All I wanted was to be a supportive, glamorous mother-of-the-groom at my son Mark’s wedding.

But my effort to make everything perfect led to an unexpected and regretful conflict.

Mark, a driven lawyer, introduced us to Alice, a carefree self-taught coder.

They were different, but happy together. When Mark proposed,

he asked my husband and me to join in the surprise since Alice wasn’t close to her family.

I offered to help with the wedding, using some of the money saved for Mark’s education.

However, Alice and I quickly disagreed on wedding plans, from flowers to decorations

. I decided to step back and let Alice take charge,

offering to just choose a dress color that wouldn’t clash with the bridesmaids.

She promised no green dresses, so I picked one for myself.

When Alice sent me photos of her wedding dress choices, I felt hurt she didn’t invite me to shopping.

I suggested an alternative dress, but she picked the one she loved.

I felt dismissed despite contributing to the wedding. As the wedding day approached,

I found an emerald green dress that I felt great in. But when I arrived at the venue,

Alice’s expression changed as she saw me. Tears filled her eyes as she accused me of wearing her “dream dress” in green.

I tried to explain, but she thought

I was trying to make the day about me. Mark intervened, asking us to get through the day. I left feeling defeated, questioning

if I had been too focused on my idea of the perfect wedding instead of letting Alice have her moment

. In the end, I’m unsure if I was wrong, but it wasn’t my day to control.