Picking a wedding dress is a time consuming process for many brides, as they want to get it absolutely right. So once the bride has secured the dress she likes, that should be one fewer thing to worry about, but there can always be some externalities.

A woman discovered that her eco-conscious sister had taken the liberty to secretly tie-dye her wedding dress. She called her out and, in the ensuing argument, said some rather mean things, so she wanted to get the internet’s opinion on whether it was justified. We reached out to the bride via private message and will update the article when she gets back to us.

Getting the perfect wedding dress can take a lot of time

Image credits: LightFieldStudios / Envato (not the actual photo)

So one woman was understandably angry when her sister secretly tie-dyed her dress

Image credits: ASphotostudio / Envato (not the actual photo)

Image credits: Whole_Challenge_9099

Wedding dresses are an entire industry

If you’ve never shopped for a wedding dress, you might be forgiven for wondering what’s the big deal. Unfortunately, the wedding-industrial complex, knowing that this is going to be an expensive ordeal anyway, will jump up the price for an item that most people will only ever wear once.

For example, the Knot reports that the average wedding dress that was actually used in a US wedding cost about $2000. This is the average, as reported by 10000 brides who got married in 2023. This isn’t to say that brides don’t deserve to look nice, but there is no denying that this is a pretty predatory industry.

After all, dressmakers know that this is one of the areas where people will pay a premium, so they can afford to charge more. Similarly, there is a sort of sunk-cost fallacy that goes on at this stage. Wedding planning is expensive, in the US it can in total set the couple back five figures. So what is another $2000 for a dress you really like? Its no secret that the wedding photos are a very important part of many people, so what the happy couple is wearing can be just as important.

While we don’t know the exact price nor the bride’s purchasing power, it’s clear that it’s not a sum she is willing to just give away. Similarly, this isn’t just an item she can go and get another one of, as it’s a custom piece, which would suggest it cost even more. The aforementioned study indicates that around 80% of brides bought premade dresses, with the average price being $2000. It simply stands to reason that a custom-made one would cost more.

Tie-dying the dress was pretty counterproductive for anyone who is eco-conscious

Image credits: Image by Freepik (not the actual photo)

There is something to be said about “fast-fashion,” when it comes to wedding dresses. While this term does often conjure up the idea of $1 t-shirts that are discarded after a week or two, wedding dresses are generally no longer used after a single day. That being said, many people do actually keep their dresses, often passing them down to younger relatives. Indeed, this can even be a point of contention, as weddings do sometimes bring out uglier emotions in some folks.

Ironically, by tie-dying this dress, the sister has achieved the opposite effect. The bride will no longer use it, ruining the resources she put into making this “alteration.” Similarly, since postponing a wedding is difficult and expensive, the bride will probably need to get a new dress quickly. Now she has “used” up two dresses worth of fabric, which is really the opposite of being eco-friendly.

Of course, the real question is did she go too far when shouting at her sister. After all, “I hope your husband cheats on you” is a very specific and brutal thing to say. Because we only have the bride’s perspective, as is so often the case with these stories, we don’t know what else lies beneath this sibling argument.

At best, the bride knows her sister is insecure and, in an attempt to inflict maximum damage, has picked a very nasty thing to say. There is an alternative possibility, that there is more going on here that is beyond the scope of this destroyed dress and she simply decided to leave it out. Many netizens sided with the bride, however a few through her words really did go too far. “Wishing” your sister’s marriage was ruined before your own wedding is not just a normal thing one says in anger. It would be tantamount to “wishing” the bride’s own wedding was ruined.

A few people gave her some practical suggestions

Many thought she was justifiably angry

Others thought she went too far

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