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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

My daughter doesn’t want to come to my wedding…..

108 replies

mandy20256 · 16/11/2023 19:39

Im getting married next week and my daughter has just told me she doesn’t want to come. She’s too anxious to walk in the room.
we are eloping so it will be myself, husband to be and three daughters. One being only 3 months old.
I have tried to reassure her that it’s not a big deal. I have told her she can be in the room without anyone watching her walk in. She can walk in with me or with her sisters. All to which she said she doesn’t want to.
I feel like my day is going to be ruined if she starts on the day.
shes 14 so she’s not a baby. What can I do? Thank you in advance

OP posts:
TurkeyTrotToXmas · 16/11/2023 19:40

Can she be seated before your entrance?

Flickersy · 16/11/2023 19:41

Is your husband to be her father? If not, how recently did she lose her father / how recently did you split?

OhComeOnFFS · 16/11/2023 19:41

Can she push the buggy or hold the baby?

ComtesseDeSpair · 16/11/2023 19:42

At my wedding (and that of every wedding I’ve ever been to, as far as I can recall) guests were seated prior to anything else. Is there something about your ceremony which means that’s not possible?

Nopenopenopenopenopenope · 16/11/2023 19:43

Give her some either/or options that mean it feels like the pressure is taken off of her but she participates anyway? You might find she chooses to do what you'd like her to anyway.

ComtesseDeSpair · 16/11/2023 19:43

Though have just clocked her age. Does she like your partner? Does he like her? I’m guessing that this is less about “walking in” and more about the finality of a relationship she doesn’t like.

IndecentFeminist · 16/11/2023 19:44

Work with her. See if her sitting down before you would work, no pressure on her. Otherwise, could she sit outside with a coke and a book and wait for you to be done?

Freeformfire25 · 16/11/2023 19:45

I wonder can you provide a bit more context? Good questions about the husband to be, do they have a good relationship? Sounds like something else is up.
any particular reason you decided to elope?

RandomButtons · 16/11/2023 19:46

Are you asking her to be bridesmaid/walk in with the bridal party? If not then don’t do that. Can she bring a friend?

Doseofreality · 16/11/2023 19:46

Perhaps it’s not the actual wedding ceremony that’s the problem but the marriage?

Night409 · 16/11/2023 20:14

Ask if she’d feel more comfortable being seated before everyone else gets there.

I completely understand being 14 and not wanting everyone staring at you.

Is it definitely just her anxiety?

How does she feel about your DP?

Jellycats4life · 16/11/2023 20:15

Is there a backstory to the anxiety? Is high anxiety something you see from her a lot, or is “being too anxious to walk in the room” come out of the blue?

wokbun · 16/11/2023 20:17

Is the groom her dad?

wokbun · 16/11/2023 20:19

If the groom isn't her dad but is the dad of the 3 month old she's had a lot to deal with emotionally

mandy20256 · 16/11/2023 20:20

She loves him and he adores her. She’s had anxiety for a long time. Since she was 5 when I was with her dad. Her real dad wasn’t very nice to her. She’s happy now. She wants to come to the wedding she’s just nervous about the walking in part

OP posts:
PonyPatter44 · 16/11/2023 20:21

MUCH more information needed, I think. My gut reaction would be to say fine, you can stay with Grandma and the rest of us will go away. She is old enough to get over herself and behave like part of the family.

ghostyslovesheets · 16/11/2023 20:21

So don't ask her to 'walk in' (by which I'm guessing you mean as part of the bridal party) - settle her in a seat first and let her sit and watch

Oxomoco · 16/11/2023 20:23

Is she imagining some kind of procession? Surely if there are only five of you, and one is a baby, no one is ‘walking in’, you’re just a bunch of people going into a room, the same way as you go into any room?

mandy20256 · 16/11/2023 20:24

shes had anxiety for years and we think possibly adhd. We are open about the wedding and she’s been very excited. Now it’s coming close she’s nervous. Her life is the most stable it has ever been and myself and partner have been together a long time

OP posts:
mandy20256 · 16/11/2023 20:25

That’s partly how I feel. So I have asked her if she wants to come. She said yes she does. She can be selfish at times as most teenagers are. I’m just hoping she’ll be alright on the day and I don’t have to stress about her

OP posts:
HeddaGarbled · 16/11/2023 20:34

I feel like my day is going to be ruined if she starts on the day

What’s to ruin? You, your partner & 2 or 3 children in a registry office being taken through a legal procedure, while wearing nice clothes.

Let her sit outside on her phone if she wants, then she can join in the celebration afterwards.

ManateeFair · 16/11/2023 20:49

When you say you're 'eloping' what do you actually mean? Because I took that to mean that it was literally just going to be you, your fiance and your daughters, with no other guests. If so, at what point is 'walking in the room' going to be an issue? Surely you just turn up as a family and go in together?

If you mean that you and your husband and daughters are just the bridal party and there will actually be a roomful of guests, that's not an elopement, and in that situation I can see why she would be nervous about being a bridesmaid or whatever. I feel like I need a lot more information about the actual wedding here and what's expected of her.

Anyway. If it's the latter, then I suspect she is just incredibly nervous about everyone looking at her. But if it's the former, then my guess is that subconsciously, she is probably actually worried that things will change after the wedding and is transferring her anxiety on to the ceremony itself. I doubt she's actually aware of this, but if her biological father was horrible and she loves your fiance, my guess is that there's a part of her that is secretly worried that your fiance might turn into someone like her dad once you get married.

Also, she's had little control over her life so far, from what you've said. Abusive father, lack of stability in the family, sudden arrival of a baby sister etc. So I'm guessing that there's a part of her that is just feeling like she doesn't have a lot of autonomy in her life, and she wants to remind you that she can make choices. She's testing you, I think. Trying to reassure herself that she can't be forced into anything, and also trying to remind you that her feelings are still important even on a day like this. Again, I strongly doubt she's even aware of this; it will all be subconscious.

If I were you, I'd sit down with her and say 'Look, Stepdad and I would love you to be there with us. We love you all and you girls are the most important thing in our lives, so of course we'll be absolutely gutted if you aren't there. This isn't just our wedding, it's a ceremony for us as a family. But if you really don't feel that you can be in the room, then we won't force you. Come to the register office and you can see how you feel on the day - if you really don't feel you can bear to come into the room, you can wait outside if you want and we won't make a big deal out of it. It would absolutely make our day if you could manage it, because it won't feel complete without you there with us - but we'll respect your choice to sit it out, if that's really how you feel.'

Doggymummar · 16/11/2023 20:52

Eloping is running away with no guests, this sounds like standard register office do, with a small group of family.

steff13 · 16/11/2023 20:53

Can she get there early and go sit down before anyone else comes in, so no one will look at her? How are you feeling with her anxiety?

HamBone · 16/11/2023 20:54

steff13 · 16/11/2023 20:53

Can she get there early and go sit down before anyone else comes in, so no one will look at her? How are you feeling with her anxiety?

I think that would be the best solution.

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