Bride Defended For Threat to Eject Anyone Drinking Booze at Dry Wedding

Members of a popular internet forum were stunned after one bride-to-be revealed her family's plans to bring alcohol into her explicitly dry wedding.

In a viral Reddit post published on r/AmITheA**hole, Redditor u/CrystalRavenWitch (otherwise referred to as the original poster, or OP) said she made it clear numerous times there will be no alcohol at her upcoming wedding but detailed her dismay when her future mother-in-law asked to bring booze anyway.

Titled, "[Am I the a**hole] for telling people they will be thrown out of my wedding if they bring in alcohol?" the post has received nearly 5,200 votes and 1,000 comments in the last day.

Beginning with the explanation that both she and her fiancé are the children of alcoholics, the original poster said she saw what alcohol can do to a family and didn't want that for her own.

"When my parents get drunk, they get mean," OP wrote. "I don't want that."

"For this reason, we're having a dry wedding," OP added.

Despite her adamance about having a dry wedding, the original poster said she recently received a request to bend the rules.

"My future mother in law asked if she could bring some wine and Twisted Teas with her for her and my sister in law," OP wrote. "I said no and made a post in the wedding group stating that any alcohol being brought onto the premises would result in the offending guest to [be] removed."

"My sister in law got up in arms and now apparently I'm the a**hole," OP added.

Weddings, and all of the festivities that come with them, are largely built around the consumption of alcohol. In fact, The Knot's 2021 Real Wedding Survey revealed that in the United States, 93 percent of couples serve alcohol on their big day.

While 67 percent of couples offered open bars at their wedding, and another 15 percent offered just beer and wine, the survey also revealed that, on average, U.S. couples spent $2,300 on booze in 2021.

Despite the overwhelming expectation that weddings and alcohol go hand-in-hand, dry weddings are a viable option for many couples—for many reasons, with cost being one of them. However, for those simply wishing to keep alcohol away from their wedding altogether, Brides.com recommends that couples establish clear guidelines and adhere to them strictly.

If the wedding is alcohol-free, the wedding is alcohol-free. There are no exceptions.

Throughout the viral post's comment section, Redditors sided with the original poster and questioned why anybody, especially future family members, would ask to bring alcohol to a bone-dry wedding.

"[Not the a**hole]," Redditor u/KarinmedQ wrote in the post's top comment, which has received more than 6,000 votes. "It's your party and you get to decide. Was the wording harsh? Maybe. But it seems justified if people are gonna get all pissy about it."

Redditor u/opinionswelcomehere, whose comment has received more than 2,000 votes, echoed that sentiment.

"The wording almost certainly had to be harsh to make sure people follow it. Otherwise some will assume it was a suggestion," they wrote. "[Not the a**hole]."

"Who even asks to bring alcohol to a dry wedding?" Redditor u/Perspex_Sea chimed in, receiving more than 1,200 votes. "If the couple decided they don't want booze there, don't bring booze."

In a separate comment, which has received more than 1,500 votes, Redditor u/WhizGidget offered a lengthy response and said the original poster would be justified to remove anybody from her wedding for violating any rules or regulations she put in place.

"This is your wedding, and this is your hill to die on," they wrote. "If you wanted it to be child-free, and those children will be escorted out, then that's the rule. If you wanted all the guests to wear formal wear...and those who do not abide will be escorted out, then that's the rule.

"You are not going to serve alcohol, and anyone who brings it in will be escorted out," they added. "That's the rule."