Who you invite to your wedding should be completely up to you and your partner, but sometimes you might feel as though you have an obligation to invite certain people you'd rather not see on your big day.
That's the case with one bride who has invited her parents to her wedding alongside both of their new spouses - even though she'd rather not face her stepmum or stepdad.
In a post on Reddit, the bride-to-be's stepmum explained that her stepdaughter, Kate, has "never liked having a blended family" and found her parents' divorce and subsequent new marriages tough to deal with.
And even though Kate has extended wedding invites to her parents and their spouses, she has told her grandma that she "fantasises" about revoking her parents' invitations just so that her stepmum and stepdad won't be there.
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The woman's stepmum wrote in her post: "Kate never liked having a blended family, which I can sympathise with. She has half siblings but doesn't really acknowledge them and if someone asks her, she will usually say she is an only child. We tried our best, but she was just not cut out for having two blended families.
"She moved out as soon as she could and has always been very independent. She is cordial when we see her, but to be honest she just doesn't like any of us that much. Her parents do try to connect to her, but she just isn't interested.
"She is getting married over the summer and my mother-in-law recently came to us and said that she overheard Kate talking about how she fantasises about not inviting her parents, because she knows if she invites them she has to invite her stepfather and I, and she just hates feeling like 'playing pretend'.
"She said she would never actually do it, but she fantasizes about it all the time."
After being told the news about how Kate feels, her stepdad said he would be more than happy to sit out of the wedding and have Kate's mum go by herself.
But her stepmum has refused to budge on the issue and has said she'll be attending the wedding with her husband anyway - even though she knows Kate doesn't want her there.
She added: "Obviously I was hurt, but I think Kate is entitled to her private feelings.
"The issue is her mother's husband said he was going to just let her have this one thing and not go. Everyone immediately praised him for being such a great guy and then began pressuring me to just not go. I'm not comfortable with that.
"I don't resent her for having feelings, everyone is entitled to their fantasies, but at the end of the day, etiquette and social obligations are a thing. To me, it is about respect. You cannot just expect one half of a married couple to come alone.
"My husband agreed to back me but seemed uncomfortable, and everyone else is telling me how awful I am and that just staying home would be such a nice wedding gift for her."
Commenters on the post were quick to slam the woman though, with many saying that her "pride" is getting in the way of making sure Kate has a good time on her wedding day.
One person said: "She doesn’t want you there and you clearly don’t like her either, the only thing stopping you from not going is ego and pride."
While another added: "Your stepdaughter's happiness is more important than 'etiquette and social obligation', [which are] arbitrary rules that have made her spend time with people she doesn't like."
And a third posted: "You say the only reason you are insisting on going is that you don’t want your husband doing along due to societal expectations, but it sounds a lot more like you’re going to be petty."
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