I'm trying to focus on the positives, but can't help but feel so sad, defeated, and really embarrassed. We are having a relatively large wedding - inviting about 190 people. So far a ton of people have RSVPed yes - many of whom we thought wouldn't be able to make it. We invited 50 people to the shower, and only 17 showed. Maybe it was a combination of it being sort of out of town for some people (I'm from two main areas of New England so it's hard to accommodate everyone...there isn't really a true "town" where everyone or most people reside - the shower is 3 hours from where I live because it was held in my home town), and that I barely have any family. The out-of-town drive is an almost 3 hour drive, which is a lot, but I've done it for so many of the invited guests, and would do it for those I haven't had the opportunity yet.
It was even more embarrassing because my parents were really late (they are chronically severely late for everything, so much so that I had to send a specially-made invitation with a time 2.5 hours ahead of the ceremony start time -so much so that my mom didn't go to my college graduation after I graduated first in my major (the only kid to go to College) because she accidentally booked a cruise overlapping my graduation (that's more a reflection of their overall disorganization as opposed to being late). When my mom DID arrive, she put some home-made cupcakes on the stand (which was really sweet of her and they were delicious) but then proceeded to pull my sister/MOH aside and ask why no one was eating her cupcakes and could she please make an announcement even though everyone was eating lunch at that time. So anyway, my in-laws already saw my mom miss out on my graduation and now is rolling in late, with the strong possibility of being late to the rehearsal dinner that my FMIL is hosting.
THEN my FH told my sister/MOH that he would be coming to the shower, but didn't show, and said it was a miscommunication. Either way, all of the bridesmaids and parents thought he was coming, and it was really embarrassing when he didn't make it.
Then when I finished opening gifts, my dad comes up and in front of everyone was like "here you go, sorry, there's no card, we thought this party was at 2:30 so we didn't have time to get a card"). 2:30 is the time that I put on their *wedding invitation - the shower started at 11 (and they received that invitation, my sister saw it on their fridge). They gave a generous cash gift which was very kind.
Anyway, I have two things I'm worried about now. First, my wonderful sister/MOH is pregnant and is panicking that the same thing is going to happen to her for her gender reveal and then her shower. Second, I'm thinking I never want to have another shower again, so if we were to have a baby, I don't think I could go through that again. Has anyone else experienced this? Did you end up having a baby shower if applicable? How do I get people to attend my sister's event (since she will have the same problem with having no family).
Please don't kick me while I'm down - looking to keep it positive. Thanks guys :-)
