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As many married couples will know, planning a wedding can be one of the most stressful times of a couple's life together.
And should we be surprised? There's the venue to take care of - as well as the dresses, the hair and make-up, the suits, the guest list, the vows, the reception fee, the flowers, the food, the cameraman and videographer, the speeches, the cake, the music, the first dance AND the honeymoon.
Thankfully, during this undoubtedly nerve-racking time, the husband-and-wife-to-be can often rely on the assistance of the bridal party and the groomsmen to take the load off.
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One bride, however, has found this supposed-to-be-exciting time more traumatic than ever after she was forced to banish one of her closest friends from attending her wedding.
The anonymous bride took to Reddit this week to voice her predicament in the hope that others will understand her reasoning for making the controversial decision.
She said: "We were practically raised together. We were closer in college, but after that we have been drifting apart a little but I still had a strong bond with her up until recently.
"She has been there for me a lot and I have too so it's tough, this situation.
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"After college, when [the friend] Izzy was like 23, she went on a few dates with Jake (my fiancé) but then told him she wasn't interested in anything serious.
"Even though I was her best friend, I didn't really know Jake because she used to get asked out a lot, but only a few turned serious. So I knew about her boyfriends, but not necessarily her dates."
The bride went on to explain that, almost a year later, she and Izzy had moved in together after becoming close again, which coincided with the time that she met Jake.
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She continued: "We quickly became good friends. I used to talk about him to Izzy a lot, but it's when I showed her his picture that she recognised him and told me about her dates with him.
"Friendships were more important to me that any guy back then so I asked her if it was OK to date him because I liked him a lot.
"She said she had no problem and joked about it ever turning into a relationship, which I took as a joke."
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The bride continued by explaining that she and Jake became a serious item 'very quick', insisting 'he is my soulmate'.
She said: "After I got engaged, she became very weird. She was very shocked, and would not believe it.
"Then later she used to tell me I'm too young to be married and if I'm sure, but I saw this as just concern."
The post continued to say that after the bride had posted about their engagement on social media, her friend had written in the comments, 'you better mention me in your vows because he was into me first haha'.
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"Jake felt very uncomfortable, and so did I but I defended her saying that, it's just Izzy, she jokes around a lot," the bride explained. "But I still let her know that it was a bit uncomfortable and she said that she was just joking."
The bride revealed that, at a dinner party she and Jake had hosted after Christmas, her friend repeatedly told guests that her fiancé had dated her first.
"Later I told her that she was crossing my boundaries and that it was not OK, to which she said I was overreacting. In the end I told her to not attend my wedding at all."
The social media post has sparked widespread debate, with the majority responding in the comments to support the unnamed bride.
"I think that she loses any right to claim it was 'just a joke' when you've expressed that it makes you uncomfortable and asked her to stop," one reader penned.
"You have every right to enforce your boundaries, even if that means ending a long friendship."
Another noted: "She's too proud to let things go. In her eyes, you found love in a man she dismissed, and that is simply not possible. Hence she's there 'I was here first'. Imo you made the right choice."
Topics: Wedding, Sex and Relationships, Reddit
Rhianna Benson