At my wedding, my mother-in-law, Linda, shocked everyone by wearing a full-length white lace gown that looked just like a bridal dress. She entered the church late but made a grand entrance, clearly aiming to steal the spotlight from me. Despite my own beautiful wedding dress, Linda clung to my husband Jeff throughout the day, acting as if it was her special occasion.
Guests were shocked and whispered among themselves, but no one confronted her. Jeff and I exchanged worried looks, but he urged me to stay calm and not give Linda the power to ruin my day. I tried to focus on our celebration and later paid a professional to edit Linda out of all but one carefully cropped wedding photo, which now sits on our mantel.
Moving across the state helped create distance and peace between us. Years later, my brother-in-law Dylan got engaged to Sarah, a kind and thoughtful woman who was warned by me to watch out for Linda’s behavior.
Sarah reassured me that Linda had promised to dress appropriately this time. However, at Dylan and Sarah’s wedding, Linda showed up wearing the same white lace dress from my wedding, only this time with a red sash around her waist and bold red lipstick, clearly trying again to grab attention.
During the photos, Linda photobombed every shot, clinging to the groom as usual. When the photographer called for just the bride and groom, Linda stepped forward as if she belonged, and the photographer cleverly asked if she was the bride, exposing her stunt to everyone. The guests laughed, and Linda angrily declared she was the most important woman there before storming off in a huff. Dylan then stood firmly by Sarah, making it clear who was the center of the day. Linda’s own sister and aunt later scolded her for repeating the white dress stunt at two family weddings, but Linda left angrily, refusing to stay where she felt unappreciated. The rest of the wedding went smoothly without her drama. Sarah later told me the photos came out beautifully, focused solely on the happy couple. As for Linda, it’s anyone’s guess whether she’ll wear white to the next family wedding, as some people never seem to learn. This story is inspired by real events but has been fictionalized to protect privacy.