Planning a wedding is filled with excitement, stress, and the occasional surprise objection.

So when one bride-to-be finally found her dream venue, she didn’t expect her sister-in-law to lay claim to it for a wedding that didn’t exist yet.

Should she look for another venue to keep the peace, or should she book the venue regardless of the consequences?

You’ll want to read on for this one.

WIBTA for booking a wedding venue my future SIL says is “off-limits” — even though she’s not engaged?

My fiancé (24M) and I (25F) are currently planning our wedding for June 2027 in Paphos, Cyprus.

We’ve spent a lot of time researching and narrowing down venues, and eventually found two that we absolutely loved.

But when she shared the plans with the rest of the family, someone wasn’t happy.

When we told his family about our top two choices, his sister (28F) immediately said we couldn’t book one of them—because it’s on her list of potential venues for her own future wedding.

The issue?

She’s not engaged, and while she’s been with her partner for 5 years, he’s said he’s not planning to propose anytime soon.

At the time, I brushed it off and figured it just made our decision easier—we’d go with our other favorite.

But when the other favorite wasn’t available, things got tough.

But after contacting the venue and checking availability, it turns out they’re fully booked during the dates we need. (My fiancé’s mum works in a school, so we’re restricted to school holidays.)

Now we’re in a tough spot.

We’ve looked at nearly every other venue in Paphos, and nothing compares to those original two—and the one his sister “claimed” is still available during our dates.

Now she’s wondering how to move forward.

So here’s the dilemma: WIBTA if we went ahead and booked the venue, despite his sister’s comment?

To me, it feels unfair to miss out on a dream venue for a hypothetical wedding that hasn’t even started planning yet—but I also don’t want to create unnecessary family drama.

We did try to compromise, but we’re running out of options.

A hypothetical wedding should definitely not be prioritized over an actual wedding.

What did Reddit think?

You can’t just “hold” a wedding venue for only your use.

Maybe this issue goes much deeper for her sister-in-law.

If she’s not getting married, then she needs to stop acting like it.

Gatekeep-y much?

Her sister-in-law will have her day eventually, but for now, she needs to step aside.

If you liked that post, check out this story about a guy who was forced to sleep on the couch at his wife’s family’s house, so he went to a hotel instead.