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Beginner August 2018

Sister is telling me what to wear to her wedding...and I’m a guest

Carissa, on June 23, 2018 at 7:13 PM Posted in Family and Relationships 0 15
Hey all,
im not entirely sure what to do about this situation. Both my sister and I are getting married over the next few months. My sister is in my bridal party, but she is only choosing to do a MOH only and I am not I’m her bridal party. Obviously for my party she has a bridesmaid dress to wear, but I wasn’t given a specific dress to wear for her wedding since I’m not a bridesmaid. A few days ago, my sister asked my fiancé and I what we were going to be wearing. I showed her the dress I bought and my fiancé said he’s wearing a “tan/ creamish suit”. My sister LOST it. She said my dress was “too dramatic” for her wedding and she said my fiancé cannot wear a light color suit because it will “take away” from her dress. Among my family and friends, I’m known as the “goth/edgy one”. I literally wear all black all the time. It’s my favorite color. Granted she is having a daytime summer wedding, but I’m just wearing a black, summer dress that I’m comfortable in. My mom even approved of it before I bought it. My fiancé, well don’t get my started on why him wearing a light colored suit will NOT take away from heron her wedding day. Anyway, things escalated and our attempts to comfort him or have a rational conversation were futile. My fiancé and I just decided to walk away and figured it was a “bridezilla” moment. My sister has a history of absolutely losing it over small things like that and after a day or two, she’ll clear her mind and apologize. Well it’s been a week since this happened and it had not gotten better. She maintains that we “absolutely cannot” wear our outfits and we “need to respect her wishes as family, not as guests”. She got our mom involved and my mom actually texted me and said “Jen is wearing what you’re asking her to wear for your wedding. If you’re going to make a big deal out of this, why bother even coming to the wedding ?” My mom then sent me pictures of dresses and suits my sister has “approved” us to wear.
This is clearly a messy situation. I’m totally willing to admit if I’m in the wrong, but her concerns seem a bit...irrational and controlling to me? And getting my mom involved to tell us to not come if we won’t get the outfits my sister wants us in? I dunno, something about things seems a little...bridezilla-y. Opinions, advice, anything 😱

15 Comments

Latest activity by Angela, on June 25, 2018 at 11:35 AM
  • Angela
    Devoted July 2018
    Angela ·
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    Based on what you’ve said, I don’t think you’re in the wrong here.

    That being said...is this really the hill you want to die on? I see two choices: insist on your current outfits and risk damaging the relationship with your sister (even though she’s totally wrong), or wear what she wants and be the bigger person.

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  • C
    Beginner August 2018
    Carissa ·
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    Normally I’d just oblige, but we already bought out suit and dress. Now we’re being Asked to buy different ones that are even more expensive than what we originally bought.
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  • Nnh1
    Devoted October 2018
    Nnh1 ·
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    I totally get it but like Angela said you either risk the relationship and get humiliated for wearing the outfits because she may ask you to leave or choose something similar to what she picked out that is less expensive. You could tell her and/or mom that you guys would absolutely wear what she has requested if they pay for it because you don't have the money to repurchase an outfit for her wedding since you are planning you own wedding. The last option would be not to go, but I don't think that is a good idea.
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  • C
    Beginner August 2018
    Carissa ·
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    We thought about asking them to pay for it but we didn’t know if it was kosher or not. Plus we don’t entirely want to keep the dress and suit she picked out either. It’d be such a waste of clothing. We know we’ll never wear them again. Maybe they could be consigned after ?
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  • C
    Beginner August 2018
    Carissa ·
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    Oh and just to be clear, we asked if we could do “similar” to what she requested and were told that they don’t trust us and it needs to be what we were sent or nothing. Ugh ):
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  • Angela
    Devoted July 2018
    Angela ·
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    So yeah...I agree with PP in that case. Sit down with your sister (and/or mom, if that's easier or more feasible) and let them know you're willing to wear those "approved" clothes but you cannot afford to purchase them. Give her (them) the choice: SHE purchases your clothing, or YOU find something similar but cheap.

    Then it's back on your sister. You've waved your white flag and agreed to her clothing choices, but I do think that her basically requiring you to spend a ton of money on those choices IS a stand to take.

    Good luck!

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  • Nnh1
    Devoted October 2018
    Nnh1 ·
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    I totally understand your position. I was saying that because if she is that insisting on you guys wearing what SHE wants then she need to fork over the cash for it. She can't have her cake and eat it too. If you have to pay for it maybe you can go to a consignment shop or upscale thrift store to buy something else that is still nice, but won't cost you a fortune. If she doesn't like that then too bad. I personally dislike people to invite me to an event and then tell me what to wear. I know how to dress for the proper occasions. My cousin did that to us. She wanted us to wear formal wear. Not only did we have to travel from VA to Boston, MA but I found out after I purchased my tickets that my 11yr old son couldn't come and my daughter was not invited. So my thought was listen I am coming to celebrate you while being inconvenienced so I am wearing what I want and still look stunning. And I did and she was just happy we came..the whole family looked great and none of us were formal.
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  • Joanna
    Devoted February 2016
    Joanna ·
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    I'd be sooooo tempted to tell her I wasn't comfortable attending her wedding as a plus one to a dress, but that's probably not a good idea.

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  • C
    Beginner August 2018
    Carissa ·
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    I know it’s hard for her because she gets caught up in the small details like that. I want to make my sister happy. I’m just planning and paying for my own wedding and I do t exactly have a ton of disposable income right now. It’s just frustrating that my mom approved of my dress and then it turned to this. It is what it is. At the end of the day, it’s annoying, but it’s one day out of my life. But st the same time I’m stuck between but it’s also MY money.
    Im just rambling now. Sorry.
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  • Nnh1
    Devoted October 2018
    Nnh1 ·
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    I understand. Like Angela said earlier and I do agree. Sit her and you mom down and explain the situation as to you wanting to make her happy and enjoy her day with her but financially it's not the easy to buy another outfut. See what she says and then go from there. At the end of the day, I hope you both have beautiful weddings and can celebrate each other without any issues.
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  • C
    Beginner August 2018
    Carissa ·
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    So this afternoon we sat down with them and it did not go well. She accused us of trying to “steal” her day by “dressing like I’m going to a funeral” and by saying my fiancé’s suit is too light and everyone will be looking at him in pictures. We explained we already bought her outfits and if the outfits “need” to be the ones she wants, we would like her to pay. She freaked out and said “well you guys should have asked me before you bought anything.” We apologized and stated that we didn’t know he had to have our outfits approved. I said I showed my dress to mom and mom loved it. My mom chimes in and said “Oh I only said I liked it because you already bought it”. It’s frustratigg because when my sister gets like this, everyone in the family just tends to tell her what she wants to hear to appease her. She’s the baby of the family. I love her, but I gotta be honest lol. So basically it came down to buy the dress and suit or don’t come. I asked if she would like to come shopping with us for different, cheaper outfits so she can see. She declined and said “the wedding is a few weeks away when will I even have time? This is YOUR problem to figure out”
    So, basically it’s a lose-lose lol
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  • ArwenToHisAragorn
    Expert October 2018
    ArwenToHisAragorn ·
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    At that point, you've exhausted all your options...go to the store, take a picture of the one she told you to wear, say you bought it, then show up in the black one LOL. That's crazy, so sorry you're dealing with this. You're 200% not wrong.

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  • Nnh1
    Devoted October 2018
    Nnh1 ·
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    Wow, this is really a bit chaotic for no reason at all. I think your sister is being very unreasonable and your mom is not helping to balance this out by back peddling on what she said to you. You should be free to wear what you want as long as you're not dressing inappropriately. I hope that you and your fiance can figure out a way to work it out if you decide to attend her wedding. I assume she is getting married before you and with her being in your wedding, you don't want to rock the boat too much. Urghhh

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  • Nnh1
    Devoted October 2018
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    Lol I would love to be a fly on the wall to see how that would play out.

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  • Angela
    Devoted July 2018
    Angela ·
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    Jeez, some people...if it were anyone but your sister I would’ve said DON’T GO from the start! But now...honestly, I would go find something (cheap) similar to what she’s “approved”, show up right before the ceremony starts, and sit in the back. Be ready to respectfully leave if she flips out. Is that going WAAAAY above and beyond? Absolutely! I just know how upset I’d be if I missed my sibling’s wedding over an outfit (even though you’re totally in the right in this situation!).

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