A bride-to-be has been left agonising over breaking her mother-in-law's heart by refusing to wear "god awful ugly" wedding dress.
The mother-in-law had hoped that she'd want to walk down the aisle wearing her gown, as it is a proud tradition in their family to pass wedding dresses down.
The bride, whose own parents have sadly passed away, has her heart set on a strapless and chic mermaid-style dress, but decided to give the vintage dress a try after struggling to find anything suitable.
However, after trying the dress on, her heart sunk. It was clear this "hideous" and "outdated" dress couldn't have been further than the one she'd dreamed of, making her feel more like "a frilly, pudgy marshmallow" than a glowing fairytale bride.
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Taking to Reddit, the anguished bride recalled: "I hate it. Entirely. But I walked out in it and my mother-in-law got teary-eyed and told me how beautiful I looked.
"My sister-in-law agreed and my mother-in-law (who has no daughters) told me how happy she was that I was going to wear it, and how beautiful my sister-in-law looked in it.
"I f****** HATE the dress but I love my mother-in-law and I feel I might break her heart if I don’t wear it."
According to the poster, who goes by the username u/mildressdisaster, her husband says she should just be honest and tell her, reasoning that "it’ll probably hurt her feelings but it’s my wedding."
However, her mother-in-law is "such a lovely lady", and the last thing she wants to do is to hurt her in such a way, particularly when it's clear the dress means so much to her.
A number of Reddit users have since come forward to offer some words of wisdom to the divided bride, who may now have to choose between politeness and her dream gown.
One person suggested: "Be gentle about it, but tell her you won't be wearing it. You could even say, 'This isn't the dress I pictured getting married in but thank you for letting me be a part of this tradition!'
"Maybe do a photoshoot of you in the dress with your mother-in-law and sister-in-law. Make it a 'women of the family' shoot, and then wear the dress you want for your celebration."
Another advised: "Tell her that you appreciate her tradition but will honour your family’s tradition and find a new dress to symbolise your new union (or some other benign excuse)."
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