Bridesmaid demands refund after bride has to cancel wedding due to COVID-19

I was supposed to go to a wedding in April. It got pushed back and pushed back until, eventually, it was canceled. Because the whole world is dealing with a deadly pandemic, and COVID-19 has made it unsafe to gather in large groups for events like weddings.

I felt so bad for my poor friend. She'd been planning her wedding for over a year, and just like that, all her dreams were dashed. Did I lose out on a bunch of money because of canceled plane tickets? Sure. Did I scream at my friend and blame her for it? Absolutely not. But some brides have...less than understanding friends, as evidenced in this post in Reddit's "Am I the A-hole?"

OP explains that she was supposed to have a wedding in October but had to cancel it because of the coronavirus pandemic. Instead, she and  her partner eloped with only their parents there. She writes, "We made sure everything the wedding party bought could be returned beforehand."

And when they had to break the news to their wedding party, everyone was supportive. Well, everyone except one bridesmaid. One bridesmaid who was OP's husband's friend apparently "went ballistic." She had her husband message OP's "telling him he made a massive mistake."

She messaged OP and called her "horrible names" and threatened her, demanding that they pay cash for the dress that she purchased for the event. OP explained that the bridal shop was doing refunds and changed their return policy because of COVID-19, but apparently she didn't want the responsibility of returning a single dress on her own because she wouldn't accept that as an answer.

She's demanding money from them and and threatening to take OP to court "over a $140 dress." OP has no idea why this woman reacted this way. "There had never been bad blood between the two of us in the past and I tried my best to be friends with her over the four years I have known her," OP wrote.

Both OP and her husband are refusing to give the bridesmaid money because the dress can definitely be returned. It makes me wonder if something happened to the dress; maybe she ruined it or altered it in such a way that it now can't be returned.

Commenters believe there's definitely something fishy about this bridesmaid's behavior. "I bet she wants to return it AND collect money from you," one person wrote. OP agreed. "We have a feeling she is trying to profit," she wrote in response.

One commenter felt like there has to be something else going on here, that maybe she's in bad financial trouble or something, and OP agrees that is a possibility. "She and her husband have issues with employment, even before COVID, and they also have a baby," she wrote. "So I do feel bad for that reason.

"But my husband and I have both walked her through how to make the return and it seems like she is intentionally waiting for the window of return to end," she continued. This is the problem. There is a way for that woman to easily get her $140 back. She just doesn't want to do it herself.

Many commenters suggested cutting off contact with this woman completely. There's very little worth in taking someone to small claims court over $140. Likely, if they just ignore her, she'll eventually stop harassing them.

"NTA at all!" one person wrote. "Also, bright side is that now you don't have to stare at photos of her in your wedding party years from now! Sounds like a win to me!" There's always a bright side.