When Jim and I got engaged, his mother, Beth, wasted no time in meddling. From day one, she bombarded us with her opinions.
A close-up of a couple | Source: Midjourney
“I have so many ideas for your wedding, Tina,” Beth said. “I’ve been planning Jim’s wedding for years now!”
“But this isn’t just my wedding, Mom,” Jim said to his mother.
She waved him off and continued to enthusiastically go on about floral arrangements.
Women in a flower shop | Source: Midjourney
I knew then that I’d have to shut it down if I hoped to have a say in my own wedding.
“Your mom will tone down, right?” I asked Jim when we went for a walk one day. “This isn’t going to lead to a fight? I don’t have to actually tell her to back off?”
Jim chuckled and squeezed my hand.
A couple holding hands and walking | Source: Midjourney
“My mother is a lot, love,” he said. “But she’s not stupid. She will take the hint.”
But of course, Beth didn’t take the hint.
She asked to meet me at a coffee shop so that she could go on about the venues, flowers, and even the cake.
An interior of a coffee shop | Source: Midjourney
“Vanilla is the timeless option,” she said, sipping her coffee. “Don’t do chocolate, or even worse, peanut butter. And don’t do naked cakes. They’re not cute.”
“Look, Beth,” I said. “I appreciate all your input, but everything I have planned has been discussed with Jim.”
Despite that, she proceeded to show me a picture of a purple dress that she planned to wear, seeking my approval.
A wedding cake | Source: Midjourney
Little did I know, this was just the beginning.
On our wedding day, as I did the final touches on my makeup before walking down the aisle, Beth arrived in a full-length, white silk dress.
I couldn’t believe my eyes.
A woman wearing a white dress | Source: Midjourney
“Beth? What are you wearing?” I asked, shocked. “A white dress? Where’s the purple one you showed me?”
She turned toward me slowly and reapplied her lipstick in my dressing room’s mirror.
“Come on, Tina,” my sister called from the doorway. “It’s time!”
A close-up of a bride | Source: Midjourney
Beth smirked and winked before she walked out of the door in front of me.
I should have been excited. I was just mere moments away from marrying the man I loved, but Beth’s entrance had been the epitome of disrespect.
The ceremony went off perfectly, which was all we wanted. But even with Jim’s perfect vows and the musicians playing the playlist that I worked on for weeks, my heart was just not okay.
A wedding ceremony | Source: Midjourney
I felt a deep sense of betrayal from Beth, and it was clouding my whole wedding experience.
“I know that this is a lot for you,” my husband said. “But we still have the whole evening to party and celebrate ourselves. What my mom did is ridiculous, and I’m going to address it with her later. But come on, Tina, let’s just enjoy our day.”
A bride and groom | Source: Midjourney
I had to hand it to Jim; he was trying to get me out of my head. And I knew that I owed it to him to try and forget about his mother and her behavior.
But Beth wasn’t done.
During the reception, Beth took the microphone, silencing the DJ, and announced her engagement to her long-time boyfriend.
A DJ at a wedding | Source: Midjourney
The cherry on top was when she approached me just before Jim and I were about to have our first dance.
“You thought that you’d be the most important person here today, didn’t you?” she said, a smug smile on her face.
“I’m so sorry about my mom, honey,” Jim said as we danced. “She just… she doesn’t know when it’s time to stop being herself. She needs to learn how to use filters.”
A couple dancing | Source: Midjourney
“It’s fine, Jim,” I lied. “Let’s just focus on our dance.”
I knew that every pair of eyes in the venue was on us, and the more Jim and I spoke about it all, the higher the chance of me breaking down in frustration was.
But inside, I was livid. And I decided then and there that I would get my revenge.
An angry bride | Source: Midjourney
A year later, it was Beth’s turn to get married to George, the man who actually tried to make her more human.
I couldn’t wait for her reaction to what I had planned. In the aftermath of our wedding, Jim had made it his personal mission to make sure that Beth and I were on better terms.
And I allowed it. Because in those months, I had perfected my fake relationship with her and I had also meticulously planned my counterstrike.
A couple sitting together | Source: Midjourney
“Are you ready for Mom’s wedding tomorrow?” my husband asked me as I set my hair the night before.
“I am,” I replied. “They didn’t want anything big or fancy, so it should all go exactly as planned.”
By that, I meant that it would go according to my plan, not to Beth’s.
A woman holding a curler | Source: Midjourney
When Beth arrived at her wedding and saw the sea of guests all dressed in white, her face wrinkled with confusion and fury.
“Why is everyone wearing white?” she demanded, her eyes darting around the room only to land back on my white dress.
Guests wearing white at a wedding | Source: Midjourney
“Oh, didn’t you read your own wedding invitation?” I responded innocently. “We thought it would be a beautiful, unified look for your special day, Beth.”
My mother-in-law inhaled sharply.
“You did this on purpose!” she hissed, her eyes narrowing.
An angry older bride | Source: Midjourney
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said. “I’m just trying to make your day perfect, Beth.”
The ceremony went on, but my mother-in-law was visibly seething, trying to maintain her sense of composure.
During the reception, it was time for our speech. Jim and I took the microphone.
A wedding reception | Source: Midjourney
“Beth, your wedding day is truly beautiful, and you look stunning!” I began, my grin widening. “Jim and I wanted to take this moment to share some exciting news with everyone.”
My husband smiled and grabbed my hand.
“We’re pregnant!” he declared.
A man giving a speech | Source: Midjourney
The room erupted into applause and congratulations. Beth’s face turned beet red, a blend of surprise, anger, and the realization that we had just upstaged her.
It was poetic justice.
Later, as the crowd began to disperse throughout the venue, Beth approached me, furious.
“Did you plan this? The white dress code and the announcement?”
A close-up of a woman | Source: Midjourney
“Beth, I just wanted everyone to look coordinated for your big day. I know that you like everything to be perfectly matched. And as for the baby news, well, we couldn’t wait to share it with the family,” I replied.
“You know exactly what you did,” she spat.
“Just like you knew what you were doing at our wedding?” I retorted, my smile sweet but my eyes cold.
Of course, Beth had no response to that. She stormed off, leaving me feeling victorious.
A close-up of an older woman | Source: Midjourney
The rest of the night was a blur of celebration, surrounded by supportive family and friends. Jim, finally seeing the full extent of his mother’s behavior, began setting boundaries, making our lives much easier.
“When the baby is born,” Jim said, “my mother will know exactly where she stands.”
The following morning, Beth called us as we sat down to eat our pancakes. Jim and I glanced at each other, trying to decide who would take the bait and answer the call.
A plate of pancakes | Source: Midjourney
To my surprise, my husband stuffed a forkful of food into his mouth. I answered the call, expecting to hear an earful from Beth, but instead, she surprised me.
“Congratulations on the baby,” she said. “I hope we can move forward from here.”
I smiled at Jim, who nodded his stuffed face back at me.
A smiling woman | Source: Midjourney
“Thank you, Beth,” I said. “We hope so too.”
In the end, it wasn’t so much about revenge with Beth. It was about setting a precedent that our lives wouldn’t be dictated by Beth’s whims. It was a win-win, and I couldn’t have been happier.
Now, we wait for our baby to arrive, and hope that Beth will stay in her lane.
A woman wearing a white dress | Source: Midjourney
What would you have done?
If you enjoyed this story, here’s another one for you:
Our Youngest Granddaughter Accused Us of Choosing a ‘Disgusting’ Hotel as a Gift for Her Honeymoon — Our Lesson to Her Was Priceless
When Connie and Jim’s granddaughter, Mae, just got married, they decided to contribute to her honeymoon. But when they reveal their choice of hotel, Mae responds with entitlement, saying that they ruined everything for her. Instead of retaliating, the couple decides to teach her a lesson.
I’ve always been the doting grandmother. It was something that I looked forward to after having my children. I didn’t think that I’d share my story here, but this was too outrageous to keep to myself. This is how my husband, Jim, and I taught our youngest granddaughter a lesson she won’t soon forget.
An elderly couple at the beach | Source: Pexels
Our youngest granddaughter, Mae, is getting married. She’s always been a bit of a princess, expecting the best of everything.
“I’m high maintenance, Gran,” she would tell me, often while painting her nails or doing something of the sort.
A woman painting her nails | Source: Pexels
But because she’s the youngest, Jim and I got to spend the most time with her after we began slowing down with our jobs. So, when her boyfriend, Nathan, proposed, we were cautiously optimistic.
“I don’t think she’s rushing into it,” Jim told me as we sat down to breakfast one morning. “But I just wish that she would wait a little longer, you know, give us time to get involved in the wedding.”
Read the full story here.
This work is inspired by real events and people, but it has been fictionalized for creative purposes. Names, characters, and details have been changed to protect privacy and enhance the narrative. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
The author and publisher make no claims to the accuracy of events or the portrayal of characters and are not liable for any misinterpretation. This story is provided “as is,” and any opinions expressed are those of the characters and do not reflect the views of the author or publisher.