Ok, So I’m mostly a lurker on the boards and I don’t post much but my
FI and I have recently booked the venue for our wedding in May 2016
(yay!!!) and begun the real planning process and I’ve already run into
some family drama. So here’s some background: my parents had a very
rocky marriage for the last 5-10 years they were married due to the fact
that my father was having an affair with a work colleague so they
finally got divorced about a year and a half ago and my dad immediately
shacked up with his mistress and a few months later got engaged to her.
So its now common knowledge that he cheated on my mom for many years
before the divorce (he admitted it to me so its no longer just
speculation) and basically my mom and sister both hate him and his new
fiance. My sisters problems with him are actually much deeper than what
I’ve explained but suffice it to say, they don’t get along at all. My
mom is actually very mature about it and wants him to be happy and cause
as little drama as possible but wants nothing to do with the woman he
is now engaged to (for good reason).
So my problem now is in figuring out how to deal with everyone at the
wedding and wedding events. For anyone that dealt with this type of
drama at their own wedding- I have sooooo many questions!!
- First of all, my mom is insisting that she be allowed to walk me
down the aisle with my dad, which I’m fine with but I’m worried that
this will offend my dad, is it ok to ask him for this?
- Where do I seat everyone in the first rows for the ceremony?
Obviously I don’t want my mom to be anywhere near my dads new fiance,
and my Fiance’s parents are also divorced so maybe I should do dads on
one side and moms on the other?? But I also read that with divorced
parents, one set should sit a row behind or something like that?
- For formal pics after the ceremony, I just want pics with my mother
and father- not their new SO’s that I don’t consider part of my
family…is it ok to ask their SO’s to go enjoy the cocktail hour while we
are taking pics? That way I can avoid a run in between my mom and the
new fiance?
- Also, when everyone is introduced at the reception, I don’t want my
dad introduced with his fiance because to have her be in any way a part
of my wedding is a slap in the face to my mother so would it be ok to
have my mom walk in with my sister and then have my dad walk in with his
parents? Or should I just not have family introduced at all and just
have bridesmaids/groomsmen introduced?
I’m sure I’ll hit more snags in the planning process so any advice
would be appreciated. I’m trying to walk a very thin line between not
offending my dad (who is paying for all of my wedding) and upsetting my
mom and sister who have done nothing wrong in all of this drama. Sorry
for the super long post!!!