Dear Prudence:  I am 27 years old and engaged to an amazing guy. When I was a little girl, my dad was involved in a really bad accident and was burned over a large portion of his body. He lost part of one limb and has some serious disfigurement. He has been a great dad and I never think about it. A few weeks ago, my fiancé started acting strange when we talked about the wedding. I asked him what was up and he avoided the question. Then his mom called me out of the blue and told me that she didn't think that my dad should come to the wedding. She thinks that he will upset the guests and "traumatize" any children who might be there. She is suggesting that we have a private family ceremony before the big blowout. I got upset and my mom asked why. When I told her, she said that she and my dad understand, which only makes me feel worse. Maybe my future MIL has a point, but I would really rather disinvite her than my dad.
Prudence says: Your fiancé is not so amazing if in response to his mother's outrageous, sickening request he didn't immediately say to her, "Mom, Elise's dad is a great person. That he has overcome a terrible trauma makes me admire him even more. You need to permanently drop this. He'll not only be there, he'll walk her down the aisle, and I don't want to hear another negative word about him." Instead, he has weaseled around, and presumably didn't tell his mother not to make her despicable request to you — he surely knew what she was up to and didn't even have the courage to warn you. Instead of responding to his mother, you need to talk this through with your fiancé. He should be the one to respond to his mother about this, and it's not too late for him to make clear she is totally out of line. How he handles this will tell you if he's worthy of becoming a member of your family. And I hope you tell your parents that if they are not both at the wedding and treated as guests of honor, you won't be there, either.
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