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Following instructions exactly is usually the safe move at a wedding, but one guest found out that’s not always the case.

He and the groom had grown up calling each other cousins, close enough that attending as part of the groom’s side felt like a given, and the wedding website was explicit about gift preferences: a donation to the Heart and Stroke Foundation in honor of the groom’s late father, instead of a traditional gift.

So he left a sizable $500 donation and included a printed screenshot of the donation inside the congratulations card.

Instead of appreciation, the bride reacted with visible anger.

You’ll want to keep reading for this one.

AITA for gifting a donation

So I just attended a friend’s wedding.

I was on the groom’s side, we call each other cousins but we aren’t by blood. Our aunt and uncle briefly dated for a few years when we were kids and we just stayed close.

On the wedding website under registry, it said, “In lieu of gifts, please make a donation to the Heart and Stroke Foundation in the name of the groom’s late father.”

So the guest complied, but soon came to regret it.

So I made a $500 donation to the Heart and Stroke Foundation under his name, and in a congrats card slipped the screenshot of the donation.

When the bride opened this she lost her mind and was super mad I didn’t give them the $500, even though the website said that’s what they wanted as a gift?

Everyone says what I did was rude, and I’m just super confused. Thanks in advance.

Ummmm, okay.

What did Reddit have to say?

This user points out that this guest followed instructions to the letter.

It’s doubtful this couple was sincerely charitable.

There could be some kind of big misunderstanding here.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a mom who can’t figure out why her babysitter quit after what she thought was a routine question.

This commenter agrees a glitch is a plausible explanation.

What makes this situation so confusing is that this guest did precisely what the wedding website instructed him to do.

A generous donation made specifically in memory of the groom’s late father is arguably one of the most thoughtful gift options available.

If the real expectation was a cash gift regardless of what the registry said, then that should have been communicated to the guests.

Nobody should be labeled rude for simply respecting a couple’s own instructions.