I've been so excited to check the mail every day to see if we got any response cards back! So far, we've gotten almost twenty! But today, I was very sad to see that a few of my family members won't be able to make it.
I need to give a little backstory before I go on. I currently live in Louisiana. I moved from New England about ten years ago with my family. Pretty much all of my extended family still lives up there, and I have visited fifteen times since we moved. After high school, I started paying for my own plane tickets and everything, but I still managed to get myself up there for at least a week a year. My family and I, especially my grandma, are EXTREMELY close. We are not your average family; we actually look forward to family reunions instead of dread them. Visiting them is always the highlight of my year, and it always ends in tears. Since we have moved, my grandparents have come down every year, but only one of my aunts and her daughter have come down. This honestly makes me a little sad, knowing that we/I have invited everyone numerous times and offered them a place to stay (I live about an hour away from my parents).
Here is what I have so far:
Both my grandparents will be attending, of course.
One of my aunts will be coming with her daughter, but probably only because her daughter is my flower girl. Her husband, college-aged son, and toddler son will not be coming, which I understand.
The other aunt who will be coming is coming, again, because her daughter is in the wedding. Her husband and son will not.
Another aunt/uncle declined. I asked their son, who adores my fiance, to be our ring bearer, and they NEVER gave me a clear answer until now.
And three more sets of aunts/uncles declined.
I understand that a few of them simply do not have the money to spend on plane tickets, etc. But a few of the others are acting like they simply cannot be bothered to come. One of these families plans at least two (expensive) family trips a year. My mom suggested they make this one of their family trips, but they didn't like that idea. I would think it would be a fun trip to make to experience New Orleans! Now, these people have never been to New Orleans, and obviously they might have some misconceptions about it. We do not live IN New Orleans; where we live is just as safe as any other town.
Now, the reason this makes me so upset is because of the time and money I know I have spent specifically to visit these family members, who always seem to enjoy my visits, and yet they can't be bothered to do the same? They have not visited us once since we moved, so I thought maybe my wedding would be the event to get us all together. Yes, I know there might be other things going on, but they could at least explain! I am the first child in my generation of the family to get married. Mind you, I am still trying to finish my schooling and am as broke as can be, but I still bought a plane ticket to come see them for Christmas! Most of them have only met my fiance once, and he is joining the marines in August, so he won't be able to come with me for Christmas.
One more point is that I ACTUALLY MOVED THE DATE OF MY WEDDING UP A MONTH for these people because they told me they wouldn't be able to make it otherwise, as kids get out of school in late June up north.
Again, I want to express that I am not ignorant to financial issues, as I have plenty myself, and I do not want to come across as b*tchy, but these are family members who I consider my nearest and dearest, and if I could, I would do anything to help them attend...
I guess I am not looking for advice. I know there's nothing I can do. I just needed to vent because I can't talk to anyone else about this!