A Marriage Showdown: When Sibling Rivalry Collides with Wedding Bells
Oh honey, grab your popcorn because today’s tale is jam-packed with more drama than a daytime soap opera. We’re diving into the steamy, passive-aggressive world of sisterly competition. Imagine your classic, tight-knit family… Except for one glaring detail: This one’s been blowtorched down the middle by the scalding steam of sibling rivalry. But wait, folks, this isn’t just any sibling rivalry—this is stepsibling rivalry, which means double the drama, double the fun!
So, a lovely Redditor, whom we’ll affectionately call ‘Saint Sally,’ turned to the internet oracle for advice, framing the classic AITA query: ‘Am I the A**hole for refusing to move my wedding date because of my competitive stepsister?’ Buckle up, because this one’s got all the makings of a blockbuster film.
Prom Queen Competitions & Cutthroat Casserole Contests
Meet our protagonist, Sally. She has an arch-nemesis named Wren. No, this isn’t the latest Marvel Universe creation; unfortunately, it’s Sally’s stepsister. Apparently, Wren and her mother have always made everything a ‘keeping up with the Joneses’ extravaganza—except the Joneses are conveniently living under the same roof.
Wren’s mom, bless her heart, was the fuel to this competitive flame, inciting petty tiffs over everything from school grades to casserole contests. We’re talking two decades of hostile bake-offs, furious prom queen confrontations, and don’t-get-me-started-on-the-sibling soccer showdowns. Sally admits she might have egged it on a tad when they were hormonal teenagers but c’mon, who wouldn’t?
Clock’s Ticking: The Unexpected Proposal
Fast forward to adulting issues, our protagonist got engaged just a hot minute ago. While Wren’s been droning on about her big, fat November wedding for over a year, Sally’s fiancé has a high-pressure job that would give even aspiring astronauts cold sweats. Their scheduling dilemma? Marry now or expect an Everest climb of stress later. So when her wedding planner mapped out a low-key August affair, Sally probably lit up like a kid who found the golden ticket.
Big ole’ issue: Miss August a.k.a. Sally is now unwittingly stepping on Miss November a.k.a. Wren’s bridal veil. Wren is fit to be tied. Imagine a bridezilla on steroids, but with the wicked cunning of a Bond villain. She’s hurling accusations, claiming Sally’s only doing this to upstage her! Seriously, if drama were a currency, Wren would be loaded.
The Family Feud Gets Hotter
Out comes the familial mob, flaming pitchforks and all. Wren’s throwing a hissy fit that could rival an erupting volcano, grilling their dad for funding Sally’s supposed upstaging spectacle. She’s stirring the cauldron among mutual friends, just to multiply the embarrassment for Sally and her fiancé. That’s right—without even trying, Sally’s inadvertently launched a full-scale social media humiliation tour.
The parents? They’re as useful as a chocolate teapot. Attempting to play weak peacekeepers, they hint, “Maybe a winter wedding would be better. We can avoid the family Civil War and attend both weddings, la-di-da, kumbaya.” But every time that suggestion hits Sally’s ears, I imagine nails screeching down a chalkboard.
Who’s the Real Victim Here?
Even Baby Bro gets his ten pence worth in, reminding Sally of how this sibling ‘cold war’ stretches back to the Stone Age. Essentially, he’s calling Sally naive for thinking Wren will magically transform into a supportive stepsister overnight. Really, bro? Thanks for the pro tip.
Let’s get this straight: Sally’s being asked to postpone her presumably stress-free, intimate celebration to soothe the bruised ego of a competitive stepsister. All in the name of ‘family unity!’ People, what are the odds Wren will still hold a grudge, regardless of when this wedding happens? A smooth zero. Just saying.
Roger Has a Say
Alright, it’s time for some sagesse from yours truly, Roger. Now, I’m all for familial harmony and the whole Kumbaya love fest, but this situation reeks of manipulating melodrama. Newsflash: No matter when Sally says ‘I do,’ Wren’s knife won’t lose its edge overnight. If Wren is determined to view this as another chapter in your lifelong rivalry, she will—and she’ll make Hayley’s Comet out of it.
Sweetheart, Sally isn’t just planning a wedding; she’s navigating a minefield laced with toxic sibling energy. So what does she owe Wren? A free pass to her own mental threats and tantrums? Not on my watch!
Sally should stick to her guns, marry her man when it makes sense for their timeline, and steer clear of reactionary family rumbles. We all know that no change of date will transform Wren into the world’s best stepsister.
So, stand tall, Sally. Walk that aisle in August with those you genuinely care about, and let the Wren’s of the world squawk all they want. Because while both weddings might be temporally close, joy will always outshine jealousy.
Original story
My stepsister “Wren” has always been competitive with me. It was mostly fuelled by her mom, who was always extremely competitive between the “families”, but Wren kept it up.
I’ll admit I fed into it a bit when we were teenagers but I grew out of it. She never did.
She goes out of her way to try to one-up me and she thinks everything I do is to one-up her, which isn’t the case.
That’s the background to the main issue. Wren is getting married in November, and she’s been planning the weeding for over a year.
I got engaged a month ago. My fiancé works an extremely high pressure job and because of the nature of his job, next year and the year after will be incredibly stressful.
It’s part of the reason he proposed when he did. I don’t want to wait two years to get married, so I got in touch with a wedding planner who was able to work something out so that we can get married in august.
It will be an extremely small wedding, a reception dinner of about 20 people over one weekend. This is in contrast to the 150 person traditional wedding that Wren has planned.
Wren is livid that we’re planning to get married before her. She knows the reasons but she still insists that I’ve planned this to upstage her wedding.
She is giving her dad no end of shit for putting money towards my wedding and helping me to humiliate her (her words). She is also causing trouble amongst mutual friends she has with my fiancé (this is not a huge deal because they’re not wanting to get involved but it was extremely embarrassing because she announced the date of our wedding before we did).
My mom and her dad are now hinting that maybe we should move the wedding. They keep saying maybe a winter wedding (I guess after Wren’s) would be better, and that it would be nice if the family could attend both weddings with everyone on good terms.
My stepbrother has also said that while he knows I didn’t do it on purpose, because of past issues this will be extremely hard for Wren to get past. He also said I was naive for thinking that just because my wedding is different from hers that she would let it go.
He may be right about that.
I still don’t really want to change the date of the wedding. I don’t think doing it in the winter will appease Wren, and two have to wait over a year just because of her childish vendetta seems grossly unfair.
But I don’t like being the one to rock boat and I do sometimes feel a bit sorry for Wren. Maybe this isn’t the time to take a stand.
I really don’t know if I’m in the wrong here