There are few things more exhausting in this world than wedding politics.

And if you don’t immediately understand what I mean when I throw that phrase out, you either come from an exceptionally healthy family, or you haven’t been part of a wedding.

Take this example.

AITA for not inviting my aunt to my wedding?

See, it was supposed to be a limited thing…

I (26M) am currently in medical school, and I’m getting married in five months.

Because of student loans and being on a tight budget, my fiancée and I are keeping our wedding relatively modest.

We’re inviting about 90–95 people, but our venue and food aren’t anything extravagant to keep cost low for the amount of people we invited, we’re genuinely happy with what we’ve planned and excited to celebrate with loved ones.

It’s wild to me that nearly 100 people is considered a small wedding these days.

When it came to the guest list, I decided to invite only one of my uncles and his SO.

He’s always been supportive and present in my life, unlike my other aunts and uncles, who I rarely hear from.

I figured it made more sense to prioritize friends over extended family I’m not close with.

But there was advocacy on the other side.

Initially, I did plan to invite one of my aunts because my mom was upset I had not invited her in the first place so I decided to invite her only, not her partner.

I’ve had a rocky relationship with her SO due to past disagreements.

I added her out of respect for my mom, who felt she should be included.

I never speak with her and haven’t spoken to her in 3-4 years, but after speaking with my mother and explaining she’d be invited alone, my mom insisted it was wrong not to invite the whole family of five.

She said it would look disingenuous, and ultimately asked me to take her off the list altogether.

I agreed, since the invitation was really just to honor my mom’s wishes.

And then more unforeseen side effects.

I didn’t think much of it until I got a message from my uncle (the one I did invite) saying he and his SO would like to withdraw his RSVP.

He said that not inviting his sister (my aunt) would cause tension and make things feel personal, so they’d rather not attend.

He said it was nothing personal but it was out of respect for his sibling.

What is he to do now?

I was really hurt.

This uncle has always been important to me, and I didn’t expect this reaction.

I even called him to talk, not because I had to, but because i genuinely would have loved if he came by.

That said, I still don’t feel comfortable inviting my aunt. So—AITA for leaving her off the list?

Let’s see what the comments say:

Everyone is looking out for their own interests, it seems.

You can’t expect these things not to matter to people.

The times they are a’changing.

Here’s hoping the wedding goes well, despite it all.

What’s a wedding without some drama, right?

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a daughter who invited herself to her parents’ 40th anniversary vacation for all the wrong reasons.