When my future MIL saw my white wedding gown, she sneered. “White is for pure brides. “You have a child.” Worse? My fiance agreed! However, they went too far when they changed my dream wedding dress with a blood-red gown, causing me to take dramatic measures.
I used to believe that love could overcome anything. That when two individuals genuinely cared about each other, the rest of the world evaporated. I was mistaken.
Daniel and I had been dating for over two years before he proposed.
“Will you marry me?” Daniel asked, down on one knee in our favorite restaurant. The candlelight caught the diamond just right, making it sparkle like the tears in my eyes.
“Yes,” I whispered, then louder, “Yes!”
Daniel slid the ring on my finger, and I felt like I was soaring. Finally, I felt like my life was coming together.
That night, as Daniel slept alongside me, I glanced at the ceiling and dreamed about our future. My daughter, Lily, would have a stable family, and I’d have a reliable spouse.
I knew there would be problems. Margaret, Daniel’s mother, had never totally accepted me, but I believed we had achieved an agreement.
Turned out I was wrong about that too.
I went dress shopping the following day. As fate would have it, I discovered the ideal outfit in the third store I visited. I purchased the outfit that day, paying more than I should have but knew it was worthwhile.
Then Margaret arrived. I was still upstairs, admiring my beautiful outfit, when she entered the room. She took one glance at my clothing and screwed her face in distaste.
“Oh, no,” she said, shaking her head. “You can’t wear white.”
“Why on earth not?” I asked.
She let out a patronizing laugh. “White is for pure brides. You already have a child, so you should wear red instead. It’s less… misleading.”
“What!?” I almost dropped my dress on the floor I was so surprised.
“Daniel, you should’ve told her she can’t wear a white dress, dear,” Margaret said before I could get a word in. “It’s completely inappropriate. I told her she should wear red instead.”
I turned to Daniel, expecting him to shut this down immediately.
Instead, he nodded. “I didn’t think of it…” He then looked me in the eye and said, “Mom’s right. You can’t wear that dress on our wedding day. It’s only fair.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing!
“Fair? You can’t be serious,” I said, chuckling half-heartedly.
“It’s the 21st Century… you surely don’t believe every bride that walks down the aisle in a white dress is a chaste virgin!”
“It’s not about what other people do, babe,” Daniel said. “We agreed on a traditional wedding, right? So, if you wore white, it would be like you were lying to everyone about who you are.”
“About what you are,” Margaret added coldly.
That’s when I understood this was more than simply a dress.
They were attempting to embarrass me!
I hung up my dress and rushed from the room. I couldn’t bear to face them after that, so I went into Lily’s room and played with her until I felt better.
I still didn’t know what I was going to do about the ludicrous wedding dress fiasco, but Daniel and his mother had already taken action.
The next day, I came home from work to find Margaret in our living room. Daniel had given her a key for “emergencies.”
Apparently, my wedding dress was an emergency.
“I took care of the dress situation,” she announced, gesturing to a large box on the sofa. “Open it.”
With trembling hands, I lifted the lid.
Inside was a blood-red gown with a plunging neckline and elaborate needlework. It resembled a vampire movie outfit rather than a bridal attire.
“Now this is a proper dress for someone like you,” she declared.
“I’m not wearing this.” I shook my head and shut the box. “I’ll stick with the dress I bought, Margaret.”
“You can’t,” she said simply. “I used your receipt to return it. Then bought this one. It’s far more suitable for someone in your situation.”
The audacity of this woman! The front door opened then and Daniel walked in.
“Perfect timing!” Margaret opened the box and lifted the dress to show Daniel. “Look what I got today! Isn’t it perfect?”
To my horror, Daniel studied the dress and nodded. “I like it. It’s much more appropriate for you, babe.”
She took one look at the dress and frowned. “Is that what you’re wearing to the wedding, Granny Margaret? It looks like it’s covered in blood.”
I stared at my lovely daughter, then back at Daniel and his mother. It was evident that I would never win a head-to-head battle with them. No matter how much I struggled, they would still regard me as unworthy of a white dress, impure.
So I consented to wear the red dress. But not for the reasons they expected.
The weeks before the wedding were strained. I smiled through fittings, tastings, and rehearsals, all the while making phone calls and texting when no one was watching.
If Margaret wanted to make a statement with my outfit, I would make it even bigger.
The wedding day arrived bright and clear. I stepped into the venue wearing the red dress Margaret had chosen and clenched my jaw into a semblance of a smile.
Margaret sat in the front row, wearing a white dress, her face triumphant. That’s right, she had the nerve to wear white to my wedding after forcing me into this Halloween costume of a dress.
Daniel stood at the altar, also in white. All their high ideals about purity clearly didn’t work both ways.
The music started. My father, who had flown in for the occasion, gave me a nod and took my arm.
We began our walk. I reached the altar, and Daniel took my hands.
“You look…” he started.
I gave them a long look. That was the signal. One by one, they all stood up.
Margaret’s smug expression faltered.
“What’s going on?” she hissed.
Guests began removing their jackets or opening their wraps, revealing a sea of red dresses, red shirts, and red ties beneath.
Margaret’s jaw dropped. “What? WHAT IS THIS?”
“A reminder that no one gets to dictate a woman’s worth based on her past.”
“This is ridiculous! This was supposed to be a proper wedding!”
Daniel was furious. “How could you do this?” He yelled.
“You’ve turned our wedding into a spectacle.”
I looked at his hand on my arm, then up at his face. The man I thought I loved looked suddenly like a stranger.
“Oh, honey,” I said, gently removing his hand. “The spectacle hasn’t even started yet.”
I moved away from him to face the visitors once more. “I appreciate everyone’s support today. I donned this clothing not because I had to, but to make a statement. Because no woman should be intimidated into obedience in order to appease others.”
Then I grabbed for the back zipper of my dress and tugged it down. The red robe slipped away, pooling at my feet.
However, underneath was a sleek, black party dress that was both fitting and stylish. A representation of my authority, decision, and future.
Silence. Gasping. Murmurs.
I smiled, picked up the discarded red dress, and tossed it at Margaret’s feet.
“This is where your control ends.”
Daniel’s face burned red with rage. “What the hell did you just do?”
“I just saved myself from the biggest mistake of my life,” I replied.
I turned on my heel, walking back down the aisle, head high, heart free. My friends in red stood and joined me, forming a procession of solidarity.
“This isn’t over!” Daniel called after me.
I stopped and looked back one last time. “Yes, it is.”
Because Daniel and Margaret had taught me that the bravest thing you can do is walk away from what hurts you, even if it means giving up on what you believed would be your happy ending.
