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Just Said Yes April 2019

Struggling to decide to elope or have a small wedding w/ family

Katlyn, on April 24, 2019 at 12:12 AM Posted in Planning 0 4
Hi everyone!
My name is Katlyn. My fiancé and I have been engaged for 7 years, together 9. We have been busy the last few years and have been happy to wait for our big day. We were 17 years old when we started dating now 26. This past year we have been discussing wedding details. We both have been bouncing around the idea if it would be better to have a destination wedding with just us two or a small wedding with family and friends. The hardest part about this, is that both of our immediate family members are difficult. My parents just divorced a year ago and are not on good terms. My younger brothers and I talk occasionally but aren’t super close. My fiancé’s mom is deceased and his father is an alcoholic. Aside from that, some of our aunts and uncles and grandparents are the high light of our life and we really want some family members to be there. I don’t know what to do because there’s a small chunk of them that are going to be negative the whole day. That just happens to be our parents and siblings. ☹️ I can tell my fiancé is having a hard time thinking about this and I am as well. We are paying 100% for wedding. Part of me wants to just have it be us and the other makes me feel bad because I’m the only daughter and probably the only wedding my parents would be able to experience. If there is any advice anyone can give me to help me go about this in a positive/mature way. Please help. Thank you so much.
Katlyn ❤️

4 Comments

Latest activity by Alexis, on April 24, 2019 at 1:35 PM
  • L
    Devoted June 2019
    LaShonda ·
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    Elope n do big reception or house party if u having trouble deciding who to invite to destination wedding. Also it will be wayyy less stressful n save u a whole lot more... I'm too deep in thousands of dollars to change my plans
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  • Lc
    Super September 2018
    Lc ·
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    It’s YOUR wedding. You don’t owe it to your family to have a big wedding just because you’re the only daughter. Yeah, I probably would be bummed too but ONLY if I had a very close relationship with my daughter. And if that were the case I’d hope she would tell me beforehand. So do what you really want to do and if that’s eloping, do it! That’s what I did lol.
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  • Pirate & 60s Bride
    Legend March 2017
    Pirate & 60s Bride ·
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    Hmm... with so many challenging immediate family members I’d vote for eloping then host a nice brunch or dinner out with them at a restaurant after you’re back (including your fun aunts/uncles & a few dear friends). You can wear wedding attire again if you wish, and even hire a photographer for 30 minutes to snap some photos.

    Hosting a wedding is stressful and unless you & your fiance want it, then skip it (and any drama) to elope at any dream destination you wish. 💕
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  • Alexis
    Expert June 2021
    Alexis ·
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    We struggled with a similar situation, but the issue for us was mainly that the size of my immediate family is much too large to be considered an elopement, which is what we wanted. We just wanted to pick a spot in a beautiful outdoor location, have a ceremony, and be done with it, but we also wanted our parents and siblings there. I didn't feel it was fair to exclude my FH's immediate family (literally only like 3 people) because my family was so big (24 people), so we're doing an elopement style intimate ceremony. We're still having a party afterwards on a later date for extended family and friends. We could've just invited everyone to that and done it alone, but we couldn't bear not to have our nearest and dearest with us for the ceremony.


    It's truly your decision. Whatever will make you happiest. I understand having difficult family members as my parents are also divorced, and my family in Ohio with my mom don't care for my dad and vice versa. I'm still inviting them all and hoping they can be around each other cordially for a 30 minute (if that) ceremony. At the same time, I'm not inviting everyone because I feel like I owe it to them. If you want people there, invite them. If you truly don't and would rather just avoid it all by doing it alone, then go for it! You can still have some sort of celebration after to invite them to.

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