Planning a wedding is no small task, especially when well-intentioned gestures turn complicated.

One bride’s celebration plans splashed into murky waters when a cabana “gift” came with conditions attached.

You’ll want to read on for this one.

AITAH for declining my best friends wedding “gift”

I’m (29F) having a Vegas wedding in August, and my fiancé (31M) and I decided to make it a weekend celebration with all kinds of activities leading up to the big day.

One of the activities on the itinerary is a brunch/pool party at a spot where you have to pay to rent cabanas and chairs.

My best friend (30F) said that as a “gift” from her and her boyfriend, they would rent a cabana for the four of us.

But this “gift” wasn’t exactly what it seemed.

I put “gift” in quotes because, in my mind, when you give something as a gift, you relinquish all control over that item, and the person you gave the gift to has complete control over what they want to do with it.

Since she said the cabana was a gift for me and my fiancé, we told her that we didn’t mind sharing it with the rest of our guests.

But her best friend has very specific expectations.

However, my best friend is really adamant that my other friends and guests shouldn’t be allowed to join us in the cabana unless they pitch in some money.

To me, if she’s trying to control what we do with the cabana, then it’s really her cabana, and she’s just sharing it with us.

So the bride ultimately decides to turn it down.

So I told her that I appreciate the gesture, but I’d rather rent my own cabana and share it with everyone.

If I’m going to have a huge cabana anyway, I’m not going to charge my friends to sit with me. I don’t mind sharing with my friends.

I get that my friend group is not affiliated with her, and she doesn’t owe them anything, which is fine.

That’s why I told her that she could go ahead and get her own cabana, and I’ll just get my own that I can share.

But now her friend is left feeling slighted.

Now she’s arguing that her intent wasn’t to “buy her own cabana” but to buy it for me and my fiancé.

She also doesn’t see the point in having two large cabanas.

At this point, she seems pretty disappointed that I refused her “gift.”

AITAH?

What began as a thoughtful offering ended as a tangled misunderstanding

What did Reddit think?

This commenter sees right through the best friend’s façade.

This user thinks that maybe the best friend deserves the benefit of the doubt.

But she does lack some understanding.

Generosity shouldn’t come with a catch.

If you liked that story, read this one about grandparents who set up a college fund for their grandkid because his parents won’t, but then his parents want to use the money to cover sibling’s medical expenses.