I Expelled My Aunt from My Wedding after She Travelled across the Globe to Attend It

A French woman took to Reddit to seek opinions on whether she was wrong for disinviting her aunt from her after-wedding celebrations, despite the aunt having travelled across the globe to be there.

A French bride, who was marrying her South African husband, faced a difficult situation involving her aunt during her wedding weekend. The couple had diligently planned a small, private wedding at a secluded savanna reserve in South Africa, inviting just 30 guests, including 13 who traveled from France.

They wanted to ensure that only their nearest and dearest attended the wedding and the pool party the day after. The bride and groom rented a lodge to accommodate some of their guests for the weekend. The lodge could house 10 people.

In a gesture of goodwill, the bride invited an aunt she hadn’t spoken to in eight years, hoping to reconcile past issues. This decision was made even though the wedding’s intimate setting didn’t include plus-ones. The bride informed her aunt that she was invited, but her husband and child were not, as the couple didn’t know them. However, there were many family members at the wedding with whom the aunt would feel comfortable.

The aunt’s insistence on bringing her family led to a year-long campaign from both the aunt and the bride’s mother, which the bride resisted, highlighting the personal and intimate nature of the ceremony. Regardless of this, the bride’s aunt acted on her own when the wedding day arrived.

The bride’s aunt booked tickets not only for herself but also for her family, arguing that because other guests had RSVP’d with declines, there was room for her husband and child. The bride was stunned but offered a compromise, allowing the aunt’s family to attend the pool party the day after the wedding, but not the ceremony itself.

On the wedding day, the aunt was present at the ceremony but vanished briefly when the bride and groom went to take photos in the savanna. When she returned for the wedding dinner, the aunt brought her family to the venue, leading to a confrontation. The bride, unsure how to respond initially, greeted her aunt’s family politely.

The episode at the wedding dinner, where the bride’s mother and grandmother suggested that the extra chairs and food could accommodate the uninvited guests, put the bride in a tight spot. The bride’s sister supported her and told the aunt and her family that there were no more chairs as some were broken.

The aunt, who was supposed to stay for dinner, declined and left the wedding with her family but mentioned she would return the following day for the pool party. The bride was taken aback and told her aunt that the plans had changed and she was no longer invited to the pool party.

The bride’s mom was furious and told her daughter she had to invite her aunt. At this point, the bride gently reminded her mother that she and her new husband had financed the wedding, and that her mother had no authority to dictate who should be invited to the celebrations.

Despite her mother’s anger and even shouting at her, the bride stood firm and did not allow her aunt to attend the pool party the next day. The bride later wondered if she had reacted too harshly and sought opinions from netizens on whether she was wrong for her actions towards her aunt under the circumstances.

The bride received mixed feedback on her post. Some said the bride was wrong for inviting her aunt without allowing her to bring her family, especially given the international setting of the wedding. One commenter remarked, “You come across as exhausting and entitled,” expressing surprise that any of the bride’s guests had attended.

Others felt everyone was at fault: the bride for not allowing plus-ones at her destination wedding, which might have been some guests’ only chance for a family trip, and the aunt for not declining the invite if she didn’t agree with the terms.

Some believed the bride was justified in her actions. One person suggested that the bride’s mother and aunt had schemed to make her look like the villain. Another commenter said the bride was right to stand up for herself, adding that the aunt’s family could have stayed at the lodge during the wedding and only joined for the pool party the next day.

Some people were shocked by the bride’s mother’s behavior, noting that the bride’s sister was her only supporter in this situation. The commenter hoped the bride wouldn’t have to deal with her aunt or mother during the pool party the next day.

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