Jess Hardiman
A bride-to-be has banned her parents from her ‘dream’ wedding after they refused to pay for the lavish ceremony, despite warnings from family members about how much she'll regret it in the future.
Planning a wedding can be an incredibly stressful experience for many couples, especially as they can often prove scarily expensive - even for those doing what they can to cut costs.
But one bride is adamant that she won't settle for anything less than perfection on her big day - even though it means falling out with family.
The ‘anti-budget bride’ wrote into the Daily Mail to seek advice from resident agony aunt Jane Green, explaining how she was in the middle of planning what she hoped would be the ‘perfect day’ after her partner proposed in the summer.
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“I want that one day where I get to be the center of attention,” the woman said.
“And I've always felt so lucky that my parents talked about saving money away for my special day.
“So when I got engaged, they were obviously my first call, and while I wasn't exactly badgering them for money from the off, I was slightly anxious when they didn't bring it up right away.”
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When the conversation eventually happened, her parents broke the news that they would not be paying for the wedding, having had a ‘bad run of luck’ with their finances.
As the bride and groom both have ‘high-paid jobs’, the woman’s mum and dad felt the responsibility of paying for a big wedding laid with them.
“They didn't even seem apologetic!” the woman said, adding that she and her fiancé had just bought a new home and were already’ ‘planning for kids’.
The parents promised to do everything they could to help with the big day but wouldn’t be handing over any money, which left the bride feeling ‘really annoyed’.
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She told them that if they didn’t want to be ‘part of the wedding financially’ then they ‘just shouldn’t bother coming’, and has since ‘pretty much cut them off'.
Her friends and family have told her she’ll ‘regret’ the decision but stressed that she didn’t think they ‘deserve to come’.
However, in her response, Jane said that ‘times have changed’ and that the bride’s parents shouldn’t be expected to pay – especially if the happy couple earn a decent amount of money.
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She explained that there is ‘nothing wrong with wanting to be a princess for the day’, but that it is important to understand the concept of ‘focusing on a shared life with someone else rather than one day that will pass in a blur’.
“Frankly, if you and your fiancé both have high-paying jobs and your parents are not in a position to shower you with cash, I don't think it unreasonable for the two of you to pay for the wedding that you want,” she wrote back.
Jane continued: “So yes, I do think you are cutting off your nose to spite your face, and that punishing your parents for not contributing financially may appear to others as behavior that is both spoiled and self-absorbed.”
She warned that withholding a wedding invitation from parents is something the bride would ‘deeply regret’ over the years, not just because her father wouldn’t be able to walk her down the aisle, but also because of what it says about her and her ‘values’.
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Do you agree with the self-titled 'anti-budget bride' or her parents?