Whether it’s to toast the newlyweds or a bit of lubrication before you hit the dancefloor and bust some moves to Abba’s Dancing Queen; booze is ordinarily a key ingredient at any wedding.
But for one bride, this is the element of her big day that she’s least looking forward to – and she’s introducing strict measures to prevent any rowdy guests from spoiling her and her soon-to-be-husband’s moment.
In an anonymous post in Reddit’s Am I The A**hole thread, the bride-to-be revealed: ‘We have decided to not include an open bar. I come from an alcoholic-heavy family and simply don’t feel comfortable being around people who are drinking heavily.’
‘My fiancé and I have decided to have a drink ticket-like service instead,’ she said. ‘With that service we’ve been able to customise how we want alcoholic beverages being handled at our reception and the venue says this kind of service happens all the time there – it was their suggestion, in fact. So I didn’t think it would be this big of a deal.
‘The drink service bit of the card said, essentially, that alcoholic drinks were limited to two per of age guest, the “tickets” are non-transferable, and like the other beverages offered would need to be ordered from your seat at your assigned table. Drinks were also to be enjoyed at your assigned table.’
After sending out the invitations, outlining the rules around booze consumption, she was apparently branded a ‘bridezilla’.
She said: ‘I’ve been called a lot of rude things after family (both sides) and friends are receiving their cards. My fiancé has as well but a little less so. The most common being “bridezilla” but I did have an uncle reach out to me and say I’m an a-hole for trying to, “spoil the fun of a wedding reception.”
‘The response has been mostly negative and has been from all sides of family and friends and now my head is swirling as I try to figure out what to do.’
It’s not just her family and close pals who have taken issue with the booze restrictions. Redditors labelled the woman an ‘a**hole’ because of the couple’s strict rules. User jrm1102 complained: ‘Your ticket plan went from moderately novel to aggressively controlling the more you explained it. Are you going to have security tackle Aunt Joan if she gets out of her chair with a glass of chard in her hand?’
Another user, known as IrrelevantManatee, added: ‘It’s totally OK to not have an open bar at a wedding. Even limiting consumption is kinda OK. But forcing people to drink it sitting at their assigned table?! That’s over-controlling. Just seems like you want your guests to jump through hoops for no good reasons than because you can because you are the bride.’
Although the general consensus was that the bride was taking her alcohol rules too far, wedding industry experts have previously shared some of the horror stories from weddings and the drunken antics of guests – we’re talking about vomiting and literal brawling.
Beckie Melvin, who runs Emerald Orchid Weddings, has organised hundreds of ceremonies, and as a result, has countless horror stories of rowdy behaviour that ruined the whole day.
Physical fights are worryingly common and it’s not just the guests who are at fault, the newlyweds can also be problematic. ‘I’ve had to cut a bride off before because she’s been so drunk she can’t stand up and has been sick down her gorgeous white dress,’ she told Metro.co.uk.
‘Drunkenness – beyond being giggly and a bit daft – is becoming more common.
‘As a professional, I see too much of it. I try to shield my couples from seeing guests getting lairy, but when it’s the couple themselves it’s difficult. It makes my life and staff’s lives difficult because we want everyone to have a good time, but when safety is compromised, our fun jobs suddenly take on a whole new level of responsibility!’
So, if you’re planning on drinking this wedding season, be smart about it.
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