You decide who you invite to your wedding and whether you want to give those people the option of bringing a plus one, and while no one can force you to invite someone, most of us will want to have our loved ones there on the big day - as well as any partners or spouses they might have.
But one woman has been left fuming after she told her sister that she wouldn't be allowed to bring her boyfriend to her wedding - resulting in her sibling dropping out of the ceremony completely.
The bride-to-be explained that her half-sister Ella has a long-distance boyfriend who is coming to visit her during the week of the wedding in two months' time, so Ella asked her if she could bring him to the ceremony.
However, the woman told Ella he wouldn't be allowed to come, claiming they had already confirmed catering arrangements and wouldn't be able to add one more name to the list two months ahead of the wedding.
In a post on Reddit, she said: "I'm getting married in about two months. We're having a pretty intimate wedding in terms of the number of guests, so outside of married/engaged couples, only people we know have a long-term significant other received a +1.
"Ella is my half-sister, she has a long-distance boyfriend who's coming to visit. All well and good, but he'll be here the week of my wedding. She asked for a +1 to bring him, but I said that's not possible because we've already confirmed catering and everything, and I don't really know him that well."
When Ella tried to claim that some of the bride's friends have been given permission to bring their partners, the woman told her they were in "actual relationships" - leaving Ella fuming.
She added: "Ella tried saying I gave my friends +1s, but they've been in actual relationships for a couple of years, and they'll be hurt if I don't give them +1s. I said sorry, but this is our decision and I don't want other people getting upset, and other relatives asking why they couldn't bring their boyfriend/girlfriend of the month/week/day.
"She's now saying she won't be attending because it's disrespectful to her relationship and she wants to spend time with him before he leaves. I said she was being extremely selfish and acting like she was the only person who didn't receive a +1.
"This is causing issues between me and Ella, so am I the a**hole?"
In a comment, the bride clarified her sister and her boyfriend have been together since 2019 after meeting when the family went on holiday but said they hadn't seen each other in person since then.
And people were firmly on Ella's side, especially as they said the clarification in the comments made it clear that the couple is in a "long-term relationship" so therefore no different to the other couples invited to the wedding.
One person said: "They've been together since 2019 … I don't understand why that is not considered a long-term relationship. I don't do long-distance either, but I would never disrespect someone else's relationship because of that. Now tell us the real reason why you're not giving your sister a +1."
While another added: "Are long distance relationships not 'actual relationships'? I feel like you are not respecting her relationship as 'real' because they are long-distance and that is definitely not your place. Also isn't 2 months still plenty of time to adjust catering and stuff to include 1 more person? Not that big of a deal, you're just being mean."
And a third wrote: "She is your sister. No one is going to complain that your sister got a +1 and they didn't. You picked a lame hill to die on and will damage your relationship with your sister because of it. I hope that is worth the cost of an extra plate of food."
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