"She looked like she was going to walk down the aisle herself," a guest shared on Reddit.
Published on June 10, 2025 11:43AM
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Key Takeaways
- A guest recalled how the groom's mother wore a bridal gown and veil to her son's wedding last year in a viral Reddit post.
- The mother of the groom reportedly told guests that it was a "tradition" in her family for the groom's mom to wear white. During the reception, she asked guests who her gown looked in different lighting and reminded everyone that she was "the first woman in his life."
- The bride, groom, and their guests were shocked when they saw the mother of the groom walking down the aisle; the groom reportedly kept saying "I'm so sorry" to his bride during the ceremony.
You've read it time and time again: Never wear white to someone else's wedding, unless the dress code explicitly says that you should. For that reason (among so many others) it should go without saying that wearing a wedding dress to someone else's ceremony and reception is off the table, but one mother of the groom didn't see the issue with wearing a bridal gown to her son's nuptials. In a Reddit thread titled "The Groom’s Mom Wore a Wedding Dress and Said It’s Tradition in Our Family," which was posted on the /weddingshaming rubreddit, a guest detailed the shocking moment when the groom's mother walked down the aisle in head-to-toe bridal garb.
"Everything was going smoothly until the groom's mother walked into the hall in a full-length white gown. Lace sleeves. Sparkly belt. Veil," the guest, who notes that she was attending her cousin's wedding, notes. "She looked like she was about to walk down the aisle herself." Needless to say, attendees and the couple were shocked. "The bride’s face froze mid-smile like she had just seen a ghost. The photographer looked visibly confused. And the actual bride’s mother? She quietly said, 'If I ever do this at your wedding, slap me,'" the original poster added.
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The situation further deteriorated from there. "To make things worse, the groom’s mom tried to stand next to the bride and groom during the vows, and even held the bride’s bouquet at one point," the original poster explained. "Someone, I suspect it was a brave aunt, gently pulled her back like she was a lost guest who wandered too close."
The reason she wore the white gown in the first place? According to the mother of the groom, it's "tradition" in her family for the groom's mom to don white on her son's wedding day. "At first, people assumed it was some kind of themed outfit or maybe a backup dress for the bride. But nope. It was hers," the poster wrote. She even had the nerve to say, 'It’s tradition in our family for the mother of the groom to wear white.'"
At the reception, the groom's mom doubled down on her attire choice. "She spent the rest of the evening introducing herself as the original woman in his life and asking guests how her dress looked in the lighting," the guest shared. In response to a question from another Reddit user, the original poster went on to detail how embarrassed the groom was. "He looked like he wanted the floor to swallow him. Totally blindsided and embarrassed. He just kept saying 'I’m so sorry' over and over," the guest wrote. "They’re still married, but yeah, rough start thanks to his mom."
Other Reddit users agreed that wearing white was inappropriate, but most were also alarmed by the mom's reception behavior. "If I was the bride I’d expect my new husband to kick her out," one user wrote. Another added, "What a horrible, selfish person. I would have laughed out loud every time she passed me."
