She erased us from her wedding. So I’m erasing her from mine.

When my brother got married, his bride (now my sister-in-law) had very specific expectations. She wanted everyone in the family to wear their wedding colors, and we all did. People flew in from out of state. Everyone made an effort to make her feel celebrated.

The day before the wedding, she made some offhanded (but clearly pointed) remarks about how “our side” of the family never takes anything seriously and she wasn’t expecting us to take this seriously either. The comments made their rounds, and feelings were hurt before the wedding even began. But we still showed up, looked great, and participated.

Fast forward to getting the wedding photos and video: not a single photo of our side of the family was posted. Not one. In the entire 3-minute highlight reel? No faces from our family, except a 3-second clip of my parents with the bride and groom. The rest of us? It’s like we never existed.

I texted her (cordially) and asked if she could send me the pictures with just our siblings, since none had been posted. She responded that we never took those pictures. That’s wild because I remember helping people adjust corsages for them. She doubled down on the gaslighting. I gave it six months and asked again—she suddenly had no idea what I was talking about.

Fine.

Here’s where the petty revenge comes in.

I’m getting married in 8 days. I’ve been engaged for 6 months and planning this moment since she tried to erase us. I hired a great photographer and videographer. What she doesn’t know is that the videographer has a secret mission: make it look like she’s getting all the attention. Track her. Hover near her like she’s the star of the show. She will feel so seen.

And then… the final cut?

She won’t appear for even one second. Just like she made sure we didn’t.

I didn’t even invite her originally. Word must’ve gotten out because she cornered me at a family dinner and said, “Unfortunately I have to work the day before and after your wedding, but I should still be able to make it.” I was so stunned I just said, “That’s fine. The Airbnb is booked whether you’re there or not.” So now she’s coming. Ugh.

To cope? I spelled her name wrong on the wedding invite on purpose. That was my first move. The video blackout will be my last.

Not asking for advice. Not asking if it’s “too mean.” It’s not. It’s exactly fair.

Happy to finally talk about it freely 😌