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in-law wedding drama DD

Somehow I knew. Maybe I hit a nerve. Hmm

03-24-2011 at 2:08 PM
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obeach8
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in law wedding drama

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my husband and i got married this past summer. his older sister got engaged three weeks before our wedding; she booked a wedding venue one month before she even got engaged. she did not ask, nor did her mother, any family members if the date she was booking was open for everyone.

my cousin, who i'm very close with, has been engaged since october 2009, and had set her wedding date by christmas 09. she and i are very close, are 4 months apart in age, and talk 3 times a week.

as it would happen, my sister in law proceeded to confirm her wedding date, even after she announced that she found a venue but was waiting to leave a deposit and we voiced that my cousin's wedding was that day. my mother in law simply shrugged her shoulders and let her daughter continue with her own plans.

to make matters worse, my husband and his sister are not close at all. i cannot stress this enough. there has been a lot of drama with her over the years, and their relationship has really deteriorated. however, her fiance asked my husband to be in the wedding, and he felt he had to oblige the request. 

needless to say, i can only choose one wedding to go to. my cousin lives over 4 hours away, so even trying to get to two weddings in one day is impossible. the obvious choice to keep the peace, for me, would be to just attend my sister in law's wedding. however, it doesn't really sit right with my soul, especially when i think of my own family being together to celebrate my cousin's happiness, and knowing that i will miss the biggest day of her life (up to this point).

 if it were you, what would you do?  

 
03-24-2011 at 2:10 PM
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renegade g...
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Your husband can go to his sister's wedding, and you can go to your cousin's.

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03-24-2011 at 2:12 PM
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obeach8
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we've talked about it and initially, as the newlyweds that we are, we wanted to stay together. now that he's in the wedding, i was wondering if that means i am 'bound' to having to go to my in law's. 
 
03-24-2011 at 2:13 PM
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Libby33
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imagerenegade gaucho:
Your husband can go to his sister's wedding, and you can go to your cousin's.

 

Easy as that.


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03-24-2011 at 2:14 PM
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ReturnOfKu...
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I think I'd punch my husband in the nuts and remind him that we had already committed to go to another wedding that day, and as such he couldn't be a groomsman.

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03-24-2011 at 2:19 PM
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renegade g...
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imageobeach8:
we've talked about it and initially, as the newlyweds that we are, we wanted to stay together. now that he's in the wedding, i was wondering if that means i am 'bound' to having to go to my in law's. 

 

No, it doesn't.


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03-24-2011 at 2:22 PM
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Trishd
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I'm sure it sucks that your SIL planned her wedding the same day as your cousin's but the bottom line is, they can plan their day for whenever they want to. 

If you committed to your cousin's wedding first then you should go to your cousin's wedding.  Normally, I would say he should be with you since he committed to that wedding first, but, this is his sister, his immediate family.  There is a bit of obligation there.  I agree with pp who say you need to split up the day.

There are times where I think my H and should show up at things together but sometimes it's not that easy and we've had to split up.  It sucks, but it happens.



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03-24-2011 at 2:23 PM
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NeverSayNe...
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imagerenegade gaucho:
Your husband can go to his sister's wedding, and you can go to your cousin's.

 

This.


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03-24-2011 at 2:23 PM
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ILoveRedVi...
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imageLibby33:
imagerenegade gaucho:
Your husband can go to his sister's wedding, and you can go to your cousin's.

 

Easy as that.

 

 

 

Yep, this.  If my SIL (husband's sister) were getting married, I wouldn't expect her to plan it around my cousin's wedding.  Two family weddings fall on the same day - you go to yours, he will go to his.  Neither of you is obligated to either wedding.

 
03-24-2011 at 2:25 PM
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rori11
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This really isn't that complicated.

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03-24-2011 at 2:25 PM
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EastCoastB...
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imagerenegade gaucho:
imageobeach8:
we've talked about it and initially, as the newlyweds that we are, we wanted to stay together. now that he's in the wedding, i was wondering if that means i am 'bound' to having to go to my in law's. 

 

No, it doesn't.

 

First, ditto the above. If you all insist on sticking together because you're newleywed's, that's 100% on you.  Not anyone else.  I personally would go to the cousins wedding and let your DH go to his sisters. Who cares what his family thinks?  All you need to say is you had wedding in your family already planned that you ahve to go to, but of course DH will be at his sisters wedding.

 

However, I'm going to play devil's advocate for a moment.  You say:

to make matters worse, my husband and his sister are not close at all. i cannot stress this enough.

But yet you expect his sister to plan her wedding around her brother's (who she isn't close to) wife's cousin?

I think your expectation on this is off.  It sucks, but crap like this happens. Even if they were close, your expectation on this is off.  Your family's plans have nothing to do w/ your SIL.  Nothing.


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03-24-2011 at 2:37 PM
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obeach8
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i'm not asking her to plan her wedding around my life. her timeline for getting engaged was to intentionally (and she has admitted this) to have a venue and a ring on her finger before our wedding. that was all she was interested in.

my only point about us having another wedding is that, typically (and i know that this is not always the case) people will at least ask their immediate family if the date they are considering is open for most of them. if she asked everyone except us, it would be a different story. she did not ask anyone and we are not the only couple who had other plans for that date.  

the mention of my husband and his sister not being close doesn't have anything to do with the date of the wedding; it's the fact that he was asked to be in the wedding that perplexes both of us.  

 
03-24-2011 at 2:42 PM
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doglove
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I agree with PPs. You are not "bound" to do anything for anyone in life. And I don't get why there is so much judgment about when your SIL got engaged in relation to when she is getting married. I also do not understand why you are comparing her relationship/wedding timeline to your cousins. None of that is relevent and makes you seem like you're the one creating the drama here.

Re: in-law wedding drama DD

  • I was mostly on her side, sort of, but I think everyone in this situation is weird.  Why in the hell, when she told people the date, did the OP's husband not say "ooh, I won't be able to make that - I already committed to going to a wedding that day"?
    image
  • imageReturnOfKuus:
    I was mostly on her side, sort of, but I think everyone in this situation is weird.  Why in the hell, when she told people the date, did the OP's husband not say "ooh, I won't be able to make that - I already committed to going to a wedding that day"?
    As my later response to her said, I wonder if the sister does stuff like this all the time (thinks only of herself) and never suffers any consequences for it, so the DH is just used to doing whatever his sister wants and they think they have "no choice".

    I wonder what the other people who also had conflicts w/ that date are doing. Are they dropping everything too, or is anyone saying "Oh, well, that sucks.  If you'd checked w/ us before picking the date, we could have let you know we won't be able to be there. we're so sorry we'll miss your wedding."?

     

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  • imageReturnOfKuus:
    I was mostly on her side, sort of, but I think everyone in this situation is weird.  Why in the hell, when she told people the date, did the OP's husband not say "ooh, I won't be able to make that - I already committed to going to a wedding that day"?

     

    My husband would have absolutely no idea when my cousin was planning to get married.  He may know someone was engaged, but I basically keep the calendar.  I get that it isn't as fun to go to a wedding without your spouse (or a date), but it really isn't the end of the world to each go to a different wedding.

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  • But he'd already planned to go to it.  You don't just switch plans on your spouse like that, no discussion and agreement.  And even if he didn't know off the top of his head, when his wife said "that's cousin's wedding day!" he should have called his sister immediately.
    image
  • imageEastCoastBride:
    I wonder what the other people who also had conflicts w/ that date are doing. Are they dropping everything too, or is anyone saying "Oh, well, that sucks.  If you'd checked w/ us before picking the date, we could have let you know we won't be able to be there. we're so sorry we'll miss your wedding."?

    I can see that. Maybe I wasn't getting my point across in my post (which seems a little nasty), but I agree. I don't understand why there was any drama with this to begin with given the fact that they knew about the cousin's wedding in advance (over a year?) and given how they know the SIL to be.

    By her use of the word "bound" I have a feeling that no one feels free to make decisions for themselves in this family.

     

     

  • imagedoglove:

    By her use of the word "bound" I have a feeling that no one feels free to make decisions for themselves in this family.

    I agree,  I wouldn't be one bit surprised if this were the case.

    But at the same time, she also talks of some expectations that SHE is assigning to this.  That the sister should have cleared the date w/ them, or their VERY self-inflicted expectation that now that they are newlywed's, they need to be together. 

    She also mentions "keeping the peace", but yet there is NO mention of whether or not they've actually told his family about this conflict and what their reaction is.

    I'm sure there is some level of expectation from his family that he has to be there, but I really do wonder if his family would really be all that upset that she wasn't there.  Are her IL's irrational enough that if she/DH told them about their previous committment, would they really be pissed, or would they say "oh, my, that does suck!  We'll miss you Obeach."?

    I do feel there is an assumption on her part that HER attendance is critical, when in reality, it may not be.

    Heck, BIL's very long term GF didn't come to our wedding.  And it was actually a pretty last minute reason, but I actually didn't care.  I understood that she had to take this job (she is a fashion stylist and Bon Jovi wanted her for a photo shoot.  Knowing their finances, they NEEDED the money!!).  Knowing my SIL, on her end, I could absolutely see her thinking "My IL's and ECB are going to flip out that I can't come", but really.... of all the people we invited and all the people I wanted to see, she really wasn't all that important.   It wasn't a big deal that she wasn't there. 

     

    "Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."
    ~Benjamin Franklin

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  • Did people really consult family members for good and bad dates for their wedding?

    As I recall, I was juggling our reception site with the church's availablity. I didn't have anyone else's calendar in front of us. Did people really coordinate with extended family members?

  • I didn't, but we did have people let us know that they weren't going to be able to make it because they already had plans for that day, which was fine.
    image
  • imagelivingitup:

    As I recall, I was juggling our reception site with the church's availablity. I didn't have anyone else's calendar in front of us. Did people really coordinate with extended family members?

    When I was planning my wedding with ex-FI, the only people I consulted were my immediate family. I pretty much had to take the only available date the venue had for the year or wait an additional 6 months into the following year. It also had to be coordinated with the church's availability.

  • imageEastCoastBride:
    But at the same time, she also talks of some expectations that SHE is assigning to this.  That the sister should have cleared the date w/ them, or their VERY self-inflicted expectation that now that they are newlywed's, they need to be together. 

      Are her IL's irrational enough that if she/DH told them about their previous committment, would they really be pissed, or would they say "oh, my, that does suck!  We'll miss you Obeach."

    Definitely agree ECB.

  • imagelivingitup:

    Did people really consult family members for good and bad dates for their wedding?

    As I recall, I was juggling our reception site with the church's availablity. I didn't have anyone else's calendar in front of us. Did people really coordinate with extended family members?

    I did (mostly with immediate family) because I had people coming from another country.  It was important to me that my close family be there.  So yeah, I kind of understand it, but not in this case.

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  • imagelivingitup:

    Did people really consult family members for good and bad dates for their wedding?

    As I recall, I was juggling our reception site with the church's availablity. I didn't have anyone else's calendar in front of us. Did people really coordinate with extended family members?

     

    I didn't.  But then again, I planned our wedding a year in advance.  Maybe it is different when it is just a matter of months.  Actually, I take that back.  I wouldn't consult extended family - just parents/siblings.  And if my brother (who I am not close to) had a wife who had a cousin who was getting married that day, it would not have changed my mind on the date.

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    FET - transferred two embryos (boy and girl) - Nov 2014 - BFP!
    Baby Boy born July 2015

  • imageILoveRedVino:

    imageReturnOfKuus:
    I was mostly on her side, sort of, but I think everyone in this situation is weird.  Why in the hell, when she told people the date, did the OP's husband not say "ooh, I won't be able to make that - I already committed to going to a wedding that day"?

     

    I get that it isn't as fun to go to a wedding without your spouse (or a date), but it really isn't the end of the world to each go to a different wedding.

    It's not as big of a deal to go dateless if it's a family wedding though.  At least not to me. If I was in her shoes, I'd go to my cousin's wedding while he goes to his sister's.  I'd have my family to have fun and hang out with.  Being a newlywed I can understand you wanting to stick togehter, BUT, you've gotta pick your battles.

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