Weddings are a time to celebrate love and family, but sometimes old dynamics can stir up unexpected drama.

When his aunt invited an unapproved guest to the big day, one groom was forced to draw the line between honoring the past and protecting the present.

Read on for this tale of wedding drama.

AITA for not letting my dads ex, who was my aunts +1, be in family photos at my wedding?

I (26M) got married a month ago and some wedding drama has since come to light, mostly via my aunt, who’s my dads older sister.

Aunt decided to take dad’s ex-wife as her +1. Dad and his ex have been divorced for 5 years now.

They got married when I was 7 though, which is where my aunt is coming into play.

The groom further explains their family dynamic.

Dad had custody of me and my three older siblings when he met his ex. They met not too long after my mom died. But it took a few months for them to start dating.

None of us (siblings and me) really connected with her or cared much for her.

In the eyes of the groom, she was butting in where she didn’t belong.

To us, she was dad’s wife who couldn’t have kids of her own and saw us as her chance at motherhood.

She made us uncomfortable sometimes with how insistent she was that she was now the mom of the family.

It got really awkward at times when we were younger and dad was doing something for us, but she wanted to do it instead.

The aunt, on the other hand, saw his dad’s ex’s persistent as a positive thing.

My aunt always liked that she tried to step in and become mom. For one, she never liked our mom.

But it was also her belief that when kids lose one parent, someone needs to fill that space for them.

So when dad and his ex divorced and none of my siblings or I kept in contact with his ex, it ticked my aunt off.

She resented how her brother’s kids treated her.

She told us repeatedly she felt the ex deserved better and she should be regarded as mom in some way after all those years. She should be seen as someone worth keeping around to all of us.

I didn’t know before my wedding day that the ex was her plus one.

It didn’t bother me, but I was clear that she wasn’t going to be in the wedding photos.

The aunt insisted she be included, but the groom stood his ground.

My aunt hated it and she expected to be able to sneak her in, but no that was taken care of. My aunt also wanted me to dance with the ex, but I didn’t.

After the wedding, my aunt went a little crazy on me and since then she has told me on an almost daily basis that she thinks I was a jerk for doing that to the ex.

The aunt explains that the ex deserves much better for all the effort she went to – even if it wasn’t well received by the kids.

She told me I had mom for 5 years, but I had the ex for 14 and she did most of the raising of me and my siblings so we should all be keeping her as mom and for the future as grandma.

She told me it was disgusting to exclude her during the wedding too when she was already there. I told my aunt I hadn’t invited the ex and I was never going to.

AITA?

Sounds like his relationship with his aunt needs some mending.

What did Reddit think?

The ex is sympathetic, but her and the aunt still crossed a line.

This commenter wondered how his dad and his ex’s relationship continued for so long if none of the kids seemed to like her.

This redditor diverges, saying the ex deserved more grace than what she got.

As far as an additional party being included in the wedding photos, that’s pretty unheard of.

His dad’s ex clearly wanted to step into a parental role, but from the groom’s point of view, it seems like she more forced her way in.

The groom chose to focus on his new life, even if it meant some were left out of the picture.

If you thought that was an interesting story, check out what happened when a family gave their in-laws a free place to stay in exchange for babysitting, but things changed when they don’t hold up their end of the bargain.