There are a million factors to consider when planning a wedding. Where will it be held? Who’s going to make it on the guest list? And how much can you really afford to spend on your special day? It’s hard enough for the bride and groom to make these decisions together, but it can become much more complicated when their relatives suddenly want to have a say.
One bride recently reached out to Reddit seeking advice after her sister began pressuring her to move her wedding back a few months. Below, you’ll find all of the details, as well as some of the replies invested readers shared.
This woman's wedding date has been set for months
Image credits: Getty Images / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
But her sister suddenly decided that she would prefer to change the date to accommodate a potential pregnancy
Image credits: Natalia Blauth / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
Image credits: ScheduleRich5349
A wedding date should only be changed under extenuating circumstances
Image credits: Alvaro Reyes / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
Once a wedding date has been chosen, the thought of changing it can sound like an absolute nightmare. The couple has likely already put down a deposit on their venue to secure their wedding date, and if they’re on top of things, they’ve already sent out save the date cards to their guest list. So most brides and grooms aren’t going to be willing to budge unless there are extenuating circumstances.
When it comes to how to decide whether or not to adjust the big day, Inside Weddings notes that there are a few situations that might require you to give up your ideal date.
For example, if you happened to plan your wedding on the exact same day that another close friend or family member booked theirs, it might be best to find a new date. After all, you don’t want to put yourselves and a significant portion of your guest list in a position where they have to pick sides.
It’s also never a good idea to plan a wedding on a religious holiday that many of the guests celebrate. Inside Weddings also recommends avoiding planning your wedding around the same time that someone important in your life will be giving birth. However, it’s impossible to plan around a baby that hasn’t even been conceived yet.
Now, there may be times when a guest requests that a couple moves their wedding date to accommodate them. But that doesn’t mean that the bride and groom actually have to say yes. Although it may not be ideal, Inside Weddings says it’s fine to keep your big day on someone’s birthday weekend or the same weekend as a major sporting event.
Many couples try for months, or even years, before getting pregnant
Image credits: Getty Images / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
It’s also okay to keep your wedding date, even if it’s during an unpredictable season of weather. There’s no way to know for sure what the skies will look like until the day of, so as long as you have an indoor option available, the wedding should still go on without a hitch.
In this specific story, the bride’s sister is requesting that a wedding that is currently 8 months away be moved just in case she’s pregnant at that time. However, getting pregnant doesn’t typically happen overnight. In fact, it can sometimes take much longer than a couple anticipated.
According to the CDC, one in five married women in the United States who are trying to conceive will take over a year to get pregnant. And over a quarter of these women have difficulty getting pregnant or carrying a baby to term.
Flo notes that there are plenty of factors that can influence how long it will take a couple to get pregnant, including whether they’re over or underweight, how much alcohol they drink, their caffeine intake, environmental factors like air pollution, whether or not they smoke, anxiety and depression, previous pregnancy loss and diseases such as diabetes.
We have no way of knowing exactly how long it will take this bride’s sister to get pregnant. But at the end of the day, it’s not up to her to choose her sister’s wedding date. And if she’s not feeling well enough to party, she can always just send a gift.
We would love to hear your thoughts on this situation in the comments below, pandas. Do you think it’s fair for this woman’s sister to request that she move her wedding date? Feel free to weigh in. Then, you can find another Bored Panda article discussing wedding date drama right here.
Readers unanimously sided with the bride, and many urged her to stand her ground
