Family not happy with us getting married

I agree with Theresa ^ about discussing how similar pagan & Christian religions are, how similar your ceremony will be to a SB wedding, etc.

Believe me, I've officiated ceremonies of about every combination you can think of. The guests are usually happy because there is usually something that is familiar to them.

Can I ask what you two do for a living?

Other than the religion bit, this is just how things went for my first marriage. My grandparents said spiteful, mean things about XH and were extremely unspoortive of us getting married. Guess what? They were right. I'm not saying that is the case in your situation, but I think at least stepping back and looking at the big picture is warranted. I wish I'd done that.

If you can still say you honestly want to get married and it's the best decision for you, go on without them. You need to make the decision that is best for you, not the one they want you to make. If they stand in the way of that, it's their loss.

MY FH's parents do not support us getting married, and they are in turn not coming to our wedding - it is a difficult reality for my FH to accept, but he knows it is for the best. They have tons of issues (like mental issues), but she claims to be extremely religious. FH was raised being religious, although his mom believes all churches are wrong - so she basically preaches her own thing, but it came out while FH was in college that he is atheist. His parents blame that on me (which I didn't know him at the time this came out), but they refuse to think that his change in beliefs had anything to do with them (which it did).

The only thing you can do is to try and sit down with your family and find out what their concerns really are and try to work through whatever comes up. However, if this doesn't work, you're going to have to make some decisions and deal with the ramifications. Just make sure before making any decisions, that your FH is truly the one you are meant to be with - otherwise, things may get too difficult, and you'll end up calling it quits. And trust me, it can get VERY VERY difficult.

Thanks for everyone's advice. We know it's an uphill battle and we appreciate the support. We'll update as we get closer to the day. =)

Good luck!