can you invite someone to your wedding but not their spouse?

My brother moved away from home about 3 years ago, he is a Marine and he was in Africa for a year of that. When he got back from Africa, about 2 months later he was engaged to a woman that none of us had heard of before their announcement (we didn't know he was even seeing anyone as he told us he was single). She has family that lives about 30 minutes away from us and they live about 5 hours away from us. They regularly visit her family, but she said it is a sacrifice from spending time with her family when she is with ours. I told her and my brother that I miss seeing him and she told me that I am selfish and that I need to respect the fact that she will soon be his wife and I need to learn my boundaries. I don't first off understand how I crossed a line saying that I miss him, as I said it to him all the time when he was in Africa. Second, He told me that he is playing the "sides" game and will always choose her. I told him, I don't understand taking sides, as I just said that I missed him. So I am wondering, with all the problems she has caused, is it ok to not invite her to my up coming wedding? And how would I do this? He may not choose to come because of this, but at this point, I guess I don't care. I have never met this girl face to face, and she is placing our family in the back of the line because spending time with us would mean sacrificing time with hers when they are 30 minutes away. I also have what she said all in writing as I have been trying to get to know her through email ect. But now, based off this, I don't want to get to know her. And my brother won't talk to me anyway because I mad her mad...again I don't understand how...but whatever. So seriously, can I not invite her to our wedding?

2010-07-07T09:04:22Z

Um..Blunt, are you telling me that I can't miss my own brother?! and its ok for his fiance to get mad at me for saying that?! Have you ever been in a relationship or married? You don't treat your spouses family as if they are nothing. And if my family lived that close to my fiance's family I would be more than happy and willing to spend time with them and not tell someone that its sacrificing something to spend time with their family, your just as much of a ***** as she is!

2010-07-07T09:50:21Z

ok, I don't blame the Marines for anything with him, and you know what blunt, my fiance is in the Army, and I know what its like to be alone at home waiting for him to come home. But when he does get home I make damn sure he spends time with his family! I am not whiney, but I don't see how I am whiney when I say that I miss my brother who used to spend a lot of time with us, we were very close growing up and now we see him for 15 minutes if that every year now that he is engaged, but we hear all the time that he is 30 minutes away at her families house and he can't come see us because it would be a sacrifice for her to spend time with us. I was more then willing and excited to meet her until she jumped on me for saying that I wanted to see them.

2010-07-07T09:56:56Z

Thank you Andrea, I felt like I was wrong for saying that I wanted to meet her and I miss my brother, so I don't understand why she freaked out on me.

2010-07-07T11:43:45Z

ok, I don't know how much more clear I can get on what I said, I litterally said "I wish that we lived closer so that we could spend more time together like we used to, we miss you, and I would love to meet..." (I said his fiances name but I'm not going to say it on here) And when he was in Africa, I used to say "I can't wait for you to come home so we can see you and hang out because we miss you" so not much has changed in the way I said things, except that the place has changed and I added his future wife. If she wouldn't write me off every time I speak to her, I wouldn't be so mad, but she never even gave me a chance. She isn't the first "new comer" to the family. In fact, my older brother, who I am even closer to, moved away with his wife (who I adore) and we talked on the phone and at the end of every call we would say that we love each other and miss each other and can't wait to see each other again. I don't see anything wrong with this. It was how we were all raised.

?2010-07-07T09:11:59Z

Favorite Answer

Perhaps your wedding would be a good place to smooth things over. Invite her and show her that your side is trying to make peace. Maybe she does not want to spend time with your side because she has not met you and feels an uncomfortable vibe? Like it or not, shes your brothers girl, and if shes as controling as she sounds, he probally wont come to your wedding if her name is not on the invite.
If she does infact cause problems, simply escort her out, or have a family member keep an eye and an ear out the whole time for the things she says and does so that way she does not disturb you on your day.
That being said, try and make peace, what if she has a baby with him? If she can control your brother, she most definatly control the children!

Good luck and congrats!

TGG2010-07-07T09:03:38Z

It is against all wedding etiquette to invite someone without their spouse. While I don't know the whole story, you have to understand something. Your brother is now married. To a mean woman, maybe, but still he will always choose her. She holds the power here. He wants to sleep with his wife, so your feelings as his sister will come second. I'm sorry, but it is the truth. My best advice is just to be the bigger person and invite her. The old saying of killing with kindness has stuck around for a reason. It is often the best revenge because people like that WANT to hurt you. And if you let it ruffle your feathers, you have given them exactly what they wanted, a reaction. Also, another thing to think about, not inviting him or her to your wedding will start a battle that could potentially last a lifetime. And if you want to be close to your brother, I would not get into a war with his wife.

?2010-07-08T00:30:00Z

A married couple is a package deal, so are engaged, living together and otherwise long term.

If you invite one and not the other, the one who is invited is likely to be offended that their spouse or s/o wasn't invited and will not come.

If you do not invite her it will cause more problems then it will solve.

I'm not saying I agree with her, just that she is a big part of his life and you need to accept that. You don't need to be her BFF or even like her, just learn to co-exist with her if you want to be a part of your brothers life and the lives of any children they may have. While it seems she would not be your first choice in a spouse or mate for him, its not your choice to make, its his. I didn't like my brothers now wife when they started dating, they have been married for 7 years, together I think for 12 and I don't like her any better today then the day I met her, the rest of the family also does not like her. However, since I like to see my niece & nephew often I bite my tongue.

truefirstedition2010-07-07T13:37:34Z

Short answer: As the hostess of the event, you choose the guest list. You are not legally required to invite someone.

Real answer: Your brother has chosen this woman, regardless of whether you like her. Excluding her from the wedding just to prove a point is petty and immature, and disrespectful to your brother. Is a lifetime of resentment and hurt feelings REALLY worth the satisfaction of not inviting her?

Think of it this way: She's already limiting his time with you and you're not on her bad side yet. Think about how easy it would be for her to manipulate him into staying away from you when you do something that is legitimately rude and hurtful. I think you're taking a dangerous gamble with your brother's good regard if you choose not to invite his wife.

Oot n Aboot2010-07-07T09:05:11Z

How much of this is actually her trying to cause problems. She just may be a high maintenance person and your brother is catering to her wishes. If you don't invite her, he probably won't come. Since your brother has chosen her as someone he wants in his life, that he wants as family, then you should treat her like family as best as you can, instead of choosing not to write to her or include her in family functions.

If she is the only spouse you aren't inviting then it will really cause an issue for your brother. I would just invite her and see what she is really like, in person. Who knows, if she can't be seperate from her family, she might not come to the wedding anyways.

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