Eiffel Tower Vase Centerpieces
more by mmcd1523
Ball Gown Suggestions
Invite the boss?
more in Etiquette
How would you phrase this?
Help! Bachelorette Party outfit!
more in Boards
professionally cleaned engagement ring

Do I have to include grooms sister in wedding?

posted 1 year ago in Etiquette
  •  
    1.
    Member
    174 posts
    Blushing bee
    mmcd1523    September 3, 2011  

    So my husband-to-be has several brothers with one of them being unmarried and a sister who is not married.  He is not putting any of his brothers in the wedding as groomsman.  Additionally we were not putting his sister in the wedding as a bridesmaid.  She means well but she really gets under his skin and annoys both of us. 

    We are having a small wedding party of close friends and my sister.  Upon learning that his sister was not in the wedding his mother was really upset saying that it was proper wedding ettiquette to include unmarried 'female' siblings. She wasn't upset that his brother's weren't in the wedding. 

    Is that true?  Am I being rude by not having her as a bridesmaid even though he doesn't really want in her in the wedding?

     
    2.
    Member
    174 posts
    Blushing bee
    mmcd1523    September 3, 2011  

    @mmcd1523: I should mention that we were going to have her do a reading so that she had some sort of role in the wedding.

     
    3.
    Member
    3,706 posts
    Sugar bee
    7SEVENJ9    September 25, 2010  

    There is no rule that says you HAVE to have her in there. If you plan on including her by doing a reading, I would say that's sufficient.

    FI and I agreed that we weren't going to do siblings in our wedding party at all, and his sister STILL hasn't gotten over it, but we are still certain we made the right choice.

     
    4.
    Member
    258 posts
    Helper bee
    Aleanan    September 25, 2010   South Carolina

    You can do whatever you want to do. I am having my FI's unmarried sister in the wedding SOLELY because we are close. Now, that being said he has three other sisters (one is the flower girl), one lives far away and the other is attending the wedding because she doesn't agree with some things.

    If you don't want the sister in the wedding DO NOT feel obligated to do so. The days of tradition are over. Let his mother know that you have found the most perfect reading for his sister to do and that you couldn't think of anyone else to do it....

    Good luck!

     
    5.
    Member Icon
    Member
    73 posts
    Worker bee
    yelhsa439    September 11, 2010  

    My groom has his brother in his wedding party...but not his 2 sisters.  They actually said they would do anything we needed them to...they took the dreaded job of cutting the cake for us!

     
    6.
    Member
    9,963 posts
    Buzzing
    Beekeeper
    CorgiTales    February 1, 2011  

    I do think that it is traditional to do it, but I don't think you have to. We are not having my brother or FI's sister in our wedding. My mom has been pretty unhappy about it and said that family is forever and they should stand up with you on your wedding day. If I had a sister I would include her... but I don't think the same is true of opposite-sex siblings. I have only met my FI's sister once and she lives 10 hours from us. Having her in the wedding would be awkward and a logistical nightmare. My brother actually lives 10 minutes from us but he's never made any effort whatsoever to get to know my FI so I definitely don't think FI should have to have him up on his side. 

     
    7.
    Member
    404 posts
    Helper bee
    pat291    July 17, 2011   canada

    I battled with this dilema for a while. My fiance' has one sister and she is unmarriied to be honest we are not all that close and we don't hang or anything like that--the only time I see her is at family gatherings and we exchange 2 words maybe. I came to the conclusion that I would be a hypocrite to include her.  I think your bridesmaid should be people you are close to and comfortable with.  why is his mom giving u attitude for not including his sister when he didn't even include the brothers? her reasoning is off!

     
    8.
    Member
    227 posts
    Helper bee
    attybride    9/25/10   Boston, MA

    You don't HAVE to have her in the wedding party.  My fiance's sister will be doing a reading; she is not a bridesmaid.  I think it's up to you - I feel that the point of having bridesmaids is to have those women that are closest and most important to you up there supporting you on your big day.

     
    9.
    Member
    174 posts
    Blushing bee
    mmcd1523    September 3, 2011  

    @CorgiTales: Yeah I've only met his sister twice and she lives about 7 hours away so I barely know her and the wedding party consists of the people we are the closest to.  there are quite a few more people I would include before his sister.

     
    10.
    Bee
    3,662 posts
    Sugar bee
    hermitcrab    June 2010   NYC

    I don't think you have to include her in the wedding party - I actually think a reading is a perfectly appropriate gesture and she should be grateful to be included in that way!

     
    11.
    Member
    174 posts
    Blushing bee
    mmcd1523    September 3, 2011  

    Thanks everyone...I feel better.  Having her in the wedding isn't what we want.  Its what his mother wants.  I didn't think it was even a big deal and we thought a reading would be a wonderful way to include her especially when none of his other siblings are even in the wedding at all.  I didn't feel bad about it until his mother reacted that way.  It really took me by surprise. 

     
    12.
    Member
    949 posts
    Busy bee
    Monkeygirl    September 5, 2010   Philadelphia

    Your FMIL is wrong- there is no etiquette rule that says you MUST have "unmarried female siblings" in your wedding party. The people in your wedding party should be the people you feel closest to, who play a significant role in your life.

    I have 2 sisters who are both in my wedding, and we are extremely close. However, FI's sister is NOT in our wedding- a decision FI and I made together. There is a long ugly history of FI's sister trying to destroy our relationship, spread lies about me, cause problems between me and FIL's- so no, just b/c she is FI's "unmarried female sibling" is not a valid reason to have her in our wedding. I cannot have someone in my bridal party who doesn't want us to get married. However- like you,  I have asked FI's sister to do a reading at our wedding.

    I think your situation would be a bit different if your FI wanted his sister in the wedding, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Your FMIL should mind her own business and respect your wishes. This is not her wedding, it's yours. Just ignore her and continue to go about your wedding planning. Hopefully she'll see that the issue is not open to debate and she'll just drop it.

     
    13.
    Member
    3,044 posts
    Sugar bee
    camrie    September 5, 2010   Louisville

    I don't think you have to at all since he's not including his brothers. It would be different if he was including them and only his sis was left out. I'd just tell your FI what she said and have them work it out if his sis annoys him as well.

     
    14.
    Member
    2,209 posts
    Buzzing bee
    Ryansgirl    October 22, 2011   Canada

    I was wondering this myself.  Although I've met FI's sister multiple times, she hasn't made an effort to get to know me better (although I haven't tried to get to know her better either.)  She's a couple years younger than me and we only see her at family functions.  My sister on the otherhand is my MOH and she always chats with my FI and hang out.  I'm 98% sure she won't be a BM, but I also feel bad because FI's bro and my sis are both in the wedding party...oh well

     
    15.
    Member Icon
    269 posts
    Helper bee
    WhiteRoseRed    September 25, 2010   England

    Yeah, I'm not including my FI's sister beyond a reading. I wasn't in her wedding, either - she had no BMs. I was a BM when my brother got married, but I was pretty surprised to be asked, really - I would have thought the bride had friends she wanted, but apparently not. 

    My FI has a brother and a sister - both married. I really get on with the SIL (brother's wife) but not the sister. So my hardest choice was not asking either of them to my hen do - I would have loved the SIL, but there was no way the sister was being there, so I just passed on them both. 

    I think it's up to you how far you go with including siblings in weddings - they're grown ups, even if they're not happy, they should be able to get over it. That's life.

     
    16.
    2,299 posts
    Buzzing bee
    bluespurrs    August 7, 2009   South-central PA, USA, Earth

    You do not have to include anyone you do not want to. It's your bridal party and there is no etiquette that state unmarried sibs MUST be included. If the sister is upset, I agree that giving her some role in the wedding would be nice. If it's FMIL who is upset, she'll get over it.

     
    17.
    Member
    2,188 posts
    Buzzing bee
    Rgeddy    June 13, 2010   Raleigh, NC

    As long as she isn't upset (she may be without wanting to hurt your feelings) and you don't care I wouldn't worry but maybe give her a tast.  Like a reading, handing out programs or something.  Maybe in charge of pinning the bouts on the guys or handing the flowers out.

     

    Reply

    You must log in to post.

    Tags:





    Visit our sister sites eHarmony
    Online Dating
    eHarmony Advice
    Dating Advice
    Project Wedding
    Wedding Songs
    JustMommies
    Pregnancy Calendar
    Copyright 2004-2012, Weddingbee.com
     

    Find your vendors on Weddingbee

    Real reviews from brides in your area!

    Favors by Weddingbee

    • Favors by season

    Shop Now ยป

    Find Registry Find Registry Find Registry

    More
    User Posts Today
    Brielle 44
    ndreighton 36
    caseyleigh10 30
    vorpalette 29
    les105 24
    ellisrobertson 24
    mypinkshoes 23
    fishbone 23
    lionskitty 22
    SouthernGirl 21

    Etiquette

    User Posts Today
    fishbone 4
    lilgrizzlygirl 3
    thursdayschild 3
    eagle 3
    tnanog 3
    SapphireSun 2
    andielovesj 2
    j_jaye 2
    Brielle 2
    likelimeade 2
    More