‘My sister wants me to reschedule my wedding for the most ridiculous reason’

“I feel like it's unfair to ask me to change everything last minute.”

When two big events happen at the same time, which one takes precedence? 

That’s the very serious question Annie* has to consider in the lead-up to her wedding. She’s had everything planned for over a year; the invites are out, her flowers have been ordered, and the dress is ready. 

But now her sister Hannah* wants to throw a spanner into the works. 

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Is Annie's dream wedding going to get uprooted by her sister? Picture: iStock

“We didn't know she was pregnant when we set the date”

Everyone in Annie’s family is extremely excited about the big day, with relatives and friends making plans and coming from all over the country to attend the nuptials. 

Annie’s sister Hannah, who is also looking forward to the wedding, has been planning something of her own. 

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See, Hannah is pregnant. This wouldn’t be a big deal for anyone; in fact, Annie is extremely happy for her sister to welcome another member to the family. 

That was until Annie learned when Hannah was due to give birth. 

“My sister just told me she's due to give birth on the same day as my wedding,” Annie said in the Reddit post. 

“We didn't know she was pregnant when we set the date.”

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It seems like there’s not much you can do about them sharing the same date, right? 

Not so fast. Hannah came up with a solution to the predicament, meaning she could give birth and still attend her sister’s wedding. 

All Annie had to do was “postpone the wedding so she can attend.”  

Naturally, Annie was horrified by this suggestion. 

“I get that childbirth is a big deal, but so is my wedding,” she said. 

After planning everything for over a year, confirming all attendees and working with the vendors, the last thing Annie wanted to do was reschedule the entire event. 

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Not to mention how unlikely it would be that Hannah actually gave birth on her due date. (In Australia, roughly five per cent of all babies were born on their due date.)

Turning the idea down, Annie instead offered to livestream the wedding to her sister while she was in the hospital; that way, she wouldn’t miss the day and could still follow her plans accordingly. 

“I’d visit her in the hospital right after the ceremony,” she added. 

But Hannah wasn’t having it, labelling her sister “selfish” for refusing to uproot her entire wedding day to support her sister’s birth. 

Taking the issue to her parents, Annie stressed she really didn’t want to postpone her entire wedding day just so her sister could attend. But her parents didn’t understand, taking Hannah’s side in the argument and accusing Annie of being selfish.

“Family should come first,” they told her. (Wait, what is Annie, then? Chopped liver?) 

“But I don't want to rearrange everything and risk losing deposits,” Annie hit back. “Not to mention the hassle of rescheduling vendors and guests.”

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“You shouldn’t postpone your major life event for someone else’s major life event”

People on Reddit were floored by the request, and couldn’t fathom how anyone could justify asking another person to make such a last-minute change. 

“Everyone knows it's impossible to change a wedding date,” read a comment. “If you rearrange the date now, it's likely that many guests will be unable to come and they will be angry.”

A woman who went through a similar experience recounted how she handled the situation. 

“I missed my sister's wedding because my daughter was born the same day,” she said. “I accepted that it could happen and asked for pictures.”

“It's not your problem to move the day, most kids aren't born on their due date anyway.”

“I understand your sister being upset at the prospect that she may miss your wedding, but with all the time, money, effort and planning you’ve put into your wedding she is the selfish one asking you to postpone,” said another. 

“You don’t need to postpone your major life events for someone else’s major life event,” wrote a third. 

If Annie’s family couldn’t accept her refusal to postpone the wedding, someone offered a helpful suggestion. 

“Give your family the total cost of changing everything and replicating the exact same wedding,” they advised. 

“Let them know that as soon as their money hits your account, you'll get to work rearranging.”

*Names have been changed

Originally published as ‘My sister wants me to reschedule my wedding for the most ridiculous reason’