A woman has said she uninvited her aunt to her wedding after she and her family flew more than 7,000 miles to South Africa to attend. The 26-year-old Frenchwoman explained she and her husband tied the knot three at a private reserve in the African country and this meant a “huge” trip for the 13 guests travelling from France, some 7,500 miles (12,000km) away.
The newlywed wrote on Reddit: “We rented a beautiful lodge where you see lions, elephants, etc. And to thank everyone for coming all this way, we rented it for two days. Day One: Wedding. Day Two: pool party.”
She and her husband invited just 30 people to the wedding, including an estranged aunt with whom the bride to be had had a “huge” argument eight years before. They had “cut ties ever since”, but the niece thought about how close they used to be and decided to invite her.
There was no plus one on the invites for anyone so while the 38-year-old aunt was invited, her partner or child weren’t, as the then bride to be “barely knew their names”. She continued: “My aunt said she was happy but insisted that we invite them. I told her no, but my mom teamed with her and pressured me A LOT during the year.
“I explained that the ceremony meant everything to us and that we only want people we love to be present.”
But the aunt booked flights for herself and her family, telling her niece it was a family trip and adding she had heard some of the guests had cancelled so there was space at the wedding for her family.
The niece told her aunt that would not happen but her partner and child could join them for the pool. She recalled how after that her mother put her under even more pressure into inviting them for the wedding itself because they were travelling all the way to South Africa.
The woman wrote that on the big day, after the ceremony, she and her husband left for an hour with the photographers for a few photos. She continued: “As soon as we came back to the lodge, my aunt came to me, smirking. She was holding her kid, her partner was behind her.
“I’m not the scandal type, I didn’t know how to react. In my disbelief, I kissed the kid hello and shook hand (sic) with her partner. I immediately felt sad for not defending myself.”
The shocked bride then heard her mother and grandmother telling the aunt there were extra chairs and food so her family should stay for diner. She wrote: “My sister lied for me, saying we don’t have enough chairs because some are broken. So my aunt announced they were leaving.”
The aunt told her niece she never intended to stay for dinner, but would spend time with everyone when they returned for the pool party day. The bride said: “I was shocked. I replied that I had a change of plans and that she and her family could not come for the next day anymore.
“My mom, usually lovely, lost it and told me that I had no right to cancel my aunt’s invitation to the pool party. I reminded her that we paid for the whole wedding ourselves and that she has no say in who I host. And I walked away.”
The mother then yelled at her back in front of the wedding guests, screaming the conversation was not over and her daughter “better come back”. She said her sister had to “physically bar” her mum from chasing after her, adding: “I still stood my ground and kept my aunt from coming back the next day.”
The niece asked fellow Reddit users if she had behaved like an “a******”, but many said no. One wrote in response that the mother and aunt “carefully planned” it to make her “look like the villain”.
Another wrote: “Your aunt and her lovely sister (your mother – who didn’t pay for anything associated with the wedding) were out of line. “Kudos to your sister for having your back.”
But another said the whole thing was “petty”, adding: “France to South Africa is a trek your aunt perhaps didn’t want to make alone.
“It’s wild to me when people have really difficult wedding locations and don’t seem to appreciate the effort, time, and expense it takes for guests to attend.”
