Teen Who ‘Ruined’ Friend’s Wedding by Wearing a White Bridal Dress Cheered

A man has been praised online despite admitting to having worn a costume from the film The Corpse Bride to a friend’s wedding.

In a viral post shared last week to Reddit’s Am I The ******* group, which can be seen here, user DanWantsDeath explained he and his friend had known one another for years and that she recently got engaged.

The Reddit user, 19, said he received a message that his friend, 20, and her partner would host a small costume party to celebrate their engagement.

He further explained that he was an avid cosplay hobbyist and thought it would be funny to go as the Corpse Bride from the 2005 animated film of the same name, which stars Johnny Depp.

A split image of a woman dressed as the Corpse Bride and a stock image of a couple at a wedding. A man has been praised online, despite admitting to having worn a costume from the film “The Corpse Bride” to a friend’s wedding.Getty

According to the wedding website, The Knot, the average age for women to get married last year was 30, while men on average got married at 32.

Surprise Wedding

The Reddit user continued: “After ten minutes my friend’s fiancé walked out in a black tuxedo and announced this was actually their wedding. Apparently, my friend saw a video of someone doing this and wanted to do the same.

“He asked us all to go to the backyard for the ceremony to begin. I went straight to him. I asked him if I should quickly go home and change my outfit and that I would get back before it started. He told me it was fine since I didn’t know this was the wedding.”

The Redditor continued: “I trusted him and followed everyone outside. They got married and everything seemed good. The reception was just in their house again so everyone just walked back inside and picked up where they left off. I tried talking to my friend and celebrating with her but she kept making excuses to not talk to me.”

Rima Barakeh, wedding expert and deputy editor of Hitched.co.uk, told Newsweek that surprise weddings could work if planned well.

“Of course, wearing a wedding dress, or anything remotely white or ‘bridal’ for that matter is a big fashion faux pas, but this situation is very much out of the norm,” Barakeh said. “Secret, surprise weddings can work really well, celeb couples have been doing them for years. But it’s really important that, if you’re a stickler for etiquette and still want the ‘norm’ wedding rules to be followed, you are clear to your guests about the dress code.”

The Reddit user further explained that he started to get messages on his phone after he arrived home from the wedding. His friend claimed his cosplay ruined her wedding, which left him confused.

He added: “That only made her more angry. She told me it was basic knowledge not to wear a wedding dress to a wedding. I reminded her I had no idea it was a wedding and that I asked her now husband if I should change and he said it was fine.

“She didn’t respond, but I got a text from her husband. He asked why I would tell her he said it was fine. I told him he said it was fine. Then he said how I should have changed anyways and it’s my fault that the two are now fighting over this. I’ve tried texting her that I was sorry and if I had known I wouldn’t have done it. I woke up today and saw her and her husband have blocked me on everything.”

Online Reaction

Since the comment was uploaded last Wednesday, it has attracted more than 36,600 upvotes.

The overwhelming majority of those who commented on the post were supportive of the cosplayer and defended his actions.

Reddit user Muswell42 said: “OP (original poster) sounds like an epic guest to have at costume parties to be honest.”

Campestra added: “NTA (not the *******) and OP even tried to check with the groom. Who now is lying. I fear for that marriage.”

Rivertam2985 commented: “Seriously. OP should back away slowly, then run. I thought the corpse bride idea was pretty funny. She needs to find friends with a better sense of humor.”

Advice on How to Plan a Surprise Wedding

Barakeh offered some advice to people who wanted to plan a surprise wedding for their friends and family.

Read more

“Turning your engagement party into a surprise wedding is actually a great way to ensure your guests come in their best fits – most people dress up for an engagement party so it’s a good way to encourage guests to dress smartly without spoiling the surprise that it’s actually a wedding they are attending,” she added.

“The mistake made here was having a costume/fancy dress wedding, and then getting upset about someone’s choice of outfit. I would say, however, that whilst the guest’s choice to wear a corpse bride outfit was done in good jest, I’d encourage guests to avoid any wedding-themed or white outfits – even if the theme is costume.

“If any other couples want to mimic the costume-party-turned-wedding idea, I’d strongly suggest some wording on the invite to reference the dress code.. You could make it funny and put something along the lines of, ‘Dress code: Fancy dress but no brides – seriously.'”

Barakeh concluded: “But in this case, the bottom line I think, is that if your guests have no idea they’re attending a wedding, and the dress code is costume, you’ve got to expect some outfit faux pas here. And he did offer to change.”

Newsweek has reached out to DanWantsDeath for comment via Reddit.

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