Hi
everyone,
I am mostly a lurker on here, occasional poster, and I was hoping for some
opinions on a situation that has arisen with my sister's upcoming wedding this
July. Here is the backstory:
My uncle and aunt (she was my mom's oldest sister) were married for over 30
years when my aunt passed away 3 years ago. She had been diagnosed with a rare
neurological condition but was on medication and seemed to be doing okay even
if she was not her "usual" self anymore. Both my aunt and uncle
attended my wedding and seemed to have a good time, then a few days later my
uncle came home and found her dead on the floor. It was a huge shock to my
whole family, especially my grandmother, who is still very sad about losing her
daughter so unexpectedly. My uncle was devastated of course and refused to date for some time,
but about a year ago (two years after her death) he did start dating again
after being encouraged by my mom. She told him he would always be a part of our
family no matter what and she did not want him to have to be alone for the rest
of his life. While my mom has been supportive of my uncle dating again, many of
my relatives are still too upset about my aunt's death to feel the same. They have told my uncle
that they are not going to stop him from seeing other women but they do not
want to meet anyone he dates, and it is clear they are really not comfortable
with him having girlfriends.
So then we come to my sister's wedding. I have read enough posts on TK to know
that SO's are always supposed to be invited to weddings except in rare
situations such as people who may be violent or hurt other guests, so to me it
seems that uncle's girlfriend should be invited. However, my mom has said that
because so many relatives are upset about his dating again my uncle is being
invited by himself, not with his girlfriend. I was wondering if I could get
some opinions from the folks on here: am I right that his girlfriend should be
invited no matter what, or should she not be invited to respect the family's
wishes?
