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Just Said Yes August 2024

How to disinvite bridesmaid

Alex, on February 12, 2024 at 8:58 PM Posted in Family and Relationships 0 10

TLDR; friendship has grown apart quite a bit since asking my friend to be a bridesmaid. We haven’t spoken in 4 months, and probably haven’t seen each other since July 2023.

I guess let me start with: I am prepared for this friendship to end, as we haven’t talked in 4 months anyway. Our friendship started in 2020, right before lock down happened. I got engaged back in Dec 2022 and she was one of the first people to know. I guess keeping it vague, this bridesmaid had a history of her SO cheating, which made her realize how much she isolated her self from her friends and when her relationship went sour, she had no one because she put everyone on the back burner for this guy. Her words, not mine. Fast forward a few months back and she’s found a new boyfriend. I’m glad he treats her well unlike her last partner. However, she’s followed the exact same pattern of putting our friendship on the back burner.
A few examples:
I asked her to help with our dogs for our engagement photos, she said yes, and then she asked if her new boyfriend could come to “help.” It was already stressful, but I said sure. This was the first time I was meeting him, which made it kind of awkward because it’s our engagement photo shoot and it’s kind of intimate to be doing in front of a stranger. Anyway, she tells him where and when, and he shows up 45 minutes late when we’re finished walking back to our cars. He said he had a project he “just couldn’t put down.” It turned out to be a flower box he was making, with no deadline. Now, I understand he has absolutely 0 commitment to me, my fiancée, or my wedding. However, because he decided to be late, that meant my bridesmaid was calling him constantly trying to help him find the parking lot (apparently she didn’t send the coordinates like I told her to do). So I was trying to get her attention the entire photo shoot and I feel like we missed some opportunities with our pups because she was distracted by where her bf was. We were on the beach and I literally had to shout down the beach so she could hear me because she was on the phone. Our photo shoot lasted probably around 50 minutes. After everything, it was quite obvious he just didn’t care about being 45 minutes late OR she didn’t actually tell him “hey, I told everyone you’d help out.” I felt very cornered and forced to meet him on such last notice and during such a special time.
Another example:i told her towards the end of December about two wedding expos I would like to attend with her. She agreed, and said she put BOTH in her calendar. The first one comes and we go together, but she’s just texting her boyfriend the entire time. At every single vendor, she had her phone messaging him. It made me feel guilty because I didn’t think she actually cared to be there. A few weeks go by, she messages me and asks what the dates are for the second expo, I tell her the dates and let her know (like the first one) I’ll be buying her ticket. I also mention “please don’t forget to put this in your calendar, I really want to go with you.” She says she put it in her calendar. A week before the expo, I send her one of those video ads for the expo and she says “when is this?” I tell her it’s the wedding expo that I’ve sent her the dates to twice. She tells me that her boyfriend is up and that she didn’t realize the day it was happening. This was frustrating for obvious reasons. She said she could “leave him (bf) behind for a few hours so she could go” and that “he can try to find something to do for a bit.” Which made me feel guilty, again, so I just said it wasn’t a big deal. Her roommate ended up telling me that they didn’t even end up doing anything that weekend, except she watched him play video games on the computer. This was a huge punch to the gut for me.
There’s many other instances of putting our friendship on the back burner until something bad happens, these are just two little examples.
Again, I totally understand that my wedding should absolutely not be her top priority. I also get that being a bridesmaid isn’t all the hype that people make it seem. There’s really no commitment besides showing up in the dress I choose on the wedding day. I think it’s more that our friendship didn’t even seem like a 10th priority when her boyfriend came into the photo. We haven’t talked in 4 months, and the last time we hung out was in summer. I think I’ve already made up my mind about disinviting her, my other bridesmaids also agree that it might be best to cut ties. I should note, all of my other bridesmaids (one 2 hours away, one in the mid west US, and one in FL) have went above and beyond to help with anything they can. I think it may be another gut punch because this bridesmaid lives 15 minutes away. What do I say? How do I say it? I’m not a confrontational person, so everything about this sucks!

10 Comments

Latest activity by Rae, on February 14, 2024 at 12:10 PM
  • A
    Just Said Yes August 2024
    Alex ·
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    Also, save the dates/invites have not been sent out at all. Wedding is 6+ months away.


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  • Jacks
    Rockstar November 2054
    Jacks ·
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    This is the issue with asking your wedding party really early. Things change in relationships all the time.

    Having said that, kicking her out (for really no reason) will likely end this friendship. She's not obligated to go to photo shoots or bridal expos with you, and in fact if you're not the one getting married it's probably boring. Asking all your other BM's about this one particular person seems to come across very mean girl to me, I hope you didn't look badly in front of them. It feels like you're really not being kind to this woman, who again has done nothing wrong to you.

    ETA: I didn't give advice on how to nicely kick her out, that's not possible.

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  • A
    Just Said Yes August 2024
    Alex ·
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    Ah yes, I figured I would get one of you. It seems you didn’t read. Thanks for no advice 😊
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  • Andrea
    Rockstar January 2024
    Andrea ·
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    So you say you know that nothing is required but then you want to uninvite her because she’s not prioritizing these things that aren’t required. There is no way to do this nicely, so my only recommendation is to do it quickly. Stop hinting or getting other people involved. Just tell her that you don’t feel close anymore and don’t want her as your bridesmaid. The friendship will end, but you might minimize the backlash of other people thinking you’re treating her poorly.
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  • Jacks
    Rockstar November 2054
    Jacks ·
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    You're saying one thing (you know BM's don't need to spend $ and time) and doing another (kicking someone out). I was trying to keep you from looking like a bridezilla while you kick a former friend out of your wedding party. You can take the advice or leave it, but I did read the whole post.

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  • Lisa
    Rockstar July 2022
    Lisa ·
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    I agree with everything that Jacks and Andrea said. But to answer your question about how to disinvite her, simply just tell her that you noticed your friendship drifting further and further apart, that you feel it's best that you and her go your separate ways, and that you won't be sending her an invite to the wedding. Be aware that this will end your friendship with her, and it could also affect your friendship with any of your other friends who may also be friends with her.

    If it weren't for the concerns you mentioned, would you still want to be friends with this person? If so, I would honestly try to repair things first. She might not be aware of just how much her decisions/patterns are affecting you, and checking in with her as a friend instead of as a bride could help her understand. If I were doing anything that was negative impacting my friendships, I would hope my friends would have a conversation with me about it before just walking away.
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  • Michael
    Rockstar October 2023
    Michael ·
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    Your friend may just be infatuated with her new boyfriend. You said this happened several times. She's only been a friend for 3 years so you don't have extensive history with her. The circumstances do not seem sufficient to kick her off. If she remains an overly distracted friend, your friendship might decrease over time. Alternatively, may it okay if she needs a friend between boyfriends. Just take into consideration what you can trust her with after all this is done. She may even mature (if immaturity is the problem).

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  • C
    CM ·
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    There's a big difference between asking a friend if they'd like to join you at a wedding expo and telling her you want her there. The latter is not her job or her responsibility, it's yours and your fiancé's. I don't know what the big deal was with the boyfriend showing up late. If anything it was the photographer's responsibility to make sure the person who was watching the dogs was nearby and accessible.

    You can end a friendship for any reason or no reason at all but these issues sound pretty petty and mostly down to unreasonable expectations. I agree with PPs that she really hasn't done anything wrong or that would justify kicking her out or ending a friendship. While it's unfortunate, it's also not uncommon for people to be distracted for awhile when meeting someone new. Have you tried to call since the fall?

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  • Michelle
    Rockstar December 2022
    Michelle ·
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    Agree with other posters that this is a common consequence of asking the wrong people out of obligation too early. The backstory is not grounds to kick someone out. Be aware that if you ask her to step down, you are ending the friendship permanently. She is not required or obligated to plan your wedding or participate in pre wedding activities, especially if she has other commitments. Outside of engagement pictures, wedding expos and other wedding events, have you gone out for coffee or done anything to nurture your friendship at any point? It sounds like she’s clinging to her current boyfriend because she doesn’t have opportunities to spend time with you as a friend that are not related to your wedding planning. That doesn’t means that you are last on her priority list because you have to work at it equally.
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  • R
    Rockstar June 2018
    Rae ·
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    You said you don't care if the friendship ends, so what's the big deal? It sounds like the friendship is over for her anyway it shouldn't be much of a surprise. Give her a call or text and let her know that you've decided it's for the best that she not a bridesmaid. It's obviously rude, which you know and you're fine with the friendship ending so just do it... you're making everything a bigger deal by including your other bridesmaids.

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