Even with the world of weddings changing rapidly, one golden rule from the olden days remains: never upstage the bride. Especially not with a Bulbasaur.
However, when it comes to unwritten etiquette, one man on Reddit has failed to “catch ’em all.” Eager to make an impression at his best friend’s upcoming nuptials, Francesco decided to do things a little differently.
In fairness to the 33-year-old Italian doctor and father of one, this was no ordinary wedding. “The bride and groom asked us to dress in colorful suits,” he tells Newsweek. “A friend of mine proposed we buy some weird, flashy ones.”
Eager to stand out, he soon set his heart on a distinctive suit with a design incorporating several characters from the hit cartoon and gaming series Pokemon.
“It cost €84 [$90],” he says. “It’s made in polyester, with bright colors and a very well-made pattern, very sharp. It represents the iconic starters of the first generation of Pokemon.”
Though the design was striking enough, Francesco also saw the suit as a chance to reconnect with the things he loved as an adolescent.
“I have always been nerdy, and though I’m growing up and becoming older, with lots of responsibilities, I try very hard not to completely lose touch with my inner child,” he explains.
Given the dress code, he also felt confident the bride and groom would have no issue with his choice of attire.
“The groom is a close friend of mine, we have known each other since we were teens, and we went through a lot together,” he says. “The bride was in high school with us, so we have known her a long time too.”
A Pokemon-themed suit – one man’s plans to wear a suit paying tribute to the animated characters hit a snag when he shared the plans online.
Striptofaner/Reddit
Even so, he was eager to get some feedback on the suit, so decided to share a picture of him in it to Reddit, posting under the handle striptofaner.
The response was a strong one, but not in the way Francesco may have hoped.
One person accused him of trying to upstage the bride and “make her wedding about him,” warning that “the most memorable thing about the wedding for a lot of people will be this suit.”
Another commented: “Some people just don’t have the ability to think further than themselves indeed,” with a third warning: “Never outdress the bride.”
Some saw the funny side, with one Redditor joking that the issue was that: “a wedding is about catching the one and this suit promotes catching them all.”
Others, meanwhile, saw no problem, with one commenting: “I wouldn’t care if someone had worn this to my wedding. I would have enjoyed it.”
However, many remained angry at the idea. “You cannot gain more attention than the bride at their wedding, it is rude,” they said. “You are trying to stick out above everyone else, but it’s not your wedding. This is why bridesmaids and groomsmen often wear matching suits/dresses.”
Francesco admits the response to the post on social media has surprised him: “There are a lot of mean and judgy people out there.”
Ultimately, he has opted against wearing the suit, after speaking with the groom, who explained that his fiance wanted everyone to wear colorful suits but maybe not too colorful.
“We realized we couldn’t actually wear those suits,” he said. “The bride’s wishes are the top priority in a wedding, so we couldn’t spoil the celebration just to be funny.”
Despite not being allowed to wear his Pokemon-themed suit, Francesco has no plans to skip the nuptials and is looking forward to celebrating their big day.
“I was a tiny bit sad, nothing more. It was a crazy idea from the start, we knew it could fail,” he said. “Nevertheless, I’m going to the wedding, they are my friends and a small thing like this means nothing.”
