Our wedding is in 18 days. I just sent out my invites to close family and friends this morning... all know about it, we really already know they will all be there. Here is the issue... his mom doesn't understand why we want to keep it all small and informal. This is a second marriage for both of us... it is outdoors at a park and we are not having a formal reception, just cake, drinks and MAYBE a BBQ afterwards at a pavilion that will only hold 30 people. He was going to invite only his three brothers and their wives. This weekend she throws a fit about it and says that they will all get upset if their kids (his neices and nephews) are not invited too. She started arguing, yelling and cussing at him, so we left. He didn't think his brothers would be like that, so he talked to two of the brothers -and sure enough, they wanted to know why we were keeping it so small. He told them, "Because it is about me, Christina, and her two boys becoming a family... no one else." His family always drinks or does some kind of other "self medicating" at every family function and we don't want that... he told them that as well. Neither he or I drink, so I am not going to pay for them to all act like idiots at my wedding. We have had about 7 weeks to plan all of this because we decided to get married outdoors in the Fall like we wanted... I still have plenty to do and don't need this added stress. Why do people have to make it about THEM??? I had to cut all relationship ties with my mom for this very reason... her negativity and some choices she made were bringing me, my FI and the kids down, so I chose to cut that tie. I would hate to see that happen with his mom, too, but it is heading in that direction.