Weddings are one of the most beautiful moments in life. Every wedding, though, is unique. Some people desire a child-free wedding, while others prefer no plus one, and yet others prefer a modest gathering owing to financial constraints. Read the narrative to find out what occurred at the wedding and what you would do in a similar circumstance.
Source: Reddit
I (f25) got married to my husband (m25) in August.
We kept it small and simple and didn’t want too many guests due to budget, so we only invited close family members and friends.
My older sister ‘Dawn’ (f38) has ten children (m17, f16, m14, f10, f9, m7, m5, m3, m3 and m1). My parents and the rest of my family aren’t religious, but Dawn and her husband are very hardcore Christians and believe that having lots of children is God’s will.
Obviously, inviting all of my nieces and nephews would be quite a cost. My wedding isn’t child-free, but my husband and I decided it would be fairest if we only invited Dawn’s three eldest kids.
I talked to Dawn about it and explained our reasoning, but she was really offended and said that I’m picking favourites. I told her I’m sorry but ten kids is a big cost on our wedding budget and that we tried to be as fair as possible.
Dawn accused me of being a bridezilla and thinking I’m too good for her and her family. I told Dawn if she doesn’t like it she doesn’t have to come, but that she’s my sister and I really want her at the wedding.
Dawn, her husband and three eldest did come to the wedding, but with other family members bringing small children, everyone was asking her about why not all of their kids were there.
After the wedding, Dawn has been very off around me lately. She told me she ‘understands how I feel about her babies’ and said that I’m a bad sister and a terrible aunt, and has accused me of not respecting her religion and lifestyle.
My parents and other siblings have been making comments like “don’t get too excited for xyz, OP said only three people can come because there’s too many of us”.
The comments have been getting to me a bit and I’m wondering if I was the AH.
ETA: my husband and I paid for the wedding ourselves. I didn’t want to ask my parents or Dawn for help with paying for anything because neither of them have a lot of money. If Dawn offered to help cover costs so all of her kids could come I wouldn’t have a problem.
Here are a few comments on the story where it was originally posted: