My husband’s best friend wanted to find the perfect wedding venue and chose our home. I gladly allowed her to have her big day at our home for free. I spent months helping with decor, vendors, and even the cake. But the day before the wedding, she didn’t invite me…for the most ridiculous reason.
I stood in the backyard of our house and surveyed the venue where Nancy’s wedding was to be held the next day. White chairs were arranged in neat rows in front of the oak tree where she and Josh would exchange vows against a backdrop of rolling hills and a sparkling lake….
Peter and I bought this property three years ago, and it really was something special.
He said, coming up behind me and putting his arm around my waist, ‘It looks amazing, Evelyn.’ ‘Nancy’s going to love it.’
I leaned against his chest. ‘I hope so. I’ve been planning this for months.’
‘You’ve done everything possible and impossible. Most people would have just suggested the venue.’
‘Well, she’s your best friend. And I wanted her day to be perfect.’
Peter kissed the top of my head. ‘That’s why I love you…you’re always thinking of others.’
‘They should be arriving for rehearsal soon. I just want to make sure everything is ready.’
‘Trust me, it will be,’ he said, squeezing me reassuringly. ‘You’ve thought of everything.’
‘You really think so?’
‘I think so…you’re amazing.’
The sound of tyres on gravel interrupted our moment. Nancy and Josh had arrived.
‘They’re here!’ said I, feeling a rush of excitement. ‘I can’t wait to show her everything.’
Nancy got out of the car and her fiancé followed, looking, as always, slightly dazed.
‘There’s my beautiful bride!’ I exclaimed, walking towards them with open arms.
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Nancy gave me a quick, tight hug. ‘The chairs are wrong.’
I blinked dumbfoundedly. ‘What do you mean?’
‘I wanted them to stand in a semicircle, not in even rows. Didn’t you get my message?’
I pulled out my phone, checking messages. ‘I don’t see anything about a semicircle.’
She sighed dramatically. ‘It doesn’t matter. We can fix this. Where are the flowers?’
‘They’ll be delivered tomorrow morning, fresh, just like we agreed.’
Nancy frowned. ‘I hope they get the colours right this time. The sample bouquet was all wrong.’
Behind her, Josh smiled apologetically at me. We’d barely spoken since we’d arrived. A lorry rumbled down the driveway, followed by two more cars.
‘Finally,’ Nancy muttered, then raised her voice. ‘This way! Start unloading everything!’
She turned to me, her face suddenly serious. ‘We need to talk.’
‘Sure, what’s up?’ I asked, still smiling.
Nancy grabbed my arm and pulled me away from the others.
‘What’s going on?’ I asked, confused by her tenseness.
The look on her face became one I’d never seen before. ‘Look, Evelyn, you’ve given us a place…that’s good and all. But listen, I don’t want you at the wedding tomorrow.’
‘What?’ I stared at her, sure I’d misheard her.
‘You heard me,’ she said, her voice cold and detached. ‘I don’t want you there.’
‘I don’t understand. Why?’
She rolled her eyes. ‘Come on, you know WHY.’
I shook my head, genuinely embarrassed.
‘Why didn’t anyone tell me you were dating Josh?’ – She demanded.
The realisation of that fact hit me like a slap in the face. Josh and I had had a brief fling in college, but it had ended and we’d drifted apart. We hadn’t spoken to each other until Nancy introduced him at their engagement party, and even then our conversation hadn’t gone beyond a simple ‘hi’ or ‘hello’.
‘This? It’s nothing special. A silly student crush over a decade ago. We didn’t even have anything serious… It didn’t last long and we remained acquaintances. It’s not even worth mentioning.’
‘And I don’t care,’ Nancy snapped back. ‘It’s MY day, and I don’t want some woman who slept with my fiancé standing around and making a big deal out of it. So yeah, you’re not coming.’
The words hung between us as my mind tried to comprehend what was happening.
After all I’ve done – months of planning, countless hours spent helping choose decorations, tasting cakes and meeting with vendors… she’s not inviting me to a wedding on my own property?
‘Nancy, you can’t be serious. This is my home.’
‘And I’m grateful you let us use it,’ she replied, waving her hand dismissively. ‘Peter can come, of course. Just not you.’
‘After all I’ve done for your wedding?’
‘I appreciate that. But it’s out of the question.’
Before I could answer, she turned to the delivery crew and snapped her fingers. ‘Come on, start unloading everything!’
The way she casually commanded people on my property, right after not inviting me to the party, was just unreal. I froze, unable to form a coherent response.
Then I felt Peter’s hand on my shoulder. The warmth of his touch grounded me.
‘Everything okay in here?’ – He asked, shifting his gaze from me to Nancy.
Nancy’s smile instantly returned. ‘Just girl talk.’
‘She doesn’t want me at the wedding,’ I said flatly.
Peter’s posture tensed. ‘What?’
‘Don’t make a big deal out of it,’ Nancy sighed. ‘It’s just that I recently found out that she and Josh were dating, and it makes me feel bad.’
‘Wait,’ Peter said, his voice harsh. ‘So, let me get this straight… You don’t mind using our house for free, my wife has been helping you with the wedding for months, but now you’re forbidding her to attend?’
Nancy pouted and crossed her arms. ‘No need to be so dramatic. It’s no big deal. She just has to respect my wishes on the wedding day.’
Peter burst into a cold laugh that sent shivers down my spine. In the seven years we’d been together, I’d rarely seen him angry.
‘Then maybe you should find somewhere else to do it.’
Nancy’s eyes widened with indignation. ‘You’re kidding, right? The wedding is tomorrow! Where else am I supposed to have it! You can’t just kick us out like that!’
‘Actually I can,’ Peter replied. ‘And I just did.’
Nancy’s face turned red. ‘You two are the most selfish people I’ve ever met! After all I’ve been through, you should be grateful I invited you at all! This isn’t about you! It’s about ME! You owe me that!’
Her voice rose to a squeal, drawing the attention of the delivery guys and Josh, who rushed over to her.
‘What’s going on?’ – He asked, looking worried.
‘They’re kicking us out!’ Nancy cried, tears suddenly coming to her eyes. ‘They’re ruining our wedding because your ex-girlfriend is jealous!’
I gasped at such an accusation. ‘That’s not true! You just told me I couldn’t come to a wedding…in my own house!’
Josh looked confused. ‘Wait, what? Why didn’t Evelyn come?’
‘Because you were dating her!’ snapped Nancy. ‘And no one thought to tell me about it until I found out from your best friend Willie!’
The expression on Josh’s face changed from confusion to disbelief. ‘You mean our two-month affair during our freshman year of college? Before I even knew you existed?’
‘You think you can pull that off at the last minute?’ Nancy ignored him, directing her anger at Peter and me. ‘Do you know how much money I spent planning this? You can’t just ruin my wedding because you’re bitter!’
I felt like I’d been slapped in the face. ‘Bitter? ME?! After I helped with everything?’
Peter stepped forward, coming between me and Nancy.
‘No, Nancy. You ruined your own wedding the moment you decided you could treat my wife like rubbish in her own home.’
Nancy let out a dramatic laugh and turned to Josh. ‘Do something!’
Josh shifted uncomfortably, his eyes fixed on the ground. It was clear he wanted no part of this.
‘JOSH?!’
‘Maybe we should talk about this quietly,’ he suggested weakly.
‘We have nothing to discuss,’ Peter said firmly. ‘I want you off our property. NOW.’
Nancy’s face contorted with rage. ‘Fine! I’m going to sue you! You can’t do this to me! I’ll make you both regret it!’
‘Good luck to you. Now get off our property.’
For a moment I thought Nancy might physically attack one of us. Her hands were clenched into fists and her whole body was shaking with rage.
‘Nancy,’ Josh said quietly, ’let’s go.
‘Are you taking their side?’ – She hissed at him.
‘I’m not taking anyone’s side. But this isn’t helping.’
She looked around at the half-unloaded trucks, the arranged chairs and the scattered boxes of jewellery. ‘What am I supposed to do now? After all, the wedding is tomorrow!’
Despite everything, I felt a surge of sympathy. Then I remembered how quickly she’d decided to ban me from her own home.
‘That’s not our problem anymore,’ I said.
The next hour passed in chaos. Nancy screamed, swore, and threw real tantrums. At one point she grabbed the cutlery box and threw it on the ground, scattering plates all over our driveway.
‘You’re going to pay for that!’ – she shouted. ‘Both of you!’
Josh finally managed to get her to the car and whispered something in her ear that seemed to calm her down for a moment. As they pulled away, the delivery men stood awkwardly, waiting for instructions.
‘You can take everything back,’ Peter told them. ‘There’s not going to be a wedding here.’
I spent the rest of the day in a daze, rejecting the vendors and demanding a refund for everything we’d paid for. The cake, flowers and catering disappeared after a few phone calls.
In the evening, Peter and I sat on the porch swing and looked at the half dismantled wedding decorations.
‘I’m sorry,’ I said quietly.
He looked at me in surprise. ‘For what?’
‘For causing all this drama. If I had just told you about Josh…’
‘Stop it,’ he interrupted gently. ‘You didn’t lead to anything. It was such a small thing, and it happened a long time ago. Nancy showed herself in all her glory today, and it’s not your fault.’
I leaned my head against his shoulder. ‘Do you think she’ll really sue us?’
‘Let her try. We didn’t sign any contracts. It was a favour for a friend…a friend who turned out not to be a friend at all.’
‘I still can’t believe how quickly it all fell apart.’
‘Some people only become nice when they get what they want, Evie. Once you stand up for yourself, the mask comes off.’
A week later, we learned from mutual friends that Nancy and Josh had married in a hasty ceremony at a local hotel. The photos showed a much smaller ceremony than the one planned at our house.
Amazingly, a few days afterwards, Josh texted Peter.
‘Nancy is still upset, but I wanted to apologise for the way things happened. I should have said more.’
Peter showed the message but didn’t reply anything. Some bridges once burned were not worth rebuilding.
But I don’t regret what happened one bit. Because that day taught me something valuable: never compromise your dignity for people who won’t do the same for you.
Some might say we overreacted by cancelling Nancy’s wedding at the last minute. But I’ll tell you what really is an overreaction – not inviting someone to an event in their own home because of a meaningless student affair from a decade ago.
In the end, it wasn’t about that ancient history with Josh. It was about respect. And if there’s one thing I’ve learnt from this whole experience, it’s that I deserve at least that. We all do.
