My fiancé and I are getting married later this year. We decided to fully embrace the chaos of weddings, especially by making our 200+ Save the Dates a gag. Instead of doing traditional serious engagement photos, we staged an absolutely ridiculous, awkward cowboy-themed photoshoot — full denim outfits, serious JC Penny pictures, all of it. Basically, if you imagine a ‘90s Olan Mills catalog but with more commitment to the bit… that’s us.

We even warned people on the card: “Engagement photos: questionable. Wedding date: serious. Save the date!” And at the bottom: ”(Actual) Formal invites to follow.”

We thought it was hilarious. Most of our friends thought it was hilarious too. BUT some family members (mostly the ones who think khakis are “fun weekend wear”) were horrified. We got messages like: “This is immature.” “You’re making a mockery of marriage.” “I can’t show this to anyone.” (Some friends actually texted to ask if we were “okay and serious.”)

Bonus plot twist: Because we’re both engineers (known weirdos to some people), a few people legit thought this wasn’t a joke. They thought this was just us being our normal, extremely socially awkward selves. No irony. No bit. Just full sincerity. Which honestly made it even funnier.

For the record: We are very serious about marrying each other. We are just not serious about pretending to be Instagram-perfect humans. Also, denim tuxedos are high fashion. I don’t make the rules.

So AITAH for sending out a prank Save the Date to over 200 people and accidentally confirming to half the family that engineers are just… built different?