Woman Called A 'Bridezilla' After Listing 6 Rules She Implemented For All Her Wedding Guests
It's her wedding day, after all.
Pavel Danilyuk / Pexels For many couples, a wedding is meant to be their one special day. Couples plan for months, sometimes years, in advance, all in an effort to make sure their wedding is absolutely perfect.
To accomplish that, some brides and grooms will often send out a list of rules or customs to their guests that they should adhere to. However, one bride was accused of having too many rules and for coming off as "demanding" after sharing a few mandates she had set for her wedding guests.
A woman was called a 'bridezilla' after listing rules she implemented for her wedding guests.
Rachel Romano explained that before her wedding, she sent out a list of strict rules to all the wedding guests that would be in attendance.
1. No kids
For the first rule, Romano refused to have any children at her wedding, and instead, only allowed people 21 and over to attend. She said that there was a lake on the property of their wedding venue, and they didn't want to have to worry about children falling in.
"Weddings aren't the place for a kid. Parents, take the night off [and] have some cocktails with your friends and family. No kids, sorry," she added.
2. No drinking for groomsmen before the ceremony
For Romano's second rule — which she noted was the one that caused the most uproar — none of the groomsmen were allowed to drink before the ceremony started. "I've been to so many weddings where the groomsmen and/or the groom are trashed and they can't even function during the ceremony," she pointed out.
Romano argued that couples "spend so much money and time" on their day, and it wouldn't hurt if the groomsmen just waited until afterward to celebrate and party.
3. Don't ask to bring a plus one
For the third rule, Romano didn't allow any of her wedding guests to bring a plus one unless they knew that guest "personally."
Romano said, "We wanted to know every single person at our wedding; if we wanted the person there, we would've invited them. It's the bride and the groom's day, not everyone else's."
4. Don't wear jeans — formal wedding attire only
The fourth rule Romano implemented was that she didn't want any of the guests showing up to the ceremony in casual clothes, such as jeans. It seems like a simple rule, but apparently, there were a few people on Romano's mind that could potentially attend their wedding in non-formal attire.
5. Families must stick to the wedding colors provided
On the topic of dress codes, Romano added that for the fifth rule, she asked that her family and her husband's family "stick to the wedding colors provided," which were neutral.
"We really wanted our [family] photos to be neutral and all blend in together, and now they look fabulous, but we had some backlash on that," she said.
6. Don't stand in the aisle with your phones taking pictures
For the sixth and final rule, Romano stated that none of the wedding guests were to stand in the aisle during the ceremony and take photos of her and her husband. Instead, they were to stay out of the aisle.
"Even if you think the bride and groom are definitely going to want [your] photos or videos, we don't want them," she remarked. "We paid for a photographer."
Photo: Hussein Altameemi / Pexels
Should brides make a list of rules before their wedding that their guests must adhere to?
While many in the comments accused Romano's rules of being too much to follow, others defended her choice, pointing out that the rules don't seem unreasonable to ask of guests. After all, it's the bride and groom's day, right?
There have certainly been instances where brides have gone over the top with their expectations of guests — asking guests to pay for the reception, not wanting guests to make a vacation of the destination wedding, and being overly controlling of what guests can wear.
In those instances, the bride certainly went overboard with the rules. But for Romano's rules, they seem pretty tame and normal for what the bride and groom should expect from guests.
Etiquette experts explained what rules wedding guests should always adhere to before, during, and after the ceremony and reception. And, believe it or not, they essentially touched on all the rules Romano presented.
The experts touched on couples choosing not to have children included in the reception, saying, “Many couples choose not to have children at their weddings for various reasons, so it’s important to follow that request and not bring them if it’s the wish of the couple.”
While the request for the groomsmen to not drink before the ceremony is a personal preference for Romano, the etiquette experts did say that drinking responsibly is important as a guest, and to know your limits. They also encouraged guests to follow the dress code, and to turn their phones off during the ceremony to have an "unplugged" experience.
So, in the grand scheme of things, it appears that Romano really wasn't asking much of her guests. Her rules were to make the day run seamlessly, have her photos come out the way she intended, and for everyone to have a good time.
Nia Tipton is a Chicago-based entertainment, news, and lifestyle writer whose work delves into modern-day issues and experiences.