Our wedding is in November. It's going to be an outdoor ceremony, but the reception will be indoors and it's going to be a small, intimate group of guests. My future father-in-law is currently undergoing chemo for stage 4 cancer, which, obviously, puts him at very high-risk for not only COVID, but also the flu. He is planning to only attend the ceremony and to avoid mingling before or after. Even so, we want to require all of our guests to wear masks to avoid exposing not only him, directly, but also family members who will come in contact with him after the wedding. It shouldn't be a problem, except that I have two family members, specifically, who I know are likely to refuse to wear a mask. One is my uncle who is, frankly, a jerk and doesn't like any semblance of being to be told what to do and the other is my grandfather who is all about the MAGA. I'm not close to either of them, but my aunt is giving my bridal luncheon and I am close with my grandmother; so, inviting my aunt and my grandmother means putting up with my uncle and grandfather.
I know if my uncle or grandfather or anyone else flat out refuses to wear a mask, it will upset not only me and my FH, but all of his family. My FH and his brothers will not hesitate to tell them to leave and I can just see that causing a scene because my uncle and grandfather ARE that selfish and immature. I do not want to deal with that on my wedding day!
I am thinking of asking other family members who are closer to them to let them know masks are mandatory and we'd rather them not come at all than come refusing to wear a mask. Even though most of my family is conservative and don't take this virus as seriously as they should, imo, they're reasonable enough to understand how important it is to be especially careful when it comes to my FIL.
We're planning to put an insert with our invitations letting guests know masks are required and letting them know that one will be provided if they don't have one. What I need advice on is how to convey how earnestly serious we are about this requirement while still being polite and not off-putting. After all, the vast majority of our invited guests will comply without a problem. We're just worried a few may take it as more of a suggestion or either ignore it altogether, thinking their rights are more important than my FIL's health and safety. Any suggestions on wording for this portion of the invitations and any other advice on how to handle this situation is welcome.
It's sad dealing with family has to be so sticky sometimes!
