Wedding Etiquette Forum

Issues with Parents, HELP!

My fiancé has had a very rocky past with his family.  He went for many years, including the four that we have been together, without speaking to his mother.  He does have a relationship with his father and step-mother.  All of a sudden, he has felt this longing to have his mother involved in our wedding planning.  I have been fully supportive and told him to do what he is comfortable with, and that I would back him up.  His mother, however, seems to create a fight and berate him every chance she gets.  When he called her to say that we should have dinner and discuss her involvement, she tried to yell about how he was punishing her for things she never did (including a very recent drug charge).  I have tried to gently ask him if he really wants his mother there (when he never has before) or if he is enamored with the IDEA of his mother being involved.  He is never able to give an answer.

Personally, his mother has been very, very awful to him.  She is abusive, an alcoholic... you name it.  It deeply hurts me every time I see how she makes him feel about himself.  He's worked so hard to get over her mental abuse.  I honestly don't want her involved because she loves fights and goes out of her way to ruin things my fiancé loves.  But, I want to support him.  I just know that if we invite her, she will come, and she will make it her purpose in life to ruin the event.  She's even stated as such.

We are making a guest list, and I don't know the best way to handle this... HELP!

Re: Issues with Parents, HELP!

  • I would invite her to the wedding but stop trying to involve her in the wedding planning as she obviously isn't interested and would rather take the chance to guilt your FI.
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  • doeydo said:
    I would invite her to the wedding but stop trying to involve her in the wedding planning as she obviously isn't interested and would rather take the chance to guilt your FI.
    I agree.  It doesn't sound like she will contribute anything positive to the wedding, but since your FI wants her that I'd do that much.
  • nicolea19 said:
    My fiancé has had a very rocky past with his family.  He went for many years, including the four that we have been together, without speaking to his mother.  He does have a relationship with his father and step-mother.  All of a sudden, he has felt this longing to have his mother involved in our wedding planning.  I have been fully supportive and told him to do what he is comfortable with, and that I would back him up.  His mother, however, seems to create a fight and berate him every chance she gets.  When he called her to say that we should have dinner and discuss her involvement, she tried to yell about how he was punishing her for things she never did (including a very recent drug charge).  I have tried to gently ask him if he really wants his mother there (when he never has before) or if he is enamored with the IDEA of his mother being involved.  He is never able to give an answer.

    Personally, his mother has been very, very awful to him.  She is abusive, an alcoholic... you name it.  It deeply hurts me every time I see how she makes him feel about himself.  He's worked so hard to get over her mental abuse.  I honestly don't want her involved because she loves fights and goes out of her way to ruin things my fiancé loves.  But, I want to support him.  I just know that if we invite her, she will come, and she will make it her purpose in life to ruin the event.  She's even stated as such.

    We are making a guest list, and I don't know the best way to handle this... HELP!
    I disagree with PPs. I would NOT invite her to the wedding. And I would be explicitly clear with her that her behavior is what's gotten her not invited and that if she tries to show up, you'll have her escorted off the premises.

    Last week, my FI had to call his father and tell him that they (father and mother) could attend the ceremony, but not the reception, of our wedding. (Our wedding is in a church; we can't actually deny them entry to the church, but we absolutely can deny them entry to the reception).

    FI's relationship with his parents is a lot like what you describe with your FI and his mother; they were awful to him, but he has this idealised version of what it SHOULD BE LIKE in his head, and he wanted to believe that our wedding would change decades of their poor behaviour. It didn't.

    He went back and forth on inviting them before finally deciding against it, mostly because he knows that they can't be trusted to behave, his father is a giant douchebag, and his mother would likely cause a scene.

    I'm not thrilled that they're coming to the ceremony, but I can't prevent it, so I can hope for the best, and have security in case they get violent (a not unreasonable fear).
    Anniversary

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    I'm gonna go with 'not my circus, not my monkeys.'
  • Inviting her as a guest and including her in the planning are VERY different. He needs to stop discussing the wedding with her because it is giving her power to manipulate him.

    But I would absolutely invite her as a guest.

    I'm sorry your FI is going through this.



    Anniversary
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  • I'm not so sure I'd invite her, but then again I also go back and forth with whether or not I want to invite my dad. 

    :( Sometimes family is toxic, and the best thing you can do is cut them out of your life. It isn't easy. That has to be a decision your FI makes. At the very least, get him to agree to cut her out of the planning. But whether or not she's invited comes down to him. 
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    Anniversary
  • Make sure to let your fiancé know that you support him no matter what his decision is.  Offer advice if he wants it and emotional supports if he needs it.  My husband's family is also very difficult and he did struggle with inviting his mother.  She is known to pick fights at events with other family members.  He ended up inviting her but made it very clear to her that she would be escorted out of the building if she so much as raised her voice.  We didn't have to make good on that, but we were prepared to if needed

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