My MIL Called My Quiet Mom \u2018Ugly\u2019 at My Wedding \u2013 She Couldn\u2019t Stand Up for Herself, but I DidMy mother-in-law branded my quiet mother \u201cugly\u201d at my wedding, and I just couldn\u2019t let it go. I thought I had the ideal revenge plot, but when the backlash started, I realized I might have gone too far.For the hundredth time, I adjusted my veil as I stood in front of the mirror. My hands were trembling; perhaps from excitement or nerves? Mum appeared behind me, teary-eyed.\n
She whispered, \u201cYou look beautiful, Sophia.\u201dI looked up at her, admiring her modest, black outfit. \u201cMom, thank you. You too have a wonderful appearance.\u201dShe fidgeted at her dress\u2019s hem. \u201cAre you sure it\u2019s not too plain?\u201d I told her, \u201cIt\u2019s perfect,\u201d \u201cYou\u2019re perfect.\u201dMom gave me a grin, but I could see doubt in her eyes. Her preference was to disappear into the background due to her bashful nature. But I wanted her to be the star of today. \u201cCome on,\u201d I replied, putting my arm around hers. \u201cLet\u2019s go knock \u2019em dead.\u201dThe event was a haze. As I came down the aisle, Michael\u2019s eyes met mine, and before I knew it, we were saying \u201cI do.\u201d We turned to face our guests, and that\u2019s when I saw my new mother-in-law, Vivian, looking stunning in her jewel-encrusted gown.I was ecstatic to be at the reception.\n
Michael and I went around introducing ourselves, extending greetings and accepting congrats. Mom was standing at the punch bowl by herself, and she looked uneasy.I moved over. \u201cHaving fun?\u201d She gave a nod, but her eyes did not grin. \u201cObviously, my dear. You look amazing in that dress.\u201d\u201cMom, thank you. I \u2014 \u201c \u201cWell, well,\u201d someone interrupted. With a glass of champagne in hand, Vivian emerged. \u201cEvelyn, dear, that\u2019s certainly an\u2026 interesting choice of attire.\u201d Mom\u2019s face reddened. \u201cOh, I\u2019m very grateful. Vivian, your dress is equally gorgeous.\u201dA small smirk formed on Vivian\u2019s lips. \u201cYes, well, some of us like to make an effort for important occasions.\u201dI started to bite back, but Mom grabbed my arm instead. Why don\u2019t you go dance with Michael, Sophia? This day is unique for you.\u201d I reluctantly left them, but I stayed close to Mom all night. She retreated to the room\u2019s corners, appearing to get smaller.My phone buzzed the following morning when Michael and I were eating breakfast. Jen, my cousin, was there. She said, \u201cHey, how\u2019s the newlywed?\u201dFantastic! even if I\u2019m worn out.\u201d\u201cPerhaps. I have to tell you something, listen.\u201d My blood started to boil as Jen related what she\u2019d heard at the wedding. Had Vivian referred to my mother as ugly? To further visitors? Jen remarked, \u201cI\u2019m so sorry, Sophia.\u201d \u201cI didn\u2019t want to ruin your night\u2026\u201d \u201cNo, I\u2019m happy you informed me. Regards, Jen.\n
With my hands trembling with rage, I hung up and faced Michael. \u201cYour mother called my mom ugly at our wedding.\u201d His expression dimmed. \u201cWhat? Are you certain?\u201d\u201cJen heard her out. Whoa, this is unbelievable!\u201d A hand went through Michael\u2019s hair. I\u2019ll speak with her, all right? She ought not to have stated that. But I had a plan in mind already. \u201cNo, I\u2019ve got this.\u201d I reached for my laptop and opened the contact details of the wedding photographer. I quickly composed a message while my fingers skimmed over the keyboard:\u201cHello, Rob Regarding our wedding pictures, I have a unique request. Could you point out any pictures of my mother-in-law that don\u2019t look good? In addition, I was curious if you might apply some artistic editing to the pictures to make her appear worse.\u201d Before I could stop myself, I pushed send. The photographer said right away: \u201cYeah, of course. That\u2019s something I can accomplish. However, are you positive?\u201d \u201cDefinitely,\u201d I answered.Peering over my shoulder was Michael. \u201cSophia, what are you doing?\u201d I forcefully closed the laptop. \u201cNot a thing. Just curious about the pictures. Clearly not buying it, he scowled and let it go.\n
I was nervously awaiting the pictures for the next three days. I was astonished to see them in a shared folder when they eventually showed up. With her mouth hanging open, Vivian was shouting at a helpless child. She was seen in another having \u201cspinach\u201d between her teeth.Her makeup appeared slightly smudged and her wrinkles appeared more prominent in each picture. A pang of remorse shot through me, but I ignored it. This was something she deserved. I was shocked when the phone rang. It was Vivian. \u201cSophia!\u201d she cried out. \u201cWhat have you done to my photos?\u201d I pretended not to know. \u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d \u201cDon\u2019t try to fool me! I look awful in each and every one of them!\u201d \u201cWell, that seems strange. It\u2019s probably just an error. \u201cMend it! Right now.\u201dBefore I could reply, she hung up. With a worried expression on his face, Michael entered. \u201cWas that my mother?\u201d I gave a nod. \u201cShe\u2019s not happy with the photos.\u201d He let out a sigh. \u201cSophia, what did you do?\u201d I told him everything, including the modifications and the request to the photographer. With every phrase, his face got more concerned.Finally, he remarked, \u201cI can\u2019t believe you did that.\u201d\n
\u201cI know what my mother said was wrong, but this\u2026 this isn\u2019t right either.\u201d A knot of guilt tore at my belly. \u201cI just wanted to stand up for my mom.\u201d \u201cI know that, but there were more sensible approaches. We ought to go chat with your mother.\u201d We were sitting in Mom\u2019s living room one hour later. When we told her what had happened, her eyes got bigger.\u201cOh, Sophia,\u201d she murmured. \u201cYou didn\u2019t have to do that.\u201d \u201cBut Mom, she did you harm! I was unable to allow her to get away with it. Mom gave a shake of her head. Her remarks may only cause me harm if I allow them to, honey. Furthermore, you\u2019ve merely given her more power by striking back.\u201d Michael gave a throat clearing. \u201cEvelyn, I really apologize for what my mother said. It was completely inappropriate.\u201d \u201cI\u2019m grateful, Michael. However, you shouldn\u2019t apologize for it.\u201d Mom spoke again after a brief period of stillness. \u201cThank you, Sophia, for wanting to stand up for me. That\u2019s not the way, though. That is not acceptable for us to do.\u201dMy eyes started to water. \u201cMom, I apologize. It just hurts me to see someone treat you horribly since I love you so much.\u201d\n
She drew me into an embrace. \u201cI understand, my dear. I also adore you. But sometimes, leading a happy and fulfilling life is the best kind of retaliation.\u201d I felt glad as we left Mom\u2019s place, but also a little ashamed. Michael gave me a tight squeeze. He questioned, \u201cSo, what now?\u201dI inhaled deeply. \u201cI suppose I have to put this right now. even though your mother isn\u2019t deserving.\u201d He gave a nod. \u201cWe\u2019ll do it together.\u201d We invited Vivian over the next day. Entering our apartment, she had a thunder cloud on her face. \u201cWell?\u201d she insisted. \u201cAre you going to fix those atrocious photos?\u201d I inhaled deeply. \u201cVivian, I must apologize to you. I instructed the photographer to alter those images so you appear unflattering.\u201d Her shocked eyes widened, then narrowed with rage. \u201cHow dare you \u2014\u201d \u201cI\u2019m not done,\u201d I interrupted.\n
\u201cI took action after learning about your remarks regarding my mother during the wedding. Is she being called ugly? That was inappropriate and cruel.\u201d Like a fish, Vivian opened and closed her mouth. Michael intervened. \u201cMom, your words were hurtful. Since Evelyn is now a member of our family, she merits respect.\u201dI had a brief fear that Vivian would blow up. Then her countenance changed in a certain way. With a regretful admission, \u201cI suppose I may have been out of line.\u201d \u201cWe all were,\u201d I answered. \u201cPerhaps we should restart now? Could you please apologize to my mother and I will get the images corrected?\u201d After hesitating, Vivian nodded. \u201cI suppose that\u2019s\u2026 fair.\u201d Though not flawless, it was a beginning. Michael grabbed me and hugged me as Vivian departed.\u201cYou have my admiration,\u201d he whispered. I gave him a heartfelt grin. \u201cI\u2019m grateful. All I can hope is that this is the start of something better.\u201d The following week, Michael, Mom, Vivian, and I got together for dinner. Though uncomfortable at first, the tension gradually subsided as the evening went on. I watched as Mom and Vivian shared anecdotes about their kids while gingerly finding common ground. It was something, but not quite friendship. Vivian drew me aside as we were saying our final goodbyes.\u201cSophia,\u201d she uttered in a quiet voice. \u201cI apologize. For my actions as well as my words. I hope we can go past this, because you\u2019re fantastic for my son.\u201d I felt a burden release from my shoulders as I nodded. \u201cI\u2019d like that.\u201d Michael smiled at me as we drove home. \u201cWell, that wasn\u2019t so bad, was it?\u201d I chuckled. \u201cWell, I guess not. But will we promise to never act in such a manner again?\u201d He gave my hand a squeeze. \u201cDeal.\u201dI reclined in my chair and reflected on our voyage together. From the ideal wedding day to the turmoil in the family and back again. It wasn\u2019t simple, but perhaps that was the whole point of family: the complex, messy, and lovely reality of loving people for who they are, flaws and all. How would you have responded in that situation?\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Wedding Drama: MIL Calls My Quiet Mom \u2018Ugly\u2019\u2014I Stood Up for Her When She Couldn\u2019t My MIL Called My Quiet Mom \u2018Ugly\u2019 at My Wedding \u2013 She Couldn\u2019t Stand Up for Herself, but I DidMy mother-in-law branded my quiet mother \u201cugly\u201d at my wedding, and I just couldn\u2019t let it go. I thought I had\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":82017,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[855],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-82014","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-story"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/inovatestory.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/85.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inovatestory.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82014","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inovatestory.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inovatestory.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inovatestory.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inovatestory.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=82014"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inovatestory.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82014\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inovatestory.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/82017"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inovatestory.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82014"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inovatestory.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=82014"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inovatestory.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82014"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}