Woman stunned after finding out she is no longer invited to the wedding over her relationship status

One woman has sparked a huge discussion online after sharing her bizarre wedding snub. Despite receiving a save-the-date a year in advance and a formal wedding invitation months ago, she was later disinvited for a controversial reason. In her now widely-discussed Reddit post titled, “‘Married couples only’ invited to the wedding, despite us being together longer than the happy couple,” on r/weddingshaming,  the user, who goes by Constant_Pepper_815, has opened up about her experience. The couple who uninvited her supposedly decided to limit their guest list to only “married/engaged couples,” leaving out others. 

The OP claims the groom is a good university friend of her partner. All four individuals live in the same city and have regularly spent time together as couples. The couple in question has been in a committed relationship for nearly nine years, three years longer than the bride and groom themselves. She said, “If it wasn't clear from the title, my partner and I have been in a relationship longer than the bride and groom (we've been together 9 years this year, their wedding day will be on the day of their 6th anniversary). Neither of us has any interest in getting married, and everyone in our lives knows this and (we thought) respected our decision.”

The groom had even initially asked her partner to be one of the groomsmen before the wedding party was limited to family due to space and logistics. However, just a few days ago, the groom invited her partner out for a casual drink and broke the news that his girlfriend was no longer invited. The couple had decided to implement a new rule that only partners who are engaged or married would be allowed to attend. When asked about the sudden change, the groom said that they want their wedding to be a ‘true celebration of love,’ and they believe that only those in formally ‘committed’ relationships, namely, marriage or engagement, fit that vision. “It’s hard not to feel judged when someone suggests your relationship is less valid simply because you’ve chosen a different path,” she wrote. 

Commenters criticised the couple, sparking a debate over who has the right to define what qualifies as a relationship and what doesn’t.

@helga-h wrote, “This totally has nothing to do with 'committed couples only'. I mean, BF is still welcome alone as a single guy, but OP is not welcome as a single girl. What they actually achieve here is having more 'single' people than loving couples at their wedding.” While another user @in_and_out_burger called them out, saying, “You’re their friend or you’re not - so rude.” Another user, @AbibliophobicSloth gave an analogy: “More than likely, they overshot their budget and needed to cut before finalizing the plans with the venue.”