My 4yo broke a wedding plate and the groom asked me to pay for it right then

"You're a f**king hero for how you handled it. I wouldn't have had the balls," read one comment about the mum's epic response.

Eleanor Katelaris

2 min read

April 19, 2024 - 1:28PM

Parenting

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In a recent post on Mumsnet that has now gone viral, a mum shared an incident that happened at a wedding she attended with her four-year-old son.

The anonymous mum's post begins with her saying that she's usually willing to pay for damages caused by her child, but in this instance, she thought it was "unnecessary."

Her son accidentally broke a "regular, plain, rented plate" at a wedding held at an "expensive Instagram-worthy location."

Despite the fancy venue (it was a literal castle), the mum noted that the couple was on a strict budget for everything else.

"There wasn't even enough food and just a few drinks," she explained.

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Image: IStock

"This should cover it"

The drama unfolded when the groom confronted the mum in front of other guests, demanding that she replace the plate.

"I was honestly a bit taken aback as I still had the envelope with enough money to cover my meal in my purse as a present," she said.

So she opened her purse to get the envelope, took out $200, and handed it to him, saying, "This should cover it; you can give me the change later."

"Basically everyone, including the groom, realised that I just reduced his gift money. Was I being unreasonable?" she asked in her post.

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"Handled it perfectly"

Virtually all of the comments supported the mum. One person assured, "No, not at all. They don’t sound like very good hosts, or even that they were trying to host at all."

Another user chimed in, praising her boldness: "I think you're a hero for doing that. I wouldn't have had the balls."

Others couldn't hide their disbelief at the groom's actions, with one replying: "Surely the wedding venue can cover a broken cheap rented plate. They tend to be very bad quality, so easily broken and cheap to replace. Why would he ask you to pay for it?"

"The plate probably cost around $3.50. PLEASE tell me you didn't give him any more money as a present," one begged.

"How horrible for the groom to try and embarrass you in front of the guests. Was it definitely not said as a joke? If he was saying it seriously, then I think you handled it perfectly," a different forum member wrote.