Bride’s Mother-in-Law Had a Perfectly Acceptable Reason for Wearing a Wedding Dress for the Big Day

In the 2005 movie, Monster in Law, Charlie (Jennifer Lopez) is thrilled when her boyfriend, Dr. Kevin Fields (Michael Vartan), asks her to marry him. That was before she met Kevin’s mom, Viola (Jane Fonda), who does not roll out the welcome mat for her soon-to-be daughter-in-law.

The action reaches its climax, when Viola shows up at the wedding wearing all white, a shocking statement that epitomized a wedding faux pas.

One bride’s soon-to-be mother-in-law may have missed the movie—and the etiquette tip.

Amy Pennza shared a photo from her 2004 nuptials on Twitter in a bid to be included on The Tonight Show as part of the #WeddingFails hashtag game that Jimmy Fallon’s show plays once a year. “My mother-in-law wore a wedding dress to my wedding. So, yeah, top that one, Twitter,” Pennza wrote, along with the hashtag #WeddingFails. In the photo, Pennza is standing next to her soon-to-be mother-in-law both wearing what appear to be wedding dresses. It wasn’t some Hollywood rom-com double wedding, though, but a bride’s nightmare come to life.

Pennza seemingly bears no ill will towards her mother-in-law, Terri Pennza, though. In a follow-up tweet, she explained that her mother-in-law is “extremely frugal.” By way of explanation, Pennza tweeted that “to understand her, you have to know where she comes from,” later offering context to USA Today, explaining that her mother-in-law grew up in extreme poverty which continues to impact her decisions today. While Pennza may never fully understand why her mother-in-law opted to wear a wedding dress to a wedding that wasn’t her own, she appreciates that her mother-in-law’s frugality and the choices she makes because of it are part of who she is. “I genuinely want people to know that she’s a fabulous lady,” Pennza said, adding that her mother-in-law apologized again for her poor choice of wedding attire after the tweet went viral. If Pennza renews her vows, perhaps she can take a page out of this bride’s book and inspiration from her mother-in-law and invite all the wedding guests to re-wear their wedding dresses, which sounds like the perfect rom-com ending.