is your fiancé's sister, at least you can try to divert all contact so it goes through him.
She sounds a bit like my mother and I suspect that in 25 years she will still be hissing "I'll never forgive that rainbowsprinkle, she ruined my wedding, RUINED IT!" while everyone around her fidgets and looks uncomfortable.

stayathomer · 22/04/2019 13:23

Anyone who says anything about stealing thunder is someone to avoid. Congrats on the engagement OP!!!

Holidayshopping · 22/04/2019 13:25

She wanted you to pay £70 for make up and £40 for shoes yet she bought you a £20 dress?!

Aeroflotgirl · 22/04/2019 13:28

She sounds like very hard work, no need to apologise at all. I would be pretty relieved tbh, sounds like a nighmare!

LikeDolphinsCanSwim · 22/04/2019 13:28

You’ve had a lucky escape there, it would only have got worse (and more expensive)

RomanyQueen1 · 22/04/2019 13:30

Dodged a bullet, my love. Concentrate on planning your own wedding.

Whatnameisgood · 22/04/2019 13:34

Oh my goodness who do these people think they are?? Complete bridezillla. You are better off out of it and have done nothing wrong. I simply do not understand the concept of asking someone to be your bridesmaid then making it a massive financial burden on them. Pay for them or don’t ask. I had two bridesmaids and paid for everything for them as it was my choice to have them. I also had a really inexpensive hen do in my home town to make it affordable for everyone. Our wedding was also in our home town, at 3x the cost of having it elsewhere, so people wouldn’t have to fork out on hotel bills. Our choice as we wanted to make it easy for people. Why do some people turn into such self-centred princesses at the whiff of their wedding?

VeryQuaintIrene · 22/04/2019 13:44

What a classic Bridezilla - feel glad that you have escaped now!

IamPickleRick · 22/04/2019 13:47

Hen parties aren’t like that now though. Now it’s 14 days in a villa in Ibiza and if someone can only make 13 and a half days, she’s considered to be letting the bride down and everyone rolls their eyes at her selfishness!

Valanice1989 · 22/04/2019 13:50

OP, of course YANBU. People get oddly carried away with themselves when it comes to weddings. Does anyone remember that insane thread last year from the woman who was angry that her maid of honour had "copied her" by getting engaged three months before her wedding? She seemed to be under the impression that she "owned" that year and nobody else was allowed any kind of event.

floribunda18 · 22/04/2019 13:51

YANBU, she sounds a right cow.

floribunda18 · 22/04/2019 13:54

In fact, what you really ought to do is now organise your wedding for three months before hers, get pregnant straight away, and make a little announcement at her wedding.

Bookworm4 · 22/04/2019 13:55

She's an arsehole with no clue how to organise a wedding; you do not book hair and makeup and expect bridesmaids to pay, dread to think what her £20 dresses look like. My daughter gets married in 2 years and nobody is being asked to pay; you ask someone to be a bridesmaid they shouldn't have to pay.

Gingersstuff · 22/04/2019 13:55

Don’t apologise for anything. YANBU and she is a gigantic arsehole.

Purplecatshopaholic · 22/04/2019 13:58

Jeezo, woman sounds like a nutter! You are well out of it! Its a wedding. Thats all. The marriage is whats actually important, just saying....

Sparklesocks · 22/04/2019 13:59

It’s definitely a good thing.

Also I’ve been a bridesmaid a couple of times and have never paid for the hairdresser or make up - that’s part of the cost of the wedding, and it shouldn’t be up to those invited to be bridesmaids to cover the costs. Particularly if they are high.

IHateUncleJamie · 22/04/2019 14:00

I think it must have been annoying that I said I'd do my make up myself, and that I couldn't attend the hen do

Er NO. My only adult BM did her own makeup because she preferred to, didn’t cross my mind to insist on anything. You gave your SIL your max budget etc for Hen Do and she chose to have one you couldn’t afford or get to.

Seriously, you have done NOTHING wrong. And get that money back!

daisychain01 · 22/04/2019 14:01

I love the delusional quality of someone thinking they "own" a date, or a "year" and that people in their life are counting down the days to when they can witness the amazingness of it all.

I would worry for someone like that as to how they'd survive the rest of their life in comparative drudgery, with all that massive build up. Oh, wait, then it'll be the DC.. because nobody else has procreated quite like them. jeezzzzz. It all seems to have ramped up since the Celleb weddings and Christenings/Naming Day guff in Hello mag.

Troels · 22/04/2019 14:06

Get married same month and year, or use her date a year apart, then get pregnant and turn up heavily pregnant or announce a new pregnacy at her reception.
She's completly out of control. Your poor brother is really in for a rough ride.

Driftingthoughlife · 22/04/2019 14:24

Bullet dodged there op
Bet she sacks most of the remaining bridesmaids by the end. I don’t get this stealing thunder things me and my best friend got married 3 weeks apart at the same venue. Neither of us bothered

CupOhTea · 22/04/2019 14:25

I love the delusional quality of someone thinking they "own" a date, or a "year" and that people in their life are counting down the days to when they can witness the amazingness of it all

I remember when a work colleague who I barely knew realised we were getting married on the same day. Her face was a picture! She was fuming. Never mind the fact that I worked overseas and was getting married at home 😂. There was absolutely no chance whatsoever of a wedding guest overlap. People are weird.

Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.

This thread is closed and is no longer accepting replies. Click here to start a new thread.