Ah, family drama. It’s all something we experience at some point, whether that’s typical sibling rivalry or a battle of the will.
When you have a big family, that drama only amplifies (we’ve seen that on The Kardashians or Jersey Shore: Family Vacation ). You’re left with tricky dilemmas, like one bride who was labeled a jerk for only inviting three of her sister’s 10 children.
RELATED STORIES
The Redditor took her dilemma to Reddit’s “Am I The Asshole (AITA) community.
The 25-year-old began by explaining that she got married to her husband this past August. Since they had a tight budget, they kept the wedding small and simple and only invited close family members and friends.
Things got complicated with the guest list due to the fact that her older sister, Dawn, has 10 kids.
“My parents and the rest of my family aren’t religious, but Dawn and her husband are very hardcore Christians and believe that having lots of children is God’s will.”
Inviting all of her nieces and nephews wouldn’t be cheap.
While the wedding wasn’t child-free, she and her husband decided to only invite Dawn’s three eldest kids. Dawn didn’t handle this well. She was offended and accused her sister of picking favorites.
“I told her I’m sorry but ten kids is a big cost on our wedding budget and that we tried to be as fair as possible.”
She added that she would be fine with all 10 kids coming if Dawn contributed to the cost.
Dawn still wouldn’t budge. “Dawn accused me of being a bridezilla and thinking I’m too good for her and her family.”
Despite this, Dawn, her husband, and their three oldest kids still attended the wedding.
But there were several awkward moments throughout the night, like when other family members with small kids asked why not all of their kids were there.
Things got worse after the wedding.
“After the wedding, Dawn has been very off around me lately. She told me she ‘understands how I feel about her babies’ and said that I’m a bad sister and a terrible aunt, and has accused me of not respecting her religion and lifestyle,” the OP wrote.
The family has taken Dawn’s side.
“My parents and other siblings have been making comments like ‘don’t get too excited for xyz, OP said only three people can come because there’s too many of us.'”
This led the Redditor to question whether she was in the wrong.
Thankfully, Reddit was there to soothe the bride’s mind.
“If your sister was so upset she could’ve offered to contribute towards the costs,” one wrote. “A consequence of having a load of kids is that people aren’t going to want to cater to all of them at events because it is a big cost,” they continued.
“NTA. You didn’t say no kids, you said no to 12 people,” another added.
They shared that they had the same rule at their wedding. “My friend has 5 kids and she only brought her oldest. My BIL has 8 kids and he came alone.”
Some people even did the math of how much Dawn’s whole family would’ve cost the couple.
“My wedding was $75 a plate for adults and $65 for under 18. This family of 12 alone would have cost me $800,” one added. “The two parents and three eldest kids would only cost $345. That’s not even considering the need for more tables, chairs, place setting, etc.”
Other Redditors were actually on the sister’s side.
“You should have either had a child-free wedding or invited all the kids,” a Redditor wrote. “It’s not fair for your sister to have to hire a sitter while other people with children can bring their children.”
What’s your take?
H/T: Reddit