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MOH rant + need advice (badly)

Allright.  So, when I got engaged, I asked my only sister to be my MOH.  I had been worried about asking her, thinking she would say no (we are only 2yrs apart, but have never been very close). I was really hoping this would bring us closer, but its doing the opposite.

She is acting like a completely selfish crazy person.  She is causing me so much stress and extra work that I really do not want her as a MOH and dont even really want her in the bridal party.  

We went wedding dress shopping and I invited my BM, and made it clear they didnt have to come if it was too much hassle.  My sister made a fiasco of coming, and I even drove so we were much much closer to where she was than where I live because she complained so much.  She then showed up completely hung over, and spent most of the morning complaining that we "made" her get up early.  She then basically ignored me during dress trying on, until one of my other BM took her aside and told her to at least act like she was paying attention.  When we were on our way to lunch she goes "You better be buying me lunch after making me sit through that".  Um, excuse me???

A few months after that we went looking for bridesmaids dresses.  I wanted just cute, simple black cocktail dresses that they can wear again, so once again invited all the BM if they were interested.  My sister REFUSED to come out the night before saying she had a party she wanted to go to, but then also refused to take the earlier train so she didnt show up until 1-ish (not a big deal), but the she calls me and says "You have to come pick me up now".  No hello, or hows the shopping.  Just demanded I go get her.  We were in a dressing room at the time, so I told her the store and asked her to take a cab and just come to the store (it was only 1.5miles from the station). 

Apparently she didnt like that because she said "F-U" and hung up on me.  We then called her a cab, and told her it was waiting, and she refused to go out.  When she finally went out the cab had left, and she called again screaming at me.  My BM finally called another cab (because apparently my sister is to good to call her own) and offered to pay for it to end the drama.  My sister showed up when we were at lunch, got lunch (which my mom paid for) and then demanded we drive her back home because the next train wasn't until 8.  We were going to go to some stores near her place, but couldn't find parking and she then decided she was too tried to park at the plaza and walk to the stores. So she just went home, never tried on a dress.  Oh, and did I mention she demanded I refund her train ticket (only $5) with the money our parents donated to my wedding fund?  If she asked, no probs.  But she demanded.  Not even a please.

Now, I am at the point where I am sick of trying to be the nice older sister trying to bring us closer.  She has become a huge burden and stressor for me and I actually tried to convince my Fiance to let me cancel the wedding and elope.  (Thankfully now, over a week later, I've decided I still want to share our wedding with those I love).

So the question is, what do I do???  Can I kick her out??  I cannot deal with her BS anymore.  She is an adult, she could at least act like on... Advice please!!!!!

B

Re: MOH rant + need advice (badly)

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    Well... let's start at the beginning.  Is this normal behavior for her?  If it is, then you can't be surprised.  Just because you now wear a ring doesn't mean she's going to be all gooey eyed, lovely little sister.

    Aside from that, this is your sister.  That is a relationship for life.  I would wager a small fortune that how she is behaving now will be small potatoes compared with how she'll behave if you kick her out of the wedding.

    Leave her in the wedding and just be happy that she shows up, sober, and wearing the correct dress.  Expect no more than that.
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    I was really hoping this would bring us closer, but its doing the opposite.

    Well, lesson learned ... asking someone to be your bridesmaid is not going to make her change or magically become a better person.

    So the question is, what do I do???  Can I kick her out??  I cannot deal with her BS anymore.  She is an adult, she could at least act like on... Advice please!!!!!

    How on earth do you think that kicking her out is going to make your life easier? That's just going to piss her off more, no? And I'd be willing to bet that your family will be pissed, too. Your wedding (and her role in it) is one day, but she'll be your sister forever. Which means, you'll be dealing with the repercussions of this forever.

    Look. I agree that she sounds like a pain. No argument there.

    However, you also sound ENTIRELY too involved in her shenanagins. She complains about something, and you play right into it. Why are you calling her and trying to beg her to do things, or pleading with her to work around your schedule? Did you actually refund her the train ticket money? If so, why? She bosses you around and treats you like crap because you allow her to.

    All she has to do is get the dress and stand in the ceremony. That is all. Beyond that, don't ask her to do anything, don't ecpect her to be excited (or even be nice), don't get upset when she's not involved. Just do your thing, let her do hers, and don't get involved in her complaints.
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    I didn't drag my BMs along to shop for my dress, and when we went shopping for theirs, I not only bought lunch for everyone, I bought two rounds of margaritas.  I've always been treated to lunch as part of any wedding-related excursion if I wasn't the bride.  Not that it makes it right of her to demand it, I'm just saying it wasn't unreasonable for her to expect it.  Especially since she had to drive OOT.

    Now let's say you boot her.  Do you really think it's going to make her see the light, beg for forgiveness, and change her ways?  No!  It's going to give her a legitimate reason to dislike you.  Right now she's being ridiculous, but if you boot her, you're going to be handing her a reason to be mean to you.  You will be making the situation worse.

    My sister was my MOH and she was a PITA from start to end.  Not being involved in wedding planning was the least of my worries.  I never booted her, and over a year later I've never once regretted making her MOH.  It wasn't always easy, but I'm very glad I was the bigger person.  Have you ever regretted being the bigger person?  That won't change now.
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    First off, I have to say I'm SURPRISED at how most people here are acting.  Take one post 

    "Honestly, if I'm going to go to another town to do stuff for someone else's wedding, I would be pretty annoyed if they didn't offer me the common decency of buying me lunch and picking me up at the train station.  You did drop the ball... You were stupid"

    What kind of person says that to someone who is going through emotional turmoil??  First off, she demanded I take her for lunch.  I also NEVER made this outing a requirement.  I had some of my friends (some BM, some not) who like clothes.  My sister always talks about her good fashion sense so I invited her along.  I was excited she said yes, and offered to go shopping closer to where she lives and for this outing I picked her up.  I had invited her because she was my sister and I thought she might want to join in on the fun.  All she had to do was say no.

    And no, its not just her that made me want to elope, but having someone call me a "f-ing b****" because I was trying to be nice and let them pick their own dresses was the straw that broke the camels back.

    Secondly, for the second trip, I offered to pick her up if she took the earlier train, but told her I couldn't if she took the afternoon train because we'd be in the middle of shopping.  

    Now, I dont know who you are, and what happened to your wedding that has left you so bitter, but I was asking for advice and help in dealing with a situation. I dont need your long barrage of insults.  No, I didnt think my sister would magically become amazing, but she likes clothes, she's older, and I thought this would give us an excuse to make time to see each other and get to know each other.  I'm happy for you if your family is just great, but mine was not.  I told her from the start I would need emotional support to deal with our parents, and she has hung up on me when I've called her crying.  

    I'd like to thank  banana468 for actually giving me advice, rather than judge me and who I am, and what my family dynamics might be based on a few paragraphs.

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    Thanks RetreadBride, that is really good advice.  I might combine things, and ask her if its too stressful being MOH and tell her I'd understand if she'd rather attend as a guest and enjoy the party more.  That way, if she has in fact changed her mind and is trying to get kicked out, she can get out peacefully, and if not I will know to ignore her as much as possible.
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    Frankly, I don't think any of the back story or details matter.  At all.  She's still going to be at the wedding.  She's still going to be at the rehearsal dinner.  She's going to be in tons of formal pictures that day.  Does it really, really make a difference if she's holding a bouquet and standing at the altar?  Really?  Because that's the only difference between a bridesmaid and a guest.  Except if you kick her out, you're going to have a prominent guest who is really, really pissed off at you for very good reason, and will probably have no interest in playing nice.

    Stop trying to make her something she's not.  Suck it up, keep her on a need-to-know basis about wedding stuff, and work on being sisters.  It sounds like you're both massive drama queens, and kicking her out of the wedding is only going to make it a billion times worse and put everyone on her side, because the bride never comes out looking good in these situations.
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    Way to quote someone out of context.  Here's what MNIN actually wrote:

    Honestly, if I'm going to go to another town to do stuff for someone else's wedding, I would be pretty annoyed if they didn't offer me the common decency of buying me lunch and picking me up at the train station.  You did drop the ball, but she's really being ugly about it.

    In any event, if she was always like that, you can't expect her to change just because it is your wedding.  You were stupid to think that asking her to be MOH would change your relationship.  The way you change a relationship is to put effort into it.  If you want to do that, put in the effort, and focus on developing a relationship with her, outside of your wedding.

    Weddings aren't magical events that can change a relationship's dynamic.  I compare a wedding to alcohol.  It's going to intensify what a person's true personality really is.

    You got some good advice, even if all of it wasn't sugar coated.
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    Maybe the problem is that you're a giant martyr.
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    Your wedding isn't until June. Maybe hold off on looking for BM dresses again until after the Holidays. They'll still have plenty of time to order them and get them altered. Most places say it'll take 3 or 4 months, but my girls got theirs in 3 or 4 weeks.

    Maybe she just doesn't like weddings. Maybe there's an element of jealousy going on. Whatever it is, don't play into it. Just give her the info, "This is the dress, this is where you can order it from, and this is the last possible date you can order it without paying a rush fee," and leave it at that.

    Your sister may just be destined to be the MOH that buys her dress and stands up next to you at the wedding, and that's fine!
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    I'm confused why my advice wasn't valid...?

    Good luck, OP.  This is your *sister*.  Seriously, remember that.
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    The PPs covered pretty much everything. Unfortunately, you learned the hard way that using weddings as a way to become closer to someone is not a good idea.  It sounds like some of this is on you, some of it your sister.  Just let it go, it's not really worth the hassle. 

    All your sister needs to do is show up wearing the dress, sober, and smile pretty for the camera and be quiet during the ceremony.  Everything else is extra, and I recommend not having high expectations.  If she doesn't get a dress, she will effectively remove herself from the WP. 
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    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_wedding-party_moh-rant-need-advice-badly?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:37Discussion:9b1b2002-dcf9-4d7f-b4b2-34a8d2a5c38dPost:adc14539-6842-4001-913d-33715af67c09">Re: MOH rant + need advice (badly)</a>:
    [QUOTE]Maybe the problem is that you're a giant martyr.
    Posted by mbcdefg[/QUOTE]

    This.

    Your sister is behaving badly.  No one is disputing that.  But YOU are the one allowing her to ruin your day.  She can't make you feel bad, she can't make you have a bad time.  Only YOU are in control of your feelings.

    If you think you'd have less stress without her, then stop asking her along to go dress shopping and do other wedding-related stuff.  She doesn't need to do anything except get the dress and stand up there with you.  I didn't get to do any of the dress shopping or wedding-related stuff with my bridesmaids.  They all live in different states.  It's not like you HAVE to bring her with you.
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    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_wedding-party_moh-rant-need-advice-badly?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:37Discussion:9b1b2002-dcf9-4d7f-b4b2-34a8d2a5c38dPost:998b8a3f-9dc3-43ef-b89e-40589de97dee">Re: MOH rant + need advice (badly)</a>:
    [QUOTE]  Now, I dont know who you are, and what happened to your wedding that has left you so bitter, but I was asking for advice and help in dealing with a situation. I dont need your long barrage of insults.  No, I didnt think my sister would magically become amazing, but she likes clothes, she's older, and I thought this would give us an excuse to make time to see each other and get to know each other.  I'm happy for you if your family is just great, but mine was not.  I told her from the start I would need emotional support to deal with our parents, and she has hung up on me when I've called her crying.   
    Posted by bflagg[/QUOTE]

    <div>You misquoted me and took the lines out of context.  There was nothing insulting there.  (Except you calling me bitter was pretty insulting.  I don't take offense, though.  I know you are just lashing out.)  </div><div>
    </div><div>Perhaps you are just emotional and trying to turn anything anyone says into a personal attack.  It is not.  I'd suggest you take a step back, go calm down, and come back and read this with fresh eyes in a few days.  You've already established that you are prone to blow things out of proportion, so this sort of emotional response is to be expected.  Everything here is good sound advice.  When you've taken the time to compose yourself and can read it objectively, I think you will see that.  </div>
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    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_wedding-party_moh-rant-need-advice-badly?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:37Discussion:9b1b2002-dcf9-4d7f-b4b2-34a8d2a5c38dPost:34577c49-3b7f-4b41-bcca-6a6c6c54d1e5">MOH rant + need advice (badly)</a>:
    [QUOTE]Allright.  So, when I got engaged, I asked my only sister to be my MOH.  I had been worried about asking her, thinking she would say no (we are only 2yrs apart, but have never been very close). I was really hoping this would bring us closer, but its doing the opposite. She is acting like a completely selfish crazy person.  She is causing me so much stress and extra work that I really do not want her as a MOH and dont even really want her in the bridal party.   We went wedding dress shopping and I invited my BM, and made it clear they didnt have to come if it was too much hassle.  My sister made a fiasco of coming, and I even drove so we were much much closer to where she was than where I live because she complained so much.  She then showed up completely hung over, and spent most of the morning complaining that we "made" her get up early.  She then basically ignored me during dress trying on, until one of my other BM took her aside and told her to at least act like she was paying attention.  When we were on our way to lunch she goes "You better be buying me lunch after making me sit through that".  Um, excuse me??? A few months after that we went looking for bridesmaids dresses.  I wanted just cute, simple black cocktail dresses that they can wear again, so once again invited all the BM if they were interested.  My sister REFUSED to come out the night before saying she had a party she wanted to go to, but then also refused to take the earlier train so she didnt show up until 1-ish (not a big deal), but the she calls me and says "You have to come pick me up now".  No hello, or hows the shopping.  Just demanded I go get her.  We were in a dressing room at the time, so I told her the store and asked her to take a cab and just come to the store (it was only 1.5miles from the station).  Apparently she didnt like that because she said "F-U" and hung up on me.  We then called her a cab, and told her it was waiting, and she refused to go out.  When she finally went out the cab had left, and she called again screaming at me.  My BM finally called another cab (because apparently my sister is to good to call her own) and offered to pay for it to end the drama.  My sister showed up when we were at lunch, got lunch (which my mom paid for) and then demanded we drive her back home because the next train wasn't until 8.  We were going to go to some stores near her place, but couldn't find parking and she then decided she was too tried to park at the plaza and walk to the stores. So she just went home, never tried on a dress.  Oh, and did I mention she demanded I refund her train ticket (only $5) with the money our parents donated to my wedding fund?  If she asked, no probs.  But she demanded.  Not even a please. Now, I am at the point where I am sick of trying to be the nice older sister trying to bring us closer.  She has become a huge burden and stressor for me and I actually tried to convince my Fiance to let me cancel the wedding and elope.  (Thankfully now, over a week later, I've decided I still want to share our wedding with those I love). So the question is, what do I do???  Can I kick her out??  I cannot deal with her BS anymore.  She is an adult, she could at least act like on... Advice please!!!!! B
    Posted by bflagg[/QUOTE]
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    I think you both need to get it together.  I see where she was being ridiculous, but I'd also be pissed at you for some of those things. 

    1 - you really couldn't leave to get her 1.5 miles away?  That's a ten-minute trip at most.  What would you have missed?  I don't think that's terribly unreasonable.  

    2 - have you ever been hungover?  I'm sure you have and I'm sure you know it's no walk in the park.  She was probably just not feeling well that day, and to back her up, I've bought my BMs lunch on numerous outings that are wedding-related.  

    I think you both need to chill out.  She's not being easy, but it sounds like you both are being more stubborn than anything.
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    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_wedding-party_moh-rant-need-advice-badly?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:37Discussion:9b1b2002-dcf9-4d7f-b4b2-34a8d2a5c38dPost:86c6cdc1-69e3-4fa6-bc86-daba8559e556">Re: MOH rant + need advice (badly)</a>:
    [QUOTE] Your mistake, although well-intentioned, was in thinking this might bring you closer together. That ship has sailed, so use it as a reminder in the future.....Don't ruin your wedding over this. let it go, and move forward.
    Posted by RetreadBride[/QUOTE]<div>
    </div><div>Agreed! Let MOH be nothing more than a title, have her stand next to you on your wedding day but simply do not involve her in your wedding planning.  Planning a wedding is stressful enough, no need to add extra drama. </div><div>
    </div><div>Best of luck!

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