Some friendships last a lifetime, but others can fall apart in a moment. Today’s story is about a 34-year-old woman who was hurt by how her best friend of over 20 years acted on her wedding day. Alyson, 34, wrote to us about her sad experience with her childhood best friend, Miranda, 35. She started by saying, “My childhood best friend got married last weekend. I was so happy to be there and support her on her big day. But things started going wrong immediately.”
Alyson continued, “After Miranda asked me to be her bridesmaid, she told me I had to dress ‘girly.’ She made a list of things I had to do, like wear a dress, heels, grow my hair to bob length, dye my hair, and get a tan. The worst part for me was that I had to use body makeup to cover my tattoos.”
Alyson explained why this was hard for her from the start. She wrote, “I’ve been a tomboy since I was a teenager. I feel uncomfortable wearing dresses, heels, and makeup. But because it was my best friend’s big day, I agreed to do everything except grow my hair.” Then Miranda told her she could still come to the wedding, but she wouldn’t be a bridesmaid anymore. Alyson agreed, but she already felt bad about it.
Alyson went on, “I’m a chocolatier, so Miranda asked me to make the wedding favors and handle the dessert table. Even though our friendship was already strained by her demands about my appearance and changing her mind about me being a bridesmaid, I was happy to help. I worked really hard to make an amazing table that was the hit of the day.”
But things didn’t get better between Alyson and Miranda. Alyson said, “Miranda told me that the wedding was going over budget, and she wanted to cut costs. So, she said my husband couldn’t come to the wedding. I was really upset, but because she was my best friend and we’d been through so much together, I tried to be understanding. I thought it was just wedding stress. I even lowered my prices for the dessert table as my gift to her and her husband.
Alyson wrote, “A month later, after looking at the guest list, Miranda told me that my husband could still come, but if he did, I would be moved away from the head table.” Alyson shared that her husband is a wedding photographer, and he wanted to add to his videography portfolio. They knew that Miranda and her fiancé didn’t have a videographer.
Alyson’s husband offered to make a professional wedding video for them for free. Alyson said, “Miranda was excited, and she suggested we sit at the vendor table to work with the other vendors. We liked the idea, and it was agreed that we would sit with the vendors.”
Then things went wrong. Alyson wrote, “On the wedding day, my husband and I arrived 4 hours early to help with the event. He spent the time filming, while I set up the dessert table. After the ceremony, guests moved to the party room, and the original room was changed into the reception area. While helping with this, I was shocked to find that my best friend didn’t put our names on the seating list.”
There was no vendor table, and Alyson and her husband had to sit in a separate room because they weren’t on the list. That room was closed off from the reception, so they couldn’t hear, see, or talk to anyone.
Alyson said, “When we were told to sit in a separate room, I went to Miranda to explain what happened. She said it was a mix-up. I understood, but Miranda didn’t do anything to move us to the main room. We were just left out of the reception. I missed the whole wedding and spent most of the evening crying in the bathroom. My husband kept filming because he wanted to make a nice video for them.”
Alyson ended her letter saying, “After everything that happened, I texted Miranda and told her how I felt. She started to apologize and said she was overwhelmed that day. She said she felt very guilty and wanted to stay friends. But now, my only wish is to never see her again in my life.”