Weddings can be stressful enough without dealing with entitled family members who want to make demands. Unfortunately, Lily’s cousin is one of those people. Let’s find out how Lily dealt with her cousin.
A Big Family
Lily was getting married in October, and she was becoming concerned about the guest list. Between both families, she had already counted 125 people, and the thought of inviting everyone was overwhelming.
Her mom had told everyone that Lily might not invite all the cousins and definitely none of their kids. This was purely because of the size and cost of the wedding. If she let all the cousins bring their kids, it would mean an additional 33 people, and she was trying to keep the guest list to 150 people, which was already a challenge given the budget.
“Where’s My Invite?”
One day, Lily’s cousin, whom she hadn’t seen or talked to in over five years, messaged her to ask for her wedding date so she could block off work. She mentioned that she wanted to use Lily’s wedding to kick off a vacation week for her kids and needed to begin planning to save money. But what came next was outrageous.
The cousin requested that if Lily invited one of her estranged sisters, she should be seated across the room as far as possible from her, preferably out of the line of sight. She also suggested that Lily should not invite her sister anyway, as she had mental health and PTSD issues, which might cause her to no-show last minute or waste Lily’s money by taking her food and eating it alone in her hotel room.
“My Kids Will Be in the Wedding?”
Furthermore, the cousin boldly requested that her kids should be the flower girls and ring bearers at the wedding, even though that was Lily’s nieces’ and nephews’ roles! She also demanded that her kids eat a specific meal consisting of chicken tenders, pasta with butter, cheese fries, pepperoni pizza with root beer, and chocolate soft-serve ice cream with rainbow sprinkles for dessert.
It was evident that this cousin felt entitled to everything before she even knew they’d invited her!
Lily was shocked and couldn’t believe the level of entitlement this cousin was displaying. She informed her cousin of the wedding date but made it clear that she wasn’t sure about the guest list yet, and if cousins were invited, their kids weren’t allowed. She was tempted to delay her cousin’s save-the-date a week or two so she could see her sisters get theirs first.
How to Deal With Difficult Guests!
Lily also decided that her cousin would be seated with her entire family, including her estranged sister, per her seating charts. She made it clear that the wedding was child-free, with the exception of immediate nieces and nephews. She was not going to tolerate her cousin trying to bring her kids to the wedding.
Fortunately, Lily’s aunt was very involved in her cousin’s life and was going to buy her family’s plane tickets. She was not going to allow her grandkids to come to the wedding. If her cousin wanted to come and complain, that was not Lily’s problem. She was going to enjoy herself on the dance floor with everyone else.
Lily was grateful that she had the support of her aunt, who had it with her daughter’s behavior. Her cousin was causing drama in their family by refusing to show up for holidays if her estranged sister was attending. Lily’s aunt was aware of the no-kids rule, and since she was paying for their flights and hotel, she was not going to allow her grandkids to come.
Her Aunt Saved the Day
Lily was hopeful that the issue would get resolved quickly in the next month or two. Her aunt and uncle were great and would be on top of her cousin to make sure she didn’t pull any stunts. Once her cousin got the clear rules with the save-the-date and realized that no one would cater to her demands about her sister, she would probably throw a tantrum and decide not to come.
Two months ago, she skipped a family reunion because she asked the aunt hosting to not invite her sister because she refused to be in the same room as her. Her aunt just told her, “[Too bad] we won’t see you then!
Check Your Entitlement at the Door!
Lily is still in disbelief at the level of entitlement displayed by her cousin. It’s one thing to make requests or ask for information, but it’s another thing entirely to assume someone had invited you to a wedding and make demands for your own children’s meals and involvement in the ceremony.
It’s clear that some people feel entitled to special treatment, but where do we draw the line between reasonable requests and over-the-top entitlement? As we navigate our own relationships and social obligations, it’s worth considering how we can communicate our desires and expectations in a way that is respectful and considerate of others.
Have you ever dealt with someone who felt entitled to special treatment? How did you handle the situation? Did you set clear boundaries, or did you give in to their demands?
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The post She Invited Herself to the Wedding Then Gave Them Her Demands, but They Had a Surprise for Her first appeared on Wealthy Living
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Source: Reddit