None of his family/friends are coming :'(

Sorry to hear about this!

I had my ceremony in the UK... and none of my family attended for financial reasons and because it was December 28th which was between christmas and new years that is just about the most expensive time to travel.  It was also planned fairly quickly (in 6 weeks) so nobody had time to put money aside and plan for it.  We are also planning to have a ceremony in the US (was supposed to be this Summer '08 but is now post-poned to summer '09) and that will be my big wedding with all my friends and family.

It was a small wedding to begin with with a total of 20 people there (DH family and friends, and i had 1 guest!) Its a good thing we didnt divide everyone up on Bride and groom sides at the ceremony!! 

Oddly enough it didnt bother me that nobody was there.. i just understood and knew it was alot to ask of people and the thought that i was having a wedding in a few years that they would be at made me feel better. 

As someone else suggested... are you able to plan a small reception in the UK for your DF family so they celebrate as well? Even if its just in someone who has a nice gardens house.. and everyone brings a dish? Doesnt have to be expensive

*****hugggsssssssss******

For what it's worth, my husband and I got married at a registrar's in the U.K., and only his parents attended. There were just the four of us. Please try not to be disappointed. It's all about you and him, anyway.

For what it's worth, my husband and I got married at a registrar's in the U.K., and only his parents attended. There were just the four of us. Please try not to be disappointed. It's all about you and him, anyway.

Definitely.  DH and I got married in the US by a judge and only three people attended.  None of his family were there, but we were both okay with it because it was about us.

Maybe you can have a reception in the UK when you get there.  That seems like a nice idea.  Don't be too disappointed. 

It is hard not to be disappointed when you want to share your joy with those who love you.

I'm getting married in the UK.  I've been married once before and so I felt it more important for the wedding to be in the UK since my fiance was never married before,  Also, he has a bigger family than me.

My mom is coming, but that's it.  I'm very glad she's coming    and almost didn't even expect that much.

When we got married in the States, only his mum, two friends and one of our mutual ones came.  None of my friends from over here came.  If his mum hadn't come, which was something we were prepared for, he would have been very sad.  I think we may have a one year anniversary party over here so hopefully some people will come to that.  But it does make you re-think friendships and ties in a way.

What are the reasons?

When my brother married, he left it too late for me or our parents to fly over; it simply wasn't possible to get affordable flights, or any flights, or take time off work.  We all dearly wanted to be there, but just couldn't.  Mum and I got together and had a bottle of champagne together (and a bit of a cry) at the time we worked out they would have been saing 'I do', so we feel like we took part.

Your case is a bit different as they have known about it for 12 months, but there may be a very, very good reason why they can't go, and they might be as upset about it as your fiance is.

Whatever the reason, it is about you two, as Suzanne has said, so don't let anything spoil the day.

Vicky

Sorry to hear that! That's so rough. We got married back in the States and for quite awhile it looked like my hubbie's father wasn't going to be able to make it to SF. My hubby kept blowing it off like it wasn't a big deal but eventually he was able to come last minute. We also did a few things to save money.
We got married at City Hall with only my sis and best friend in attendance then later that night we had a recepetion that was an e-invite. Come enjoy a drink with the newly married couple. (Probably the first ever BYOB wedding reception - but we just couldn't afford for 80 people to get drunk) Then two days later we had an extremely small wedding in the park. Mostly my family and friends.
A few months later we had a dinner in Edinburgh with his family and friends. I had a few representing.

But I liked that we divided it. I wore my wedding dress twice 

I hear you. For us it's not so much his family (which is so small to begin with) but the mutual friends of ours from uni who pretty much introduced us. He's really upset about it, but it sucks because there's absolutely nothing we can do. :/

I am very sorry to hear that, did you convince your future MIL to come over?

Your mother-in-law should go over, but even if she doesn't, again, don't let anything ruin your day. My husband and I's ceremony was short and simple, afterward we had a drink with our in-laws, and then stayed in a hotel on our wedding night (we were too broke to do anything else). I have no regrets though, and once you're married, who or who didn't show up won't matter much to you (although you might feel a bit of resentment, but you'll get over it).

Your case is a bit different as they have known about it for 12 months, but there may be a very, very good reason why they can't go, and they might be as upset about it as your fiance is.

Agreed.  None of my family could make it to the wedding -- all for good reasons.  They knew about it for about a year and a half beforehand.  I was okay with it, because I know they all tried.  My mom cried on the day of the wedding, though.   

My friend from California was able to make it over, but only because we scheduled the wedding to coincide with her spring break at uni when we figured out she'd be the only one who could make it (which is why we got married on a Friday).  In the end, as much as I wanted to share the day with my family, it was still wonderful.  I'm sure your wedding day will be as well!

Thanks for the empathy, everyone

I do realize that it's hard to make it. DF had a good talk with his mom last weekend about it, and she was sorely upset that she can't make it (financial reasons). His dad has been saying all along that it would be no trouble, but has come up with some "medical issues," which I understand would make someone not come--the thing is, though, DF knows for a fact that his father just traveled to China last week to visit with DF's stepmother's family, all whilst being "sick" (she is from China...DF has only met her once). Now, I know things can happen between then now, but his father is sort of a sketchy character sometimes, so who knows.

What we are trying to do, which was the plan from the beginning, is to have some sort of blessing ceremony and/or party in the UK once I get over there and settled in, for all of his family and friends that want to come here but can't make it. I also may pull in a favor from a family member on my side and have them videotape the wedding (something we weren't really planning on doing), so at least his parents and grandparents can share in the actual wedding day in a way.

We're working through it...only a month and a half to go! Who knows...maybe some people will make a change of plans between now and then. We're not holding our breath, of course, but hey...it could happen.

My family and his family practically had a war deciding where the wedding was going to be.  We decided we can't please everyone so we decided to please no one.  We're going to go to city hall and just sign papers.
He's there to marry you.  The rest is just optional.  Mandatory audience is the bride and the groom!
Good luck with your wedding! ^^