There are a lot of rules of etiquette that revolve around engagements and weddings. That said, the big ones are pretty easy to remember – namely, the big day is about the bride and the groom and nobody else.
So, if that rule ges broken, you can be pretty sure it was done on purpose.
OP doesn’t get along really well with his youngest sibling, who has always been spoiled.
I (35m) have a young brother “Todd” (29m) who had a complicated birth and had to stay a month in the ICU and because of that my parents have always doted on him and almost denied him nothing, even if it was to the detriment of my sister “Abby” (32f) and I.
My brother drinks in on the attention and has on more than one occasion made himself the center of attention at either my, my sister’s, or a cousin’s special event.
Because of this Abby and I have a strained relationship with Todd and our parents. Unfortunately, Todd met and fell in love with “Lucy” (24f) who announced her own pregnancy at the baby shower my mom held for Abby.
When he saw a receipt for an engagement ring, he knew immediately his brother was going to try to propose at his wedding.
When I proposed to my wife “Michelle” (30f) I just wanted to elope but she really wanted her family to be there so I invited my family out of obligation.
While out my best man “Jim” (35m) noticed a receipt from a jewelry store slipped out of Todd’s pocket. Jim confronted Todd about this which led to an argument.
Jim told me everything and I told Todd that he was no longer going to be a groomsman because I knew he was going to propose at my wedding.
Todd cried to our parents and which led to a blow out.
In my parents’ eyes, since Todd never admitted that he was going to propose to Lucy at my wedding I was unfairly judging him. I refused and brought up Todd’s past behavior.
OP let him know if he tried anything, he would regret it.
My parents couldn’t refute this and got Todd to agree to not try anything at my wedding. This wasn’t enough to convince me to let him be a groomsman but I warned him that if, as a guest, he’d try anything I would make him regret it.
He tried it (no one was shocked).
Fast forward to the wedding and surprise surprise Todd walked over to Lucy and proposed to her during Michelle’s father-daughter dance and did it in a way so that EVERYONE would notice.
OP found a really creative way to make him pay.
Cue my revenge, Jim and I had hired a woman to pretend to be Todd’s side piece who cornered Todd and Lucy and claimed that she was pregnant with his baby.
Todd denied this but when she called his phone, I gave her his number and messed with Todd’s phone to incriminate him, it didn’t look good. Lucy threw the ring back at Todd and left in tears.
When Todd saw the smile on my face he knew that it was me and I didn’t respond to a single call/text from him or my parents until after the honeymoon. Lucy has thrown Todd’s stuff out and has been denying access to their kid.
Now, some people think he went too far.
Todd is furious and is demanding that I clear his name.
I sent him a text saying that I had no idea what he was talking about as well as a screenshot of a bill for the wedding and gave a vague message demanding reimbursement for half of the wedding costs.
Michelle knew the whole time what I was planning and gave me the green light after Todd ruined her moment with her dad, so I felt pretty good but now even Abby thinks I went too far.
Does Reddit? Let’s find out!
The top comment says the brother went way too far.
You f around and you find out.
Other people said they would have handled it on the spot.
It’s pretty telling that he’s never apologized.
The brother did have many chances to be better.
Sometimes there are consequences for our actions.
If we don’t like them, it’s called a learning experience.
If you liked this post, you might want to read this story about a teacher who taught the school’s administration a lesson after they made a sick kid take a final exam.