Wedding dresses hold a lot of sentimental value - not to mention their hefty price tag.
One woman has sparked controversy online by asking whether it was wrong not to let her step-daughter wear her late daughter's gown on her big day.
The 49-year-old shared her moral dilemma in Reddit's popular AITA (Am I The A**hole) forum. She began by explaining that her daughter Lauren had tragically passed away from sepsis when just was just 26, in the same month that she was due to be married.
"We were devastated to say the least," wrote the grieving mom, before going on to explain that she had kept her late daughter's wedding dress because they bought it together, and "she put a lot of touches on it [and] worked hard on it."
The woman then explained that she herself had tied the knot recently and that her new hubby has a daughter named Zoe.
"I met my stepdaughter Zoey two and a half years ago. I married her father less than five months ago. It was a small and private celebration since that’s what we felt was the best thing to do since I’m still grieving," she wrote.
She went on to clarify that she a Zoey live far apart, and are not particularly close, adding that they are still "very respectful towards each other."
However, they fell out recently when Zoey set her sights on Lauren's wedding dress - and asked if she could wear it.
"We were talking about wedding dresses and she suddenly brought up Lauren’s wedding dress. I asked her what about it and she said she saw it several times and it got stuck on her mind. Asked if she could see it and I let her. She then said she’d like to wear it at her wedding," the post explains.
According to her stepmother, Zoey didn't just want to wear the dress - she also wanted to alter it to "fit her size and style."
"I told her I was sorry but I can’t let her have it," wrote the woman, who was left feeling "uneasy" by the request. But that wasn't the end of the story. Instead of accepting the decision, Zoey supposedly threw a tantrum, even getting her father involved. He didn't help matters, saying he couldn't understand why it would be an issue.
In the end, the woman described how she lost her temper with both of them and caused an enormous family fight. She wrapped up her post with a plea to fellow users to help her figure out whether she was wrong to respond how she did.
The post has been upvoted more than 11,000 times and commented on by hundreds of users keen to weigh in on the dilemma. Unsurprisingly, pretty much all users were firmly on her side.
"100 NTA (Not the a**hole)," one wrote, adding "I’m disgusted that any person who claims to love you would presume to tell you what your recently deceased daughter would want, all so a girl can avoid having to look for another wedding dress."
"Nta. The dress has special meaning for you and that's understandable, they only see as a free dress has never been worn, that they can do whatever they want with it," another agreed.
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