Q. – We’re working on our guest list and want to know if we have to invite all of my family members to my wedding, even if I’m not close to them?
A. – It’s your wedding, so technically, you can invite (or not invite) whoever you want.
That said, you need to consider the following:
1) Do you not want to invite this person simply because you just don’t like him, or does it go deeper than that? Is the reason you’re not close to this person because the two of you just “don’t click,” is there more serious “bad blood” between you, or is the person in question a “toxic” person?
2) Think about how leaving this person off the guest list is going to affect any future family get-togethers. Will other family members brush it off with a simple “meh,” or will you be hearing about this for years to come?
3) How will this affect other family members? Will this cause friction between the family members who are invited and those who aren’t? Will it cause friction between you and the family members who are invited (for example, step-parent or aunt who are invited, but a step-sibling or cousin who aren’t)?
[ctt template=”1″ link=”1a6I6″ via=”yes” ]It’s your wedding, so technically, you can invite (or not invite) whoever you want.[/ctt]
Remember that your actions carry consequences, so be prepared to deal with them. Some people thrive on drama, and this certainly is fodder. Be realistic about your expectations of what will happen if you don’t invite that particular person, and be prepared to hear about it.
By all means, stand your ground if you do choose not to invite a particular family member. Also, don’t get into a drawn out explanation of why they weren’t invited with those who object to this decision. A simple “We understand that this may upset some people, but we’ve made the difficult decision not to invite them to our wedding. The decision is final, and we are no longer going to talk about this.”
Although, it’s your wedding and you can invite (or not invite) whoever you want, unless the reason for not wanting to invite this person is serious in nature, this is most likely a time for you to take the high road and include this other family member on the guest list.
Hearts, Joy, Love!
Jean
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