Woman Uses Company Holiday Party to Swindle Wedding Gifts

Cash funds have become popular additions to wedding registries for couples, because newlyweds have the freedom to use those financial contributions in any way they see fit, from their honeymoon expenses to household essentials and even down payments. One bride, however, regretted forgoing a traditional registry when she didn’t receive as much money from her cash fund as she had anticipated. A few months later, when she heard that the raffle at her company holiday party, marketed as “the best ever held,” would be offering up amazing prizes, she decided to use the workplace function to swindle wedding gifts—a story that a fellow coworker detailed on Reddit’s “Wedding Shaming” subreddit on December 22, 2024

The Redditor explained that her coworker held a “rather lavish” destination wedding over the summer, where she had asked guests for cash instead of tangible gifts (a request that the original poster discovered after receiving an invitation to the former bride’s workplace bridal luncheon three weeks before her big day). At the company holiday party on December 19, 2024, the OP’s colleague admitted that she regretted having a cash fund, given the lackluster contributions. “During the cocktail hour, she goes around with this sob story about how she wished she had gone with a registry because the amount of money received was nowhere near enough to cover most costs and furnish their dual apartments,” the Redditor recalled. 

Later that evening at the workplace holiday function, there was a raffle where every employee was guaranteed to leave with a prize. The lineup was filled with valuable items, such as two large-screen Roku TVs, an espresso machine, a $400 cake mixer, Bose speakers, wireless earbuds, an air purifier, a mini fridge, and gift cards with values up to $250, according to the Reddit post. To compensate for the lack of funds her wedding guests gave her, the former bride seemed to have devised a plan: use the raffle to acquire the best prizes. The OP said her newly married coworker picked out which items she wanted “and was determined to leave with them,” she noted.

When the OP won a prize that her coworker had her eye on, a 48-inch Roku TV, she tried getting the Redditor to hand it over. “She gave me a half hearted congratulations and asked if I plan to take it,” the OP noted in a comment. “I said yes. She says the living room in her Boston apartment lacks furniture and they watch TV on their phones. Then she asked if I wanted to push my luck for the 65” by taking her number. I said I’m good. She left and approached the winner of the $200 Lowe’s gift card (sitting at the table behind me).”

Even though the Redditor was firm with her answer, the newlywed still approached her again at the bar. “She tells me she is planning to leave soon and wished she could give her ticket to someone else, take a nice prize and go home already,” the OP continued. “I told her my answer had not changed. She then made her way to the winner of the 65” TV and received the same answer.” When she unloaded her TV into her car, the coworker tried one more time. “This time my response was ‘No is a complete sentence,’” she revealed.

While the OP didn’t cave, others fell for her attempts at deception. It turns out that the newly minted Mrs. traded a back massager for a charcuterie board set worth more money than the TV (per the Redditor’s husband) and two additional gifts. “I have been to some crazy work holiday parties. But I have never attended one where an entitled bride stalked others and myself for raffle prizes,” the Redditor wrote. “What happened to manners? 1/3 of us barely know and 2/3 have no clue who you are. You are a name in a directory of a few hundred people.”

Redditors were equally as appalled. “The audacity of people amazes me,” one person stated, while another said, “This is called ‘Main Character Syndrome’ or ‘I’m an a——‘ if you’d like to be more blunt.” Some called the woman “very greedy” and determined that her behavior, “spinning sob stories and actively harassing them so they would give their nice prizes to her,” was manipulative. Many encouraged her to file a complaint with HR: “This is one of those you report to HR very carefully to protect yourself and others.”