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Just Said Yes April 2024

Bridesmaid dilemma.

Daneka, on June 1, 2022 at 12:04 PM Posted in Family and Relationships 0 12

apologizing in advance for this super long post.

also thanking you in advance if you read through the whole thing and decide to provide feedback. Smiley heart

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i got engaged a month ago, but i have dreamed about my wedding and bridal party for a couple of years, so i already knew exactly who i wanted to ask. my MIL knew about the proposal plans for months so she started planning our engagement party right away. my fiance told me the official plans the same night he proposed, and he told me that she had reached out to my best friend's from out of state to invite them. one of my best friend's, i'll call her maddy, accepted the invitation to the party in the group chat my MIL had created between all of them. cool.


i ended up starting my own group chat a week later telling the girls that i knew they were coming, and that if they could share their travel plans because i wanted to plan something special for them. little did they know it was for the "bridesmaid proposal." maddy responded right away saying that she wasn't sure yet but that she might have to head back after the party due to her job. the other girls started respoding with excitement, then maddy proceeded to leave the chat. she sent me a separate text saying, "i left the conversation because you know i do not like marina and i don't want to be fake." "marina" is another one of my best friend's. mind you, maddy was just fine in the group chat my MIL had created when she invited all the girls to the engagement party.


i responded to maddy saying that i understood, but then asked if she was going to be okay with everything because i planned on asking everyone to be my bridesmaids at some point and i didn't want her to feel uncomfortable. i also let her know that i would not take it personal if she declined to be a bridesmaid out of respect of her feelings towards marina. she said yes, that she would be fine with everything. that was the end of that conversation. after a few weeks of not hearing from her, i texted maddy again asking if she had any updates on her travel plans to which she replied that she was busy and wasn't sure if she was going to even make it to the party. i said that i understood even though i'd be sad about her not being there, and she said, "i wanna be there! it's just not falling around a good time with everything else i have going on." i again said that i understood and wasn't going to take anything personal, but to please let me know if she was going to end up coming to the engagement party.


i was a bit adamant about knowing because 1) it's common courtesy, especially for the host (my MIL) and 2) i needed a head count when purchasing my bridesmaid boxes and things for my own thing i had planned. three weeks went by and i did not hear a word from her. the day of the party came and went with still no communication from her. she had seen all of my instagram stories from the party, and still nothing. it wasn't until she saw my posts from the bridesmaid proposal the following day that she sent me a text saying, "hey! sorry i couldn't make it to the party i hope it was great and i will plan something with you soon." keep in mind that the party was on a saturday. she sent me that text the following monday.


i debated on whether or not i should even respond, but thought about our history together and decided to have the uncomfortable conversation where i was going to tell her everything i had been feeling. i let her know that i was bothered by her lack of communication and that if she didn't confirm with me, she should've at least confirmed with my MIL. i also told her i was bothered about her leaving the group chat i had created with her and the girls, because even though i understood how she felt, it just wasn't about her OR marina. i said that i would've hoped that she would set aside her differences, especially since marina had no clue about maddy's feelings towards her. she apologized for the lack of communication but then said she was "not apologizing" for leaving the chat over marina because she was unfcomfortable being in it, and that she didn't understand why she had to explain herself in that regard (i never asked her to).


my response to her was that with all due respect, if she was uncomfortable in a group chat, then she would be feeling the same in more personal settings meaning my bridal party and that i would keep her posted on wedding details as a guest. to sum everything up, these are a few of her responses:

"you're taking away my ability to support you as a friend because i don't wanna be involved with marina. it's not about setting aside differences, it's about enforcing a boundary and what i am willing to subject myself to in supporting my best friend. marina is not my best friend let alone a friend. i'm willing to be cordial with her but i don't have to fake anything just because it's your wedding. you know good and well that's not who i am. we are all adults and i am used to working with people i don't particularly like. also understand that yes it is your wedding and i'm willing to support how i can, however that doesn't mean that the people involved don't get to have feelings. you have to meet people where they are and try to be considerate of what they can/cannot do. your season isn't everyone else's season but everyone is coming together to make this happen for you. yet you never gave me a chance without knowing what is going on, on my end. you have no idea how i would feel in a personal setting. i will have me a good ass time supporting my best friend and will treat marina like i don't even know her out of respect for you. other people do not dictate how i feel."


any thoughts/feedback on how you would handle this situation would be greatly appreciated. we plan on getting on a phone call later this evening.

12 Comments

Latest activity by Planet, on June 6, 2022 at 7:04 PM
  • L
    Devoted April 2023
    Lucy ·
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    I would start by asking her the reason why she can't stand Marina : " but everyone is coming together to make this happen for you. yet you never gave me a chance without knowing what is going on, on my end". It sounds like she wants you to know it.

    If having both girls in your WP is impossible because of Maddy's feelings, you'll have to pick one and make the other one a 'regular' guest but because of this: " i will have me a good ass time supporting my best friend and will treat marina like i don't even know her out of respect for you. other people do not dictate how i feel.": if you trust her on this, then you should giver her a chance.

    In fact I think she made great points about her feelingd, the fact that she still wants to suppport you and ignore Marina and especially the fact that she works with people she doesn't like but it doesn't prevent her from performing her duties/tasks!

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  • D
    Just Said Yes April 2024
    Daneka ·
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    Thank you for your feedback!

    i should have clarified that marina has never done anything personal to maddy. she just does not like certain things that marina has done in the past but none of those things ever involved maddy at all. i also forgot to mention that marina is one of my maid of honor's. maddy's title was going to be of a bridesmaid. no one knew any of this though as i was planning my bridesmaid proposal. my issue with her saying she will act like marina isn't even there, is that there will be other celebrations and a bachlorette trip. marina will eventually feel the tension so i am afraid that things will be awkward and feelings might end up getting hurt.

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  • Janet
    Expert October 2018
    Janet ·
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    People will like/dislike people for previous decisions they have made in the past. Example: Infidelity. While you may not be involved, it does shine a light on those involved and people will either fizzle out friendships and will only be cordial. Some people just don't like others for no reason. I have people at my work that I am required to work as a team with. and have been for 7 years. I would try and take maddy at her word. You can still contribute to planning. She has let you know her boundary and how far she is willing to go. Which looks like only wedding discussions. If you are not ok with that, let her be a guest. That's fine too. But this sounds like this is an issue between maddy and marina. Not you, maddy, and marina

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  • E
    Devoted February 2023
    Elycia ·
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    I agree that you should take Maddy at her word. I absolutely HATED one of the girls in my best friend's wedding where I was the MOH and she had never done anything specifically to me either. Was it ever made a big deal? No. Did the bride know my feelings towards this friend? Yes. Did she trust me as an adult and her best friend to put aside our differences to make her wedding and all the other events special? OF COURSE.

    Maddy is right, you're all adults and if she's saying I will go to all events, support you, be part of planning, etc and put things aside, I don't see why removing her from a friends group chat is all that big of a deal. I also dislike bridal party group chats, honestly. Conversations with people get going and much up the notifications on my phone. I've muted every single one i was in and only checked in to find important details.

    I think you're catastrophising the situation in your mind before you're seeing any real evidence to make you concerned.

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  • D
    Just Said Yes April 2024
    Daneka ·
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    I appreciate everything you have said.

    my thing is that maddy IS making it a big deal, at least in my opinion. this is why i tried having a conversation with her from the beginning when she left the gc because i wanted to make sure that she was always comfortable. of course she said that she would be, but her actions, especially with her lack of communication about the engagement party/not showing up/not saying anything until two days after it happened, say otherwise. i want to trust her but it worries me when she says that she will "act like marina isn't there" because that will create an awkward situation at other celebrations. marina has no clue about any of this, and as one of my maid's of honor, she will of course have to engage with maddy. and i get what you're saying about not liking bridal party group chats, which is totally fine, but having them all involved means a lot to me. they all know me very well, but one person might suggest something over the other when planning. idk, that detail is just a personal boundary that i am not willing to budge on, just like she isn't willing to budge on certain things either. how can maddy be a part of that if she needs to be only told things separately and only important details? in the end, the both of us are entitled to our boundaries/feelings so i will let her know what mine are and if she feels that she cannot commit, then i will have her there as a guest.

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  • D
    Just Said Yes April 2024
    Daneka ·
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    Thank you so much! i agree with everything you said and will let her make the final decision based on my boundaries and whether she is okay with them. if not, she will be a guest.

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  • Paige
    VIP October 2022
    Paige ·
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    My two cents would be to talk to Maddy, explain that your bridesmaids are going to have to interact during some things, and if she feels she can be cordial during those moments then add her to the bridal party (if you still want to, of course). If agreeing to be in the bridal party comes with an expectation of attending showers, the batch trip, etc., then you want to make that clear before she accepts as well. It does sound like Maddy understands all of that and is willing to be an adult about the situation.

    Dealing with different personalities and preferences can be a challenge, so I hope this works out for you!

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  • H
    Savvy May 2022
    Heather ·
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    This honestly sounds like a drama in the making to me. My gut just says it will be a constant issue for you to deal with and not worth it. She already seems to be lacking in her communication with you which will likely be a continued challenge. Any issue she had with someone else she could keep to herself or politely decline to be in the bridal party. It already just feels too complicated and I think you should consider how much stress this already seems to have caused you. It sounds to me like she might be better iff supporting you as a guest, not a bridesmaid.
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  • L
    Lady ·
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    Group chats are the worst, I would have left to. Sure, it's rude that she didn't RSVP, but you didn't need to be involved in that bc the invite came from your FMIL. You don't need to "propose" to your BM's, let alone all at the same time. You also don't need to communicate with your BM's constantly. A copied message when you pick dresses, have a timeline, etc is fine to let them know information. I think you were in the wrong when you "had to tell her how you were feeling" and that her responses was equally dramatic. That said - i'd apologize to her and just say you understand and you'll let her know when decisions need to be made about dresses or whatever. Just leave it at that.

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  • L
    Lady ·
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    I agree with everything you said!!!!

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  • Mrs.evans
    VIP October 2022
    Mrs.evans ·
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    Ok for one Congratulations on your engagement and 2 she knew that you two were still friends because she was apart of the chat group and seen her name there. Now my problem is that she doesn't have to respond to any of her comments. But none were aiming at her to leave to group just to leave all if your comments to you. Since she doesn't have no friendship with the women. Plus she was supposed to respond back to your MIL which she didn't. And as you pointed out that they would have been around each other for bridesmaids dresses shopping another stuff that you need there help on. Just ask her the question if maddy is a bridesmaids and you will have to be in the same room. Once your phone conservation yiu will have your answer by then
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  • Jacks
    Rockstar November 2054
    Jacks ·
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    Few things. First of all she's explaining her boundaries to you. Respect them. If she feels she can do the wedding party stuff and be cordial to Marina, she will. Trust her to be an adult about this. I'm not sure why this is an issue at all? You cannot expect them to bond and be friends just because you're getting married.

    You've asked your wedding party waaaaaaay too early. We usually recommend no more than 6-8 months before the wedding, because things change. I would try to keep things very very low drama, because there is a lot of time for drama to start.

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