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Modern Families

Bride's mother-in-law shows up to her wedding in a bridal dress. Her response was a class act.

Not many of us could be so kind.

@amypennza/X

This is many a bride's worst nightmare.

While there are certainly plenty of wonderful mothers-in-law out there, there's a reason the stereotypical image of a controlling, jealous, overbearing MIL exists. Sometimes difficult MIL relationships simply stem from misunderstandings and a lack of open conversation. Others delve into more shadowy aspects, like unspoken fears of being replaced or abandoned. Either way, these insecurities manifest themselves in various ways, both passive aggressive and, well, aggressive aggressive.

For romance author Amy Pennza, her wild MIL story, which took place at her wedding, no less, seems to fall into its own bizarre category entirely. Sure, this is not the first time we've heard of an MIL upstaging the bride, but this is kind of next-level. Apparently, Pennza's mother-in-law committed one of the most common wedding sins of all: she showed up on the big day in white dress looking straight from David's Bridal.

It has to be seen to be believed, and luckily, Pennza posted receipts:


All of Twitter ground to a halt as people awaited the deets.


It amassed thousands of retweets as Pennza's adoring public speculated about how this tale could have ended.



After a bit more begging, Pennza finally returned to Twitter to bless us all with the full story — and it's kind of surprising. Here it is, slightly condensed:

So, a couple people have asked for the story behind The Dress. Sorry for the delay! I have four kids (yes, I married him) on summer break, so my permanent state of being is "frazzled." I called my daughter "mom" the other day. I didn't know what my mother-in-law planned to wear. I didn't think to ask.

The morning of the wedding, all the women in the bridal party cram into a tiny room in the church. You know, body glitter and hairspray everywhere. Fifteen coats of mascara. Putting napkins under your pits so you don't sweat on your dress. She walks in. I see it.don't remember much about the day. Most people say their wedding is a blur, and that's true for me, too. But I know I said this: 'You... You could be the bride..."'

Later, my sister (matron of honor) said she didn't pull me aside and talk about it because she hoped I was too distracted to notice. My college roommate (bridesmaid) said the same thing. But secretly, they both spent the reception looking at me, then each other, then MIL, then me, then the cop the venue made us hire—hoping I didn't go for his taser. I'm happy to report the wedding unfolded without bloodshed, or anyone being shoved into the champagne fountain.

Then the story goes on and you realize Pennza might be the most understanding person alive:

Here's the thing: My mother-in-law is extremely frugal. And I don't mean she just enjoys a good bargain. To understand her, you have to know where she comes from. She grew up in extreme poverty. As a child, she used to sneak into the kitchen and eat match heads. That's a pica craving, and kids do it when they're malnourished.When you grow up with nothing, it stays with you. Forever, I think. No matter how much money you earn, there's always that little fear in the back of your mind that someone might take it all away.

But her upbringing didn't make her hard. Or cruel. Or selfish. However, she's a bargain hunter to the bone. Her money saving strategies are legend—and often hilarious. At family gatherings, we amuse ourselves telling stories of crazy shit she's done to save money...So when she spotted The Dress at an incredible bargain, she couldn't turn it down. If you ask her now, she says she feels terrible about it. Although, she also told me, 'I think I've still got it. We should raffle it off.'


She's frugal. But she's also incredibly generous. When my twins were newborns, she drove across town every night, slept on the sofa, and did three feedings. For two babies. Every night for months.She regularly shows up at my house with bags of new clothes for the kids. (Because she's a kick ass bargain hunter.) When I got my first job, she hemmed all my work pants because I can't sew for shit. And because she was proud of me. She never misses a band concert, sports event, talent show, science fair...you name it. She'd walk over hot coals for her grandchildren. She gives them everything. Because, you know, she grew up with nothing.

So, yeah, the wedding dress was a shock. But it gave me a pretty funny memory. No one who attended has ever forgotten it. And, you have to admit, weddings can be forgettable. Sure, she wore a wedding dress to my wedding. But she has more than made up for it since. When I told her about this getting a lot of attention, and said I worried it might hurt her feelings, she waved it off. 'Whatever makes me famous.'"


So Pennza's MIL bought the dress because it was a bargain, and Pennza accepted that. Very nice of her, as many of us might have wondered whether there were any, I don't know, non-bridal dresses on sale somewhere in the world. But sure, okay. Lots of feelings were felt. Pretty much everyone agreed Pennza is a champ for seeing things this way.

But also just FYI: if this happens to you, it's okay to be furious.

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Woman leaves bachelorette trip after trusting her gut about sketchy men partying with friends

Woman's intuition is right again.

via Nathan Rupert/Flickr

Some girls out at a bchelorette party.

A recent story posted on Reddit shows how sometimes trusting your gut can be the best thing you can do, even if following it will seriously impact your friendships. It all started when a 24-year-old woman with the username Yslbabycat went to a bachelorette party with 5 other friends in Italy.

For brevity’s sake, we’ll call our main character YBC. One night, the six girls went bar and club hopping and met some new friends. “We met some young people, and they invited us to a party. We went and danced and met more people. The night kept going on longer, and we were very far from our lodgings. These young men with 2 women in their group told us to stay with them for the night,” she wrote.

That’s when she had the first strong gut feeling.

“I wasn’t feeling this situation. It felt unsafe, but the group voted and I was in the minority,” she continued.”I didn’t trust these men. Something seemed wrong. But I was at a loss as I could not split from my group and didn’t feel safe separating from them in the middle of the night.”

Even though the girls locked their doors that night, the men could enter their rooms. But the girls, besides YBC, all wanted to stay another day because the men promised to show them around Italy.

“I didn’t want to get into a car with them because I found them creepy. There were women in their group but it didn’t matter. They seemed even more suspicious to me, being overly friendly,” She continued. “The whole morning, I found the men staring at me a lot and also making some comments about my ethnicity—I am Korean and they could tell and it seemed that they were interested in me because of my ethnicity, asking me strange questions …including if I’m a virgin or not.. so in my head I could only think of perverted reasons for these questions because I thought these guys were sketchy and sizing us all up for some reason I couldn’t figure out yet.”

YBC's friends tried to tell her that it was just cultural differences and that the men weren’t being creepy, but she decided that she wanted to leave. So, she called her boyfriend in France, a few hours’ drive away, to come get her. She met him at a local store, where YBC called the bride-to-be and informed her she was leaving.

The bride-to-be screamed at her on the phone and chastised her for spoiling the “mood of the trip” and told YBC to essentially “f*** off.”

After YBC left, the other 5 girls went on a boat with the men who all tried to get them “extremely” intoxicated. They then began to aggressively pressure the girls into having sex. At the night's end, the girls got away from the men and found another hotel.

Even though YBC’s suspicions were confirmed, the bride-to-be was still upset with her, and YBC did not attend her friend’s wedding.

In the end, Reddit commenters overwhelmingly thought that YBC did the right thing by trusting her gut.

“So all the other girls but the bachelorette confirmed that you were right and the guys were super creepy and yet the bachelorette is still pissed at you for getting yourself out of there?” YouSayWotNow wrote. “All of them are very lucky nothing really bad happened, and frankly, they should be embarrassed they didn't take you seriously at the time.”

“You may have saved the entire group by leaving early, as the men realized that you knew where they lived and could ID them,” RobinC1967 added. “Please don't ever feel bad for getting yourself out of a sketchy situation. Stay Smart!”

Most would agree that YBC did the right thing by trusting her gut and trying to lead her friends out of a potentially dangerous situation. Psychology Today supports her decision to trust her feelings. In an article entitled, “3 Reasons Why You Have to Trust Your Gut,” Susanna Newsonen says that your intuition is encoded in your brain like “a web of fact and feeling” and is helpful because it’s “shaped by your past experiences and the existing knowledge that you gained from them.”


This article originally appeared last year.

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Modern Families

10-year-old boy gives blessing for his mom's boyfriend to propose and tears ensue

"My 10 year old son gave my boyfriend permission to marry his mom 🥹 This was the reaction."

Photo by Ben Waardenburg on Unsplash
boy and girl walking on gray road during daytime

The holiday season is time for parties, parades...and proposals. And while proposals are traditionally tear jerkers, for TikToker Jess Harpell's 10 year old son Luke, it was extra sentimental. He captured the special festive moment between the couple, with "I'll Be Home For Christmas" playing in the background.

Harpell shared a video of her boyfriend's proposal on her page, with the caption, "My 10 year old son gave my boyfriend permission to marry his mom 🥹 This was the reaction."

As she and her boyfriend start to pose for photos under a fully lit Christmas present, her boyfriend kisses her on the forehead and proceeds to get down on one knee to propose. Luke is recording the special moment, and you start to hear sniffles and audible sighs and gasps for air as he is overcome with emotion. As the ring is slipped on her finger, his little brother off camera asks him, "Luke, why are you crying? Luke's crying!"

And Luke has the most tender reply to him. "I'm just happy, buddy," he says, to which the little boy responds, "Don't worry, Luke! We're happy with mommy!" Clearly, Luke is crying happy tears, and he says again to reassure the worried sibling, "I'm just happy, buddy."

The video ends with Luke still sniffling as his Harpell and her now-fiancé are hugged by two little boys and start to make their way to comfort cameraman Luke.


@jessharpell

And just like, next year all of us become one family. #engagement #proposal #blendedfam #bridetok #loveofmylife💍 #glowup

"And just like, next year all of us become one family. #engagement #proposal #blendedfam #bridetok #loveofmylife💍 #glowup," Jess captioned the video.

And the internet is crying (sobbing) tears of joy, too.

"Your little boy got us all sobbing!!!! Well done mama! You raised that kiddo right 🥺🫶🏻," one TikToker commented. Another added, "His reaction behind the camera just shows how special he feels to be apart of this moment 💖." And another wrote: "In da clurb, we all crying with Luke. 😭"

And viewers were quick to commend Harpell's fiancé for consulting Luke and asking for his permission for his mom's hand in marriage. "Congratulations. I love that your fiancé asked your son permission that shows respect. But your lads reaction had me crying my eyes out. You have 2 adorable boys," one wrote. Another touched viewer shared, "Aww, this is beyond sweet and also kind that your boyfriend discussed it with him beforehand. Congratulations to you both 🥂." And another chimed in with, "as a stepmom, this reaction speaks volumes for you as a mother, but also what a man your boyfriend must be to your son. i wish you all the absolute best forever🥰."

Harpell was genuinely shocked by the proposal. After one TikToker commented, "wait your son is the one recording???😭😭😭 Omg you’ve raised such a sweet boy!! congrats momma💍💍," she replied, "I thought he was taking a photo! 😂 My fiance asked him to record it 🙈."

If you need a box of tissues after watching this sweet video, you are not alone. Congratulations to the happy couple and family!

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Couple who met in a widowed spouse grief group awed by double rainbow at their wedding

Hard not to see this as a sign.

Photos courtesy of Chelsea Schaefer Photography

Michelle and Scott Ellermets got a beautiful symbol of hope on their wedding day.

Finding love again after losing a long-time partner isn't always easy. Being widowed comes with complicated emotions—sadness, worry, guilt, grief—and it can be hard to imagine ever falling in love again when you're in the middle of processing all of those feelings.

But sometimes loves comes along when we least expect it, which is how Michelle and Scott Ellermets ended up in a wildly viral moment.

Wedding photographer Chelsea Schaefer shared a compilation of photos and video from the Ellermets' beach wedding that took place on September 7, 2024 and it's been viewed by millions.

A beautiful story of love after loss

"After both unexpectedly losing their spouses of 20+ years, they met in their local grief group," the video begins. "They fell in love."

Schaefer explained that it rained the whole day of the wedding, but just minutes before the ceremony began, the sun came out and a double rainbow appeared.

Watch:

@chelseaschaefer24

I will never get over this day 🥹🌈


The couple's story is as sweet as two people who've lost their life partners can be.

Michelle had been married to her husband Jonathan for more than 23 years when he died unexpectedly of a heart attack in January of 2023. Scott was married to his wife Lisa for 29 years, but she passed away following an illness in June of the same year.

Michelle and Scott both joined a support group for grieving spouses in the Washington D.C. area.

"I joined Facebook in early December and a [local] widows [and] widowers website," Scott told Good Morning America. "And when I got on it, I saw that somebody was Facebook friends with my sister. It happened to be Michelle." He decided to send her a message and they hit it off right away.

They were just supportive friends at first. In fact, Michelle even told him that she wouldn't ever marry again. But love had other plans.

family at wedding on a beachThe Ellermets and their loved ones at their weddingPhotos courtesy of Chelsea Schaefer Photography

Friendship grew into another chance at love

"Our friendship, just at some point along the way, became more than that -- and we fell in love," Michelle told GMA. One thing that mutual loss had taught them was that time isn't promised, so they didn't hesitate when they knew they wanted to get married.

"At our age, when you know, why not?" said Michelle. We don't want to waste any time. You can't take your days for granted."

The double rainbow that greeted them at the end of their ceremony felt like "icing on the cake' and "a blessing from God" said Scott. Many of the millions who have watched the video agree, saying they see the double rainbow as a sign from their lost loved ones.

"Their late spouses gave them their blessings...love it"

"They approve & probably played a part in bringing you together from the other side. 🙏🏻🙏🏻"

"You can't tell me the two rainbows aren't their late partners supporting them ❤️"

"The double rainbow gave me immediate goosebumps 🌈🌈❤️❤️"

"If that’s not a sign I don’t know what is! God bless their marriage."

"Both late spouses sending their blessings!!! How beautiful!! I wish you both all the happiness!! ❤️🌈🌈"

"There is no clearer sign than a double rainbow when widowers find solace and love in each other. Both of their dearly departed loved ones wanted them to find happiness, and they’re just so happy that they have each other to lean on ♥️✨"

"When I remarried a widower, as a widow myself, there was a beautiful soft snow that fell for about one minute at the reception. It was so beautiful. And we believe it was a sign from our beloved spouses."

bride and groom on beach in front of rainbowThe double rainbow felt like a blessing, the couple said.Photos courtesy of Chelsea Schaefer Photography

The story is giving other widowed people hope

Others who have lost partners said they found hope in the story.

"🌈 Goosebumps here. I'm a widow and I find the rainbows so romantic. Their late partners showed out in the cutest way."

"I need this in my life. I lost my fiancé unexpectedly in 2022 and I want to fall in love again. I hope to find him one day again."

"This is so beautiful! I’m finding there are no such things as coincidences — this was absolutely the late spouses giving their blessing. I lost my husband to brain cancer 7 months ago and cannot imagine dating, especially while still raising our two young kids. But this still gives me hope. 🌈"

"This made me cry. I lost my husband and this give me hope. Thank you for sharing!! Wishing them all the happiness!!"

Rainbows are a symbol of hope because, as the saying goes, you can't have a rainbow without the rain first. No one wants their beachside wedding ruined by rain, and this couple may have been disappointed by the weather early in the day, but there was something beautiful in store for them.

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