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A Wedding Story (a little long)
So I have been meaning to post this for a while as I think that you ladies would get a kick out of it (it is long) and I can now laugh at most of the events?.
Labour Day weekend DH?s brother got married in Winnipeg. DH was the best man and DS the ring bearer. To give you some history BIL moved to Winnipeg about 3 years ago and recently DH and I paid for him and his FI to fly to Toronto for MIL?s 60th birthday and we also threw them a surprise shower / Jack and Jill on the same weekend.
The wedding was Friday at 3 pm and so we decided to fly in early on Thursday morning and stay until Sunday evening. Early on I made it clear to DH that he was there to support his brother and that if that meant that I would have to have DS on my own for most of the weekend then that was fine.
In the weeks leading up to the wedding I made sure to communicate with the bride about clothing for DH and DS (as we heard nothing from them) and made sure that everything was arranged and paid for on time. I also arranged with DH?s cousin for only one of us to travel with a car seat since our LO?s are the same age and we were coming in at different times. I asked DH a number of times approaching the wedding if he had been given some sort of rough timeline for the weekend and every time he asked his brother he was ignored.
So BIL has made it very clear, much to our dismay, that we were not permitted to rent a car and that he was going to handle all of the transportation required for all of the out of town guests. BIL was there to pick us up at the airport (3 of us and his mom and 2 others) in a huge Lincoln Navigator. Great that it fits 7 people but our luggage definitely was a challenge (i.e. no trunk) and I ended up with 2 smaller suitcases on my rapidly disappearing lap.
When we got to the hotel, MIL proceeded to tell me that she was having a ?get together? in her suite that evening and I needed to get food and drinks for her to serve and set it all up. Ummm ok, that?s news to me but can be handled. BIL then tells us that DH needs to go and pick up the alcohol and deliver it to the hotel, after that both DH and I have to make runs to the airport to pick up family and then the rehearsal is at 7 pm, but I am not allowed to go; only DH and DS are!! At this point we still don?t know what?s going on for the next day either (day of the wedding).
So I make my runs to the airport and get back to the hotel at 10 pm where I find DS crying because he wants his mommy and I say that I will take him to our room if DH can do the last run to the airport. BIL then comes to tell me that I need to drive FSIL to get her hair done the next morning at 9 am. MIL then grabs me quickly (all the while DS is crying on my shoulder) and says that I have to do her nails the next morning since she ruined her manicure at while point DH?s grandmother chimes in that she needs hers done as well. Oh and while I am at it I can do MIL?s hair and makeup. Right, you want the girl who pokes her own eye out trying to put on eyeliner to do your make-up? DH by this time is looking at me with pleading eyes since we both agreed no arguing with the family so I say fine as long as I can get everything done by noon because I need to get DS lunch, down for a nap and then ready for the 3 pm wedding.
The next morning, BIL calls DH at 8 am to say that he wants to go for a run around 9:30 am. I take FSIL to get her hair done (with DS) and then I end up doing 4 peoples nails between 10:30 and 11:30 am and tell MIL that I will be back in 10 minutes to do her hair. She calls me while I am in my room getting things together to say that we have to be at one of FSIL?s family member?s suites at noon for a luncheon. I explain that I can?t because I need to get her hair done and look after DS. She says that she is going and I tell her that?s fine but unless I start by 1 pm I can?t do her hair.
I feed DS and get him down for a nap at 12:45 pm. There is no sign of my MIL so I grab a quick shower and am ready to go by 1:30 pm. DH is back and I get him ready to go. We were going to wake DS up just after 2 pm when the doorbell rings (yes they had doorbells on the hotel rooms) and it?s MIL ready for me to do her hair. The doorbell causes DS to wake up screaming and MIL is yelling that I have to hurry because she is late. Her dress is missing 10 buttons in the back (which she completely failed to notice) and she wants me to curl her really short hair without a curling iron??DH manages to get DS ready but he?s in a bad mood now and I manage to do something with MIL?s hair and tell her that?s it.
We get to the hall (luckily it is only 50 feet away from our hotel room) DH has to run and handle an issue and I look to see where DS needs to go (he?s walking down the aisle with the flower girls) but not being at the rehearsal I have no clue what?s going on. DS keeps saying that he has to find ?the girls?. The wedding is about to start so I say that he should go with the ushers. He gets extremely upset because he knows who he is supposed to walk with. The next thing I know the flower girls and bridesmaids come out of a curtained area and are walking down the aisle and DS is livid. I keep him outside until he calms down (15 minutes) and when I finally get inside there is no where for us to sit. DS at this point is saying that he needs to go to DH and give him the rings. Since it was the middle of the ceremony I told him to wait a few minutes. I manage to keep him quiet until after the vows and then let him go to DH so at least he got to walk up the aisle. All DS could keep saying was ?I couldn?t find the girls?.
We go outside for pictures and after 3 photo?s DS and I were ?dismissed? (yes SIL actually used the word dismissed) and DH was told that he was driving everyone to another location. For the reception, they decided to sit DH, DS and I at the head table (after we specifically asked it only be DH) and then proceeded to get mad at DS for making noise during the speeches (he?s 2!). BIL was upset because I couldn?t eat the meal (hello, I can?t have wheat so breaded/stuffed chicken is a bad idea and we told you this) and MIL?s boyfriend got ridiculously drunk and made a spectacle. Oh and DH was upset because the favour was a very small bottle of water with their picture on it.
This is all happened within 48 hours and doesn?t even begin to cover the drama during the next 2 days that we were there?.
Re: A Wedding Story (a little long)
My thoughts exactly..... which is why I kind of laugh at it all but BIl is the most anal person I have ever met so it wasn't an easy going groom. But they live in Winnipeg, not around the corner for us so I don't have to worry.
Holy this family sounds like something else. I'm a total planner so it probably would have driven me crazy. Kudos to you for managing to get through it all and be able to laugh it off afterwards.
Also, I can't believe your MIL, or that SIL "dismissed" you, unreal!
Ditto....if it were me I'd already be on the flight home with my DS and DH would 100000% understand/agree.
I had typed out this great long response and of course the stupid nest ate it. It ate all my posts yesterday.
You are SO much better of a woman than I am. I think I would've strangled MIL/SIL
I am far from a saint but I think that DH and I just resigned ourselves to the fact that it was going to be difficult and that no matter what the two of us weren't going to fight.
I didn't even get into the drama from Saturday where BIL told his mom (MIL) to dump her boyfriend...... that got interesting