What was supposed to be the happiest day of one woman's life resulted in feelings of doubt, guilt and inadequacy after her run-in with what she described as an attention-starved attendee.
The bride, who wished to go unnamed, took to Reddit in hopes of reassurance and a clear conscience in regard to her behavior at the ceremony.
Posting in the "r/AmITheA*shole" subreddit, she prefaced her story, clarifying that while she has "nothing against anyone in the military," her wedding was a "black tie optional" event with well over 300 guests who chose to abide by the couple's guidelines.
She goes on to set the scene, describing how fellow guests appeared distracted by serviceman and his medals when their eyes should have been on the ceremony and the married couple.
"There were even a few excited teenage girls at my wedding who wanted to take a picture with him, to which he graciously agreed."
Despite being at her service, the woman felt as if it was the Marine's presence — not her own — that was being highlighted with each "thank you for your service" uttered by several guests throughout the wedding festivities. It's unclear what specific action was the final straw triggering his ultimate boot from the event.
"If he wants to wear that to his own wedding then fine, but the whole point of having a dress code at a wedding is so that no one guest will stand out too much" the bride noted, also pointing out that uniforms are generally worn so one will not stand out amongst those donning the same ensemble.
Aside from a few skeptical users playing the "what if" game, most of the responses were surprisingly positive and in favor of the bride's decision to make the Marine do an about-face and march out.
Claiming to be a former Army sergeant, one user's much-liked reply stressed that the Marine was essentially competing with the bride due to the uniform's elaborateness — especially with a number of flashy medals among a sea of tuxes.
"You have to be a special kind of a*shole to wear it to a non-military wedding without specific permission of the couple."
The same poster, however, reminded the now-wedded woman that she was "both the host and the one fêted" in the situation and could have tried talking to the Marine if his singular presence was that distracting in a crowd of over 300.
