Lifestyle
Groom’s Mom Confronts Guest with Medical Condition for Bringing Her Own Food to Wedding
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A wedding guest, who has a dietary-related medical condition, wrote on Reddit that she was criticized by the groom’s mother for bringing her own food to the reception
The guest is gluten and dairy intolerant, and feared “cross-contamination” from the venue’s catering
While the groom’s mother called the guest “selfish” and “embarrassing,” Reddit users argued that the guest did what she needed to ensure her health and safety
A guest with a dietary-related medical condition was criticized for bringing her own food to her friend’s wedding.
The wedding guest, 36, recalled the incident in a post on Reddit’s “Am I the A——” forum, and asked users if she “really crossed a line” for eating her own home-cooked meal instead of the plated dinner served at the festivities.
“I didn’t want to draw attention, but maybe I should’ve handled it differently,” she wrote.
The woman explained that she has a medical condition that impacts her ability to digest “common ingredients,” including “gluten and dairy.” This makes dining out difficult if there are no dietary accommodations.
“It’s not a fad diet or a preference — I get very sick if I eat them,” she said. “I mentioned this on the RSVP card where it asked about dietary restrictions.”
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Wedding guests dining at reception (stock image)
She continued: “The bride told me the venue couldn’t guarantee anything gluten- or dairy-free because of cross-contamination, but she hoped I’d ‘make do with the salad and fruit.’ “
The guest couldn’t risk eating food contaminated with her allergens for health reasons, and didn’t want to be hungry all night nibbling on just salad and fruit as her only potentially safe options, so she decided to “quietly” bring a “small container of safe food” in her bag.
“I didn’t want to cause trouble,” she shared.
Once dinner was served, the woman “discreetly” stepped outside for about five minutes to “quickly” eat her container of grilled chicken and rice. “I didn’t make a scene, didn’t bring smelly food, didn’t take anything away from the event,” she noted.
Afterward, she returned as though she had never left. However, one guest, who saw her disappearance, made it everyone else’s problem.
“Turns out the groom’s mother saw me with the container outside and apparently told a bunch of people I was ‘disrespecting the caterer’ and ‘making the couple look cheap,’ ” the Redditor recalled.
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Two women arguing at wedding (stock image)
Eventually, the groom’s mother went from talking behind the woman’s back to confronting her directly. She accused her of “embarrassing the family,” and argued that she should have eaten before the wedding if she “had an issue.”
“I explained that I wanted to be there for the full event and didn’t want to faint or get sick,” the woman told the groom’s mother. “She rolled her eyes and said I was selfish and that the wedding is ‘about the couple, not about your diet.’ Some of our mutual friends also agree that I made an a—— move and made the couple look bad.”
In the comments section, most Redditors said that the poster was NTA (not the a——) for bringing her own food to the wedding, and blamed the groom’s mother for “looking to make trouble where it doesn’t exist.”
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“You took care of your own needs. That’s it,” the top comment read in part. “Is it somehow respectful to eat food that would physically harm you? LOL. No.”
Another Reddit user agreed: “If I had that serious of a medical condition, there is zero chance I would trust strangers with ensuring my safety in the chaos of a wedding. Food is usually crap anyway.”
Several people argued that the “bride could have done better,” and that it was “extremely rude” of her to tell her friend to make do with salad and fruit.
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