Sister Refuses Bride's Demand For Bridesmaids To Cut Hair As Wedding Party 'Must Have Shorter Hair Than The Bride'

Apr 17, 2023

Weddings are significant events; thus, it's no surprise for brides to plan out and pay attention to every little detail to ensure that everything goes perfectly. The bridesmaids play a crucial role in making sure her plans run smoothly, from selecting matching outfits and color palettes to coordinating schedules. 

Unfortunately, not all brides are reasonable in their requests. One bride went beyond the typical expectations when she demanded that her bridesmaids “must have shorter hair than the bride by at least 6 inches.”

The bride's older sister, who was supposed to be one of her bridesmaids, took to Reddit's Bridezillas communities to detail their situation. The original poster (OP) said that her 23-year-old sister's demand felt weird and personal because her hair was at least two feet longer than the bride's. Only one other bridesmaid had longer hair, and she promptly gave in to the bride's demand. 

However, the sister considered her hair "super important" to her identity, and she refused the haircut. Instead, she offered to wear her hair up for the wedding rather than chopping off 30 inches since her hair's length went down to her knees. But the bride shut down her sister's suggestion because she wanted all of her bridesmaids to wear their hair down. If the sister wore it up, the bride believed it "would distract people from her." 

After refusing the haircut, the sister told the bride she would step down as her bridesmaid and just come as a guest. This sent the bride into a meltdown, prompting her fiancé to try and convince his soon-to-be sister-in-law to "just do it" for her sister. 

The groom told the sister that the bride could not stop crying because she refused. Though he was apologetic about the situation, he also figured that this was going to be a problem.

"I’m not cutting like half my hair off for one day just to spend years growing it all back out," the sister told the groom. 

Redditors got behind the sister and said that she was right to decline the bridesmaid role if she was being asked to make major changes to her appearance. One Redditor, however, thought it was an unusual request because the bride was jealous of the sister's hair, thus, the temper tantrums. 

The sister said that the bride tried a number of times to get her to cut her hair before. She also kept bringing up her hairstyle at family gatherings. So, she was not surprised at the observation of the bride’s jealousy.

Another Redditor said there were plenty of workarounds for this situation, like the bride could wear hair extensions, or the sister could wear a wig, or they could enlist a whiz of a hairstylist who can make the sister's hair temporarily look shorter. A commenter also said that the wedding guests are likely family members or friends who know of the sister's unique hairstyle. 

"If you were to cut it, however, that would be distracting to everyone. They will all be commenting about it all night long." 

The sister, who had this long hairstyle for a decade, explained the same thing to the bride. However, the bride has grown quiet since the temper tantrum, and the sister doesn't know how long she'll be given the silent treatment.

Do you think the bride’s demand was too much and that she was acting like an entitled princess? Do you agree with the sister’s decision to just step down from the wedding party? Know someone who can relate to this story? Then pass this along!