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Wedding Etiquette Forum

Should I bite my tongue or say something?

My FI and I are in the early stages of planning and wrote our first draft of the guest list with the intent to go back over it later to see if we missed anyone.  I adore my guy and all the people in his life, but he added a couple to our list that I hadn't thought of on my own and now I'm in a predicament.  The couple is from our church, and "Joe" was FI's first boss almost 10 years ago, so there's a nostalgic connection there, and while "Joe" has been welcoming to me since day 1 (4 years ago), but his wife "Jane" is another story.  We see them nearly every week at church in passing, and a few weeks ago when we announced our engagement, Joe came up to congratulate us and Jane was noticeably agitated until she introduced herself, interrupting the conversation. And when Joe corrected her saying that of course she's met us before, she proceeded to argue with him right in front of us. For the rest of the morning we received dirty looks from her every time she walked by. 
She is generally a very abrasive person who is always ready with a biting remark, so I  usually just smile and keep the chit chat short, however I was completely stunned by this last encounter. Here's the kicker, she's a 40-something businesswoman, not a senile elderly woman.  Every time I walk away from a conversation with her I feel so uncomfortable, and it makes my stomach twist to think about sending them an invitation. Am I completely in the wrong? We have no contact with them outside of church and the (few) other families we are inviting from church are much more invested in our lives, I just don't want to hurt my FI's by bringing this up. 


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Re: Should I bite my tongue or say something?

  • if you can afford to have them at your wedding and your husband really would like them to be there, I would say you should invite them. He also gets a say in the guest list. You should really talk about it with him.
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  • You should talk to your FI about not inviting the couple.  If you really have that strong of an opinion, you should at least tell him how you feel.  See what he says.  If he still wants to invite them more than you don't want to invite them, at least he'll know how you feel about it.  If you're inviting a lot of other people whom you would think of as in the same "circle" as the couple, it might go better to invite them and realize that you'll probably spend at most 5 minutes talking to them the entire night.
  • Rebl90 said:
    My FI and I are in the early stages of planning and wrote our first draft of the guest list with the intent to go back over it later to see if we missed anyone.  I adore my guy and all the people in his life, but he added a couple to our list that I hadn't thought of on my own and now I'm in a predicament.  The couple is from our church, and "Joe" was FI's first boss almost 10 years ago, so there's a nostalgic connection there, and while "Joe" has been welcoming to me since day 1 (4 years ago), but his wife "Jane" is another story.  We see them nearly every week at church in passing, and a few weeks ago when we announced our engagement, Joe came up to congratulate us and Jane was noticeably agitated until she introduced herself, interrupting the conversation. And when Joe corrected her saying that of course she's met us before, she proceeded to argue with him right in front of us. For the rest of the morning we received dirty looks from her every time she walked by. 
    She is generally a very abrasive person who is always ready with a biting remark, so I  usually just smile and keep the chit chat short, however I was completely stunned by this last encounter. Here's the kicker, she's a 40-something businesswoman, not a senile elderly woman.  Every time I walk away from a conversation with her I feel so uncomfortable, and it makes my stomach twist to think about sending them an invitation. Am I completely in the wrong? We have no contact with them outside of church and the (few) other families we are inviting from church are much more invested in our lives, I just don't want to hurt my FI's by bringing this up. 


    If your FI wants them there, he wants them there. The wedding belongs to both of you. Have a conversation with him about it (after all, you are marrying the guy, you should be able to be open about everything), but I honestly wouldn't push too hard on this issue. 

    Keep in mind that on the actual day, you'll likely only see this woman for the whole 15 seconds it takes you to say, "Thank you for coming! We're so glad you could make it!" 

    In my opinion, the amount you'll see her on your wedding day (minimal) is not worth starting a debate FI. But you know your relationship best. 
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  • I'd say if it's someone your FI really wants to invite, you're stuck. On the plus side, I honestly doubt you'll even notice her presence on your wedding day. You will be so happy and so busy that you don't have to spend any time with her (other than a quick "thanks for coming"). It's nothing I'd make a big deal out of.
  • I think since your FI has a relationship with Joe from the past and still considers him a friend that you should invite them. You won't even notice her after you greet them at your wedding. Be the bigger person.

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  • Grabows14 said:
    if you can afford to have them at your wedding and your husband really would like them to be there, I would say you should invite them. He also gets a say in the guest list. You should really talk about it with him.
    Oh I hope I didn't mean to imply that I didn't think he should get a say!  My FI created the guest list with input from me the first time around. He has the larger social circle and family so it is important to me that he has who he wants there :) I'm not too concerned about 2 more guests, its simply the fact that in the four years I've known them she's never so much as smiled at me despite everything I've tried, and her husband only asks my FI "how's work going?" every week. That's the depth of the relationship, They're not really friends of ours when it comes down to it, and they are not close to any of the other couples we are inviting from church. I think my FI wants to be nice but she makes me very uncomfortable. 
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  • You should talk to your FI about not inviting the couple.  If you really have that strong of an opinion, you should at least tell him how you feel.  See what he says.  If he still wants to invite them more than you don't want to invite them, at least he'll know how you feel about it.  If you're inviting a lot of other people whom you would think of as in the same "circle" as the couple, it might go better to invite them and realize that you'll probably spend at most 5 minutes talking to them the entire night.
    Thank you, I just didn't want to bring it up with him if it wasn't really an issue, but it's probably a great opportunity to work on our communication as a couple :)
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  • @rebl90 you have a great attitude. I would talk to your FI. Maybe he has a reason he really wants to invite this guy. Either way, I agree with the above, you can be the bigger person. I guarantee having her there will not ruin your day.
  • How far are you from sending save the dates or invitations? Give them some time, and if you need to make some cuts when you get closer, you two can sit down and figure out who can go. I would not bring up this story, however, as it may come off wrong or rub him the wrong way. If he wants them now, just add them to the list.
  • I get it- you don't always want to invite everyone to your wedding that you 'have' to. It sounds like you know this, but just don't want to face it. You'll literally see her for 30 seconds. I promise you won't care when it comes down to it. 
  • @Lored, Thank you, I love having these boards as a resource for the instances when I think that I have a good idea and can find out that I'm mistaken before I offend any guests/family/ or members of the wedding party. 

    @zobird, I think we're waiting until mid October for the save the date, so there is definitely time, that is an excellent point that didn't even cross my mind, thank you! He did bring up the encounter when we went out to lunch after, so I while he did notice it, I don't think it bothered him so I should probably not create any more thought about it for him.

    I think at the end of the day it probably won't matter, and my FI's feelings are more important to me than my own, so I'd much rather have him comfortable and surrounded by the people he wants there on that day.  (And if she can't remember our names after  4 years of knowing us, she may throw out the invite anyway!  :p )

    Thanks for the perspective ladies! 
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  • @misssunshine17, I hadn't really thought about the short amount of time I would be spending with each guest, it's so helpful to know, it really lessens my concern about it.  
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  • Rebl90 said:
    My FI and I are in the early stages of planning and wrote our first draft of the guest list with the intent to go back over it later to see if we missed anyone.  I adore my guy and all the people in his life, but he added a couple to our list that I hadn't thought of on my own and now I'm in a predicament.  The couple is from our church, and "Joe" was FI's first boss almost 10 years ago, so there's a nostalgic connection there, and while "Joe" has been welcoming to me since day 1 (4 years ago), but his wife "Jane" is another story.  We see them nearly every week at church in passing, and a few weeks ago when we announced our engagement, Joe came up to congratulate us and Jane was noticeably agitated until she introduced herself, interrupting the conversation. And when Joe corrected her saying that of course she's met us before, she proceeded to argue with him right in front of us. For the rest of the morning we received dirty looks from her every time she walked by. 
    She is generally a very abrasive person who is always ready with a biting remark, so I  usually just smile and keep the chit chat short, however I was completely stunned by this last encounter. Here's the kicker, she's a 40-something businesswoman, not a senile elderly woman.  Every time I walk away from a conversation with her I feel so uncomfortable, and it makes my stomach twist to think about sending them an invitation. Am I completely in the wrong? We have no contact with them outside of church and the (few) other families we are inviting from church are much more invested in our lives, I just don't want to hurt my FI's by bringing this up. 


    I agree, that is really bizarre. However, there could be a chance that she may have a mental health problem or disorder with social interactions. You do not have to be elderly to have memory or social interaction problems. I'm not saying what she is doing is ok (and she may just be a jerk), but in order for you to get over your "stomach in knots" reaction try to reframe your approach to her when you see them. Say to yourself "Jane may have a serious condition that makes her this way. Let's do our best to support Joe by just ignoring her behaviour whilst they goes through this as he has always been really friendly to us!". I'm not excusing her behaviour, but it just seems a little "off" and she may have a range of mental health or social issues that is making her this way. As you said, Joe has always been great to you both, so maybe try to give them the benefit of the doubt and let her harsh behaviour just roll off of you like water off a duck's back.
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