My fiancée, Emily, and I have been deep in wedding planning, eyeing a modest celebration towards the end of the year. It's to be an intimate affair with just around 30 guests, at a close family friend’s estate. We've taken a DIY approach to most aspects, from handmade decorations to digital invitations, all the way to buying our wedding cake from a wholesale outlet to stay within budget.

In contrast, we decided to splurge on a luxurious honeymoon as our big expense. Given this, I trusted Emily to manage the wedding dress purchase within the agreed financial limits.

I was taken aback when I learned that Emily had spent a staggering $10,000 on her gown—a dress she’ll wear just once. She justified it by saying it was the gown of her dreams and mentioned she’d agreed to what she felt was a "less glamorous" wedding at my insistence, an issue she had never raised before. While she believes she can cover the cost of the dress herself, it’s clear that our joint finances can’t take this hit without affecting other plans—specifically our elaborate honeymoon.

Realizing the gravity of our financial strain, I made the tough call to cancel the honeymoon. We had booked through a travel agency with insurance, losing only $250 each as cancellation fees—an amount that would have skyrocketed had we delayed our decision any further.

Emily’s reaction to the honeymoon cancellation was fierce; she accused me of making unilateral decisions and threatened to go alone. This dispute has since blown up with her family and friends criticising me heavily, whereas my own circle supports my actions. Amidst this turmoil, I can’t help but question: Am I in the wrong here?

Given she was unyieldingly firm about her overspend on the dress, and refused to discuss alternatives, it felt like we had no other options left. We originally planned to put the honeymoon expenses on our credit card for reward points, but spending $10,000 literally drained Emily’s savings, leaving inadequate funds and pushing us towards living off our monthly earnings with looming credit card bills.

Anticipating additional costs from the wedding only compounds our financial pressures. The strain of potentially accruitting debt from the honeymoon doesn't just vanish with our impending nuptials—it's a looming stress over our newlywed lives.

If our story were showcased on reality TV, how would the audience perceive it? Given the divisive opinions among our friends and family, the viewers might be equally split. Some might empathize with my rationale to secure financial stability, while others could argue that the emotional significance of a dream dress and a honeymoon shouldn’t be overlooked, viewing my decision as harsh.

If you were in my shoes, what would you have done?