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Flame Princess
Dedicated April 2021

Introverted + People Pleasing Mess

Flame Princess, on January 8, 2020 at 11:41 AM Posted in Family and Relationships 0 11
We are still in the early stages of guest list making, and our venue holds 100 comfortably. I can barely think of 25 people. Of those 25, I know half of them wont come because travel (IN > ME) and most have, or are currently expecting. Ive been a HUGE introvert my entire life and was largely a loner in school, so I dont have that BFF ride or die squad so many other ladies have. (If you have them, cherish them.) Towards the end of high school I was still a loner, but VERY confident, which helped but not really since the girls I wanted to be friends with and I ended up intimidated by each other. I feel like this is still the trend. Adult friendships are outrageously difficult to start, and because of this I literally have one friend. Every other attempt in adult friendships is making plans we both know arent gonna happen, "Ill text you," and then nothing. Lather rinse repeat. Work pals are not an option since theyre all decently older than me and we dont really click outside our business personalities. My father died a long time ago, and over time that extended family stopped talking to me, and I have been taken off the family tree according to some cousins. My dads friends also forget he had three daughters, not two. My paternal grandpa is in early dementia and doesnt know who I am. I know this is going to bother FFIL since he seems to put a lot of worth on the giving away part of the ceremony. I dont want anyone to do it if my grandpa cant.


My FH on the other hand is crazy opposite. He has like four ride or die groups of friends and a whole family that knows who he is, complete with long time family friends! One of his groomsmen said something a while back that idk how to let go of: "if someone doesnt have a lot of friends that means theres something wrong with them and theres a reason no one wants to hang around them." I dont think he knows my social standing. Maybe there is something wrong with me?
Now, for the first time in a long time, Im scared of what people are gonna think of me when 80% of attendance is "his side" and I dont really have anyone. My own grandma isnt coming because she doesnt want to travel just in case one of her dogs suddenly dies. Im even planning on inviting my college roommate, whom I dont really talk to; we're just supportive of each other on social media. (Bad idea? Flow charts from pinterest say yes but Im desperate.) I just dont want those who do show up to feel out of place.
Im also scared some of his other friends are going to try to "fix me" like theyve joked about in the past. Are brides just not allowed to be introverted people? Its not like Im gonna hide/ recharge my social battery all night. Its my wedding and I would really love to have some fun. I also dont want to get sloppy hammered so my extroverted drunk side comes out and stays out.
Btw worth noting: the reason the wedding is in maine is because that is his home state and where we are moving to this summer to eventually start our family.

11 Comments

Latest activity by Coral, on January 8, 2020 at 8:17 PM
  • V
    Champion July 2019
    Veronica ·
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    I have a very small family and not a lot of friends either so most of the wedding guests were my husband so I totally understand. What about your mom's side of the family? You only mentioned your dad's side so I wasn't sure about your mom's.
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  • Kristen
    Master November 2020
    Kristen ·
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    Hi hi. I do not really understand your question? Are you questioning having a fun wedding with you being an introvert?

    If so it is fine. I am your FH and my FH is you. That's why we are not having a full wedding ceremony because he does not like attention. He has friends but he does not hang with them all the time while I have my ride or dies and acquaintances. If he has his boys he can have his party while you have one or just two bridesmaids or MOH's. You could do a small ceremony and then a larger reception but it is ok if you do not have a ton of girls or family attend your wedding. You do not need to. The day is about you two and your love regardless of how you do it. I would say make the reception chill. We want to do a post elopement party but casual so I am thinking music, food and some games for people to play.

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  • Meghan
    Super September 2019
    Meghan ·
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    I can relate somewhat. I was worried our wedding would be really off balance in terms of guestlist. All of my family (except my parents) live out of state, so I knew a good chunk wouldn't be able to make it. And I haven't really made any new friends since high school, at least not ones that weren't friends with H first so I technically consider them his friends more. Pretty much all of my friends were in the bridal party. I think I invited 2 other friends and one of them couldn't make it. So yeah, a lot of the invitees and guests were from H's side. Thinking about it before the wedding it bummed me out sometimes. But day of the wedding it didn't really matter. I don't think anyone really noticed or cared how many people were there from what side.

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  • Flame Princess
    Dedicated April 2021
    Flame Princess ·
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    My moms side is a little spread thin due to older generations dying and the new generations started being born a little later than normal. Theres an odd age gap between me and my cousins, which had me and my brother the babies for awhile. Then my aunt and mom both had twins when I was 12, so they became the babies. The older cousins are parents to small children now, but are not likely to travel.


    My maternal grandparents, mom, sisters, brother + gf, aunt and family are coming. No idea about my aunts oldest being able to travel, although I dont trust her or her husband to bite her tongue about Donald Trump and their beliefs, especially since she gets the "i can say anything I want" bug once shes been drinking. Literally no one wants to hear about hot button politics at a wedding. I refuse for it to become that kind of night. Also no idea on my maternal uncle whom made a point not to learn my name and has called me "Sallys kid" for 27 years. I just know my grandma would be upset if I didnt invite him.
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  • Amber
    Devoted January 2022
    Amber ·
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    Your situation sounds very similar to mine. I have always been very introverted I have a few very close friends that I lived with in college but they’re pretty far away so we don’t see each other often. I don’t have a relationship with my father or that side of the family. My FH on the other has a ton of friends and family. A lot of which are also currently getting engaged and married. To be honest I’m overwhelmed by the number of weddings coming up. He is having a hard time picking groomsmen because he can name at least 10 people and he is trying to narrow it down to 7. Our current guest list is 115 not including ourselves and vendors. Only 25 are mine. We’re still 2 years out so the numbers may change. The groomsman that says people who don’t have friends have something wrong with them just doesn’t understand what it’s like. I wouldn’t worry about it not looking like you have noone on your side everyone that attends will be there to celebrate the both of you. I would definitely recommend a pick a seat not a side sign. If you’re utilizing chairs for the ceremony I would make sure there aren’t too many extra so that people sit on both sides and not just one. I understand this may not be possible if you’re having a church ceremony, but if you’re worried about uneven sides you can have an usher directing people to their seats.
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  • V
    Champion July 2019
    Veronica ·
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    If you are going to invite your aunt's oldest child, I would make sure to sit her by people with similar beliefs so she doesn't offend anyone. My family has very strong beliefs as well, but I made sure to talk to them prior to let them know that I didn't want the wedding to turn into a political war. If you know that your grandma is going to be upset and you want to have people from your side there then I would invite them as well as his significant other if he has one. You could also check with your mom to see if there is anyone in particular that she thinks that you should invite to the wedding. Parents often feel certain people should be invited.

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  • Mcskipper
    Master July 2018
    Mcskipper ·
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    Stop Worrying About This.


    I know that’s easier said than done, but I promise you this is something that no one else will think about / care about / notice but you. For starters, no one else really knows who is who at a wedding. Like, of course my whole extended family knew they were on “my” side because they all know eachother, but, they didn’t know who anyone else “belonged” to. Most weddings I’ve been to, I’ve only known the handful of people I know, and don’t have any clue who else anyone is except for the few people I mingling with ....and ...those are also frankly the only people I care about. “is there someone here I can mingle with? You ? Okay done, great” and then I don’t really care who anyone else is. Of course YOU know who goes with who, but no one else does and no one else cares.
    BEYOND that, the whole point of this event is the coming together, the joining of groups and families. It doesn’t matter who started on which side , at the end of the day you’re all one big group bonded together through your marriage! It’s not mine versus his, it’s ours.
    I have only 3 very close friends (not all local) and my husband has loads of friends , so whenever we host anything it’s all his friends and sometimes I’m all “lol let me invite my one friend” . His favorite argument is they’re my friends too, and it is true that I find them great company and enjoy hanging out with them but I have my “it’s not the same/I didn’t make them” moments....except, at this point , that isn’t really even fair anymore. Sure they have their core friend group but through relationships and such and meeting friends through friends , there are people I’m closer to and people I consider my own friends. Sure I wouldn’t have met them without him, and sure I’m not necessarily calling them nightly to gossip, but, we’re friends. They didn’t come to our wedding to support my husband. They came to support US. ❤️
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  • Kathryn
    VIP August 2020
    Kathryn ·
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    Girl, I got engaged and my FH went "I want 4 groomsmen!" And my reaction was "well ok. Maybe I should make a craigslist ad'. There's nothing wrong with you!! Making friends as an adult is difficult, and most people struggle with connecting. I resorted to a college roommate who was kind of like "we haven't talked in uh, two years, you sure?" And my stepsister who has already flaked due to the travel and buying her dress and her husband being rude. Honestly, don't worry about being an introvert - just focus on making your wedding your day. It'll be perfect if you're happy and married to the love of your life.
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  • A
    Super February 2020
    Andrea ·
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    I think you are overthinking this. Don't let other people tell you what to do. You are who are you and you shouldn't be ashamed or worried about it. If you are happy with the amount of people you are inviting and who they are then let it be. You don't need to be sifting through your rolodex to add more people because you feel like you need to. Just invite those who matter.

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  • Flame Princess
    Dedicated April 2021
    Flame Princess ·
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    I wish I could tag you all instead of making a ton of time consuming replies, but thank you all. You all said something different and brought me back down to earth. I also know now that Im not really alone on this which takes pressure off to have an elaborate party.


    Each and every one of you are what makes this a great community.
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  • Coral
    Dedicated October 2020
    Coral ·
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    I am extremely introverted, struggle with social anxiety, and lost almost all of my friend groups because I moved, changed my life drastically, or outgrew them. So I feel you! I Man of Honor is actually my FH's friend from high school that kind of welcomed me with open arms when we started dating. I had just moved to their area, a small, poor, rural area that they grew up in. I have one girl from high school with that isnt "ride or die" but we are still friends. I was her bridesmaid last summer and she is one of my bridesmaids. The other is one of my FH's girl cousins. I only have 2 other close friends. One is officiating and one is just hoping he returns from deployment in time. I have no other friends and about 7 family members to invite. All the remaining guests (total is 75) are my fiance's friends and family. I'm accepting it because his family loved and supports me and I dont want to invite someone I don't like just to fill space.
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