Woman Refusing To Take Expensive Item to Wedding Over Theft Fears Backed

A woman's reason for refusing to bring an expensive item to a wedding has been widely praised online after she posted her story on Reddit.

Weddings are occasions where people are willing to help out the bride and groom in order to make their day go smoothly, although in this case, the person involved shared their reason why they would not go the extra mile.

In a viral Reddit post shared on the Am I The A****** subgroup, user Unable-Guarentee-375 explained she and her boyfriend had been asked to bring a cookie tray to the wedding as part of a local tradition.

She added: "I have a very beautiful and expensive tea tray. [My] boyfriend suggested that I use it to display the cookies. I said no, it's a 300-person wedding, and I don't want some auntie 'accidentally' taking it home with her.

"[My] boyfriend seemed fine with this, we found a simple bowl that was perfectly appropriate for the occasion, and used that to display the cookies."

The Reddit user then revealed that her boyfriend told the newlyweds that she did not want to use the tea tray out of fear one of the guests might steal it.

She continued: "I tried to backtrack by saying that I just didn't want it to get misplaced or damaged, but he 'called me out on lying.' The newlyweds said something about everyone there being friends and family, it was very awkward and we left shortly.

"I am angry because I told him that in confidence and he should have known better than to repeat that to his friends, even though they were very close."

Zoe Burke, leading wedding expert and editor of Hitched.co.uk told Newsweek: "I think it's absolutely understandable that wedding guests would not want to bring expensive or personal items to a wedding where they can't ensure the safety of their items or keep an eye on them at all times.

"While anyone will believe that their friends and family are completely trustworthy and that personal items will be safe, there are lots of moving parts at a wedding that could easily mean something could go missing or be misplaced amongst other items during clean up or as people start to tidy things away.

"If you're asking people to bring items to your big day, or to contribute in some way to the event, then you need to give them the flexibility to do this in a way that is comfortable for them—unless you provide them the means to do this yourself."

According to wedding planning website The Knot, Americans spent an average of $30,000 on weddings in 2022. This represented a $2,000 increase on the year before.

Since being shared on July 4, the post has attracted an estimated 7,600 upvotes and more than 2,000 comments.

The overwhelming majority of people who commented sided with the poster and also hit out at her boyfriend's attitude.

Reddit user Imaginry_Building_4, whose comment was upvoted 21,900 times, said: "NTA (not the A******). But your man sure is. No more cookies for him until he learns to behave better in public."

HighlyImprobable42 added: "If [the] dude was intentionally putting OP (original poster) down to inflate his image, he's got to go."

2dogslife commented: "I mean honestly, who would bring an expensive tray to a gathering of 300 people? I don't care how much they are friends and family. Even if it doesn't grow legs, it could be broken or dented or otherwise damaged. You use such trays for the holidays hosted at your house—period. NTA."

Newsweek has contacted Unable-Guarentee-375 for comment via Reddit.

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