Woman turns damaged wedding dress into cosplay, refuses to give it to cousin getting married. AITA?

"AITA for turning a wedding dress into a cosplay rather than letting my cousin have it for her wedding?"

I (27F) am an avid cosplayer, my girlfriend (28F) and I go to all conventions we can and have a lot of fun making our costumes together and prepping for the year. Three months ago I, my girlfriend, and my cousin (30F) went around charity shops looking for pieces we could turn into cosplays.

My cousin isn't a cosplayer but she tagged along as she likes a good bargain hunt. In the third shop we went to we found in the window an old school wedding dress, it had a few stains and minor rips but all in all was in good condition.

My girlfriend and I joked with my cousin that she should buy it for her wedding, but she turned her nose up at it stating she wanted brand new and she'd not be caught dead in an old fashioned dress. We let it go and my girlfriend was the one to point out to me if we did some alterations it'd be a perfect dupe for Sarah's ballgown in Jim Hensons Labyrinth which is our favorite movie.

I realized she was right and asked her if she wanted to make this our next major matching costume. She agreed for the convention season of 2025 we will be Jareth and Sarah. I bought the dress and my cousin made a few jokes about it but we heard nothing back from her, not until two days ago.

I've been posting progress of my dress on social media and it's finally done and looks amazing. My cousin told me she'd not found a dress she likes and I've done wonders with this dress, that she'd changed her mind and she'd be happy to meet the price I'd paid (about 150 dollars) and even throw in an extra approx 100 dollars for my time fixing it up.

I laughed and asked if she was joking, she told me she was deadly serious and I told her that wasn't happening. This led to a fight and I was getting annoyed, my girlfriend took the phone at this point and told her she had her chance to get the dress, and that it's a cosplay now not a wedding dress.

We've since been bombarded by my family trying to get in contact, some pleading, some trying to cajole and others straight up berating us for not letting my cousin buy the dress or even better yet being a good cousin and gifting it to her...that I shouldn't turn a charity shop wedding dress into a costume as it stopped brides who really needed it having it.

I'm getting stressed and upset with this, and my girlfriend is currently fielding any calls we get and telling them off for upsetting me. She's a wonder and I am so grateful to have her with me for this.

AITA though? I am starting to worry because of the widespread reaction. This is the first time I've bought a wedding dress to convert like this, but it was already damaged and I've brought it back to life. Surely it's better than it being ignored like it was?

Here's what top commenters had to say about this one:

SuspiciousZombie788 said:

NTA. She thought the dress was ugly and didn’t want a thrifted dress for her wedding. She didn’t see the dress’s potential. After all your hard work and additional time and money, she realizes she made a mistake and now she wants a cheaper option for her wedding.

Tough. She missed her chance with this dress. At most, I’d offer to go thrifting to find a new 2nd hand dress she can use. Assuming there is still time.

Mental-Currency8894 said:

NTA - I'd be questioning the story she has told the family too, has she told them that she wanted the dress and you bought it out from under her?

Super_Reading2048 said:

NTA. How many hours of work did you put into the dress when she made her generous offer? You offered to let her buy it, and she passed, end of story.

stropette said:

NTA. Your dress, you put the time and effort into it, you do what you like with it. Cousin Dearest can get her own, and possibly reflect on the fact that if she hadn't been such a stuck up arsehole there might have been a different outcome. Seriously. Don't give in to this child.

LMWNV said:

Definitely NTA! She had an opportunity to get it - had no vision for it until til you created a masterpiece - she can find her own dress and the family can back off. Enjoy wearing it in 2025!

Aylauria said:

NTA. Congrats on finding the perfect dress and turning into an excellent costume! You've done nothing wrong. You owe your cousin nothing here. She didn't see the potential the way you did and now she's just got sour grapes. Just ignore anyone who wants to make it an issue.

Legitimate-Lie-7262 said:

Definitely NTA. But now I need to see the before and after! As a kid I always dreamed that I would get married with that dress and her hair.