Bride Issues 'Controversial' Rules to Wedding Guests, and They're Not Happy

A bride-to-be has shared all of the things she has been questioned on about her upcoming wedding, including prohibiting pictures of the ceremony.

Jenna Speight, 25, from Gilbert, Arizona, got engaged to her fiancé in January and started sharing her wedding planning journey.

"I always loved seeing other brides' wedding content pop up on my TikTok. After I got engaged last January, I realized that I was now in my 'bridal era' and could post wedding content too," Speight told Newsweek. "At first, I was just using TikTok to journal moments from planning my wedding, but then other brides looked to me for help planning theirs and that is what inspired me to really continue making bridal content and expanding to things that other brides related to."

In a video with 1.2 million views, the bride shared the things that guests have been upset about when it comes to her big-day plans.

"Every one of these is something that I am still shocked that guests get mad at," wrote Speight. "And a few of these I have personally gotten remarks about from my guests."

Some of the rules that she said had raised eyebrows among her guests included rules against wearing white, taking photos during the ceremony and bringing a plus-one that they've only been dating for a few weeks.

"My fiancé and I are planning to keep our wedding pretty intimate to just close friends and family members," explained Speight. "So most of my guests are pretty understanding of the standards we've put in place."

That said, some of her guests had questioned the wedding day rules, which inspired the bride-to-be to make the video.

"I have had a handful of people, mostly grandparents, who questioned having an 'unplugged ceremony' and not allowing our guests to take any photos or videos during it. This modern standard for weddings helps keep cellphones from ruining the aesthetic of the photos, and once I explained it to them they were super understanding," she said. "I have [also] heard a few whispers of people we've invited being frustrated that their kid wasn't invited or they weren't given a plus-one. We want to look upon familiar faces during our day, so limiting the guest count ensures we can give everyone invited our time. Unfortunately, we can't please everyone."

There are some things that are known to cause conflict between couples and their wedding guests, including wearing white to a wedding and whether or not children are invited. But while some couples may expect a little too much from their guests, it is generally accepted that the couple's choices should be respected.

"I learned from weddingtok early on that guests tend to get upset about these aspects of the wedding, so I wasn't too surprised by what I heard from a few of my guests," said Speight. "Some of the negative comments on this video are proof enough that a handful of people still get upset about what couples do with their day."

While much of the bridal community on TikTok supported the video, there was some negative feedback too.

"I got quite a bit of negative feedback from people who viewed my video. Most of the pushback was on not having plus-ones or kids at the wedding, although I did still have a few people comment about wanting to wear white and take photos during an unplugged ceremony," Speight explained. "It was pretty shocking that any of these simple rules were considered controversial, but it only proved the point I was trying to make in the video: not everyone will be happy with the decisions you make for your wedding, but ultimately it is your decision on who to invite."

Despite some backlash from guests or outsiders, Speight said she sticks by her decisions.

"Something that I always tell my bridal community is to set your boundaries and stand by them. That is what I plan to do myself. I would hope that my friends and family care enough about my wishes to respect them," she said. "And since this was just meant to be a funny video, I wouldn't actually ignore any of my guests' calls of concerns," she added.