Announced Engagement...tears of Sadness from Sister

Sorry I am not in a situation as yours but just sending you some love and support! I hope it gets better!

I am sorry you are going threw this. My dad was not happy when we told him we were. It marrying in Catholic Church or in church but nothing huge. In the end you need to do what makes you happy
and is right for you.

Oh girl I'm sorry. How terrible. When I started dating my soon-to-be husband, my Mom was very opposed to it. She and I have always been extremely close, and I trust her judgement on almost everything, but this was one circumstance in which I decided not to take her advice. Our relationship seemed to be a little strained on and off during my dating of my now fiance, but as soon as we got engaged, she gave her blessing. I guess she realized there is no going back now! Although I can't completely relate, I feel your pain! Hang in there!

I'm so sorry that you are dealing with. I do understand. I come from s very large family and extended family. My fiancee on the other hand doesn't. Sadly, 90% of our guests are great friends throughout the years and mostly our church family. A good friend said to me to look at it as I'm in control of the d ok man that I have or dont have, and it's really their loss. Best wishes

Sorry about your situation. I have a sister that I haven't seen or talked to for over a year and my sister told my parents after I got engaged that she wouldn't come to my wedding (nor would she let her kids come). It's super frustrating that my family pictures won't be complete because not only my sister but 3 of my nieces and nephews won't be there. My sister and I used to be super close too so I originally thought that she would at least come to the wedding. Or if my sister won't come I thought she'd let her ex have the kids that weekend but she won't let him because she knows he'd let them come to the wedding.

That sucks. When I got engaged I didnt Share the news with my family. They saw my ring didn’t ask about it. Knew I went dress shopping and didn’t say anything. Then I got a call about how they were waiting for me to say something to them and wanted to be a part of everything. They didn’t support my relationship but in the end they came around. Which was nice but I was Okay without them even though it hurt sometimes. Our situations slightly different but I surely can feel your pain. I wish You a happy life with the one you love!

Yikes, I'm sorry you are going through this. Similar to you, I gave up Catholic Church. My mom's side of the family was never Catholic (my sisters went to Catholic church, but are now Methodist). I gave up church entirely. I definitely had some years of snide comments from my dad about how I'm a heathen and it was many years before he stopped asking me what I was giving up for lent, but nothing to the extreme of your family's reaction. Was the time you stopped being Catholic correlate at all with the time you started dating your boyfriend? Maybe they blame him for you leaving the church. It's going to be hard and upsetting, but focus on the positive. Focus on your boyfriend and everyone else in your life who makes you feel good and is happy for your marriage. You can't control the behavior of your family, and hopefully they'll come around, but there are no guarantees. You may want to seek out a therapist to help you talk through this. Weddings can be stressful and tend to bring out the best and worst in people, so this will probably be ongoing throughout your planning process. Just keep repeating to yourself, that you are doing nothing wrong, you are doing what makes you happy, stay true to that. Look to your boyfriend for support. Be open and honest through the process. Take plenty of time for yourself to relax and do non-wedding related activities so it's not a constant focus (especially if your family does something like decide not to come). Eloping may be a good choice in your situation, so you don't have to feel bad about having a big wedding without anyone from your family in attendance. Good luck, hang in there. I'm sorry you are going through this.

Thank you all for your kind words and support!

Sorry you have to deal with this. I really hope they come to their senses.

My dad's side of the family is very religious (my mom's side is a little) and right around high school I entirely left the belief and have been an atheist ever since- and they still look at me like I have two heads and warn me I'm going to hell. My FH is also an atheist- they're not pleased with that, either. Thankfully I wasn't basically disowned like you- I can't imagine how that must feel. They don't understand or approve, but we're back to normal for the most part. Though they won't be happy when the ceremony has zero mention of any religious kind. But they're choosing their faith over your happiness and wellbeing- so what does that say about their beliefs? That's honestly toxic and good for you for sticking to your guns and doing what makes you happy. stay strong- it seems like your sister may come around yet

I learned a long time ago that it's better to just cut my losses. I have no biological family attending my wedding. It hurts, but it's better for me to not have relationships with them because im not who they want me to be. I would say think ling and hard about it, you may have to make that difficult, heart breaking decision for your own happiness