When two families become one…

Happy belated Thanksgiving! Today’s edition of my Something Blue series is all about family and the awkward, often hilarious, sometimes uncomfortable, always unexpected things that happen when the groom’s family and the bride’s family become the groom and bride’s family.

If you’re just starting your wedding planning or you’re new to this blog (Welcome!), I would suggest starting here. From there, feel free to chart your own course through my budget wedding tips and tricks! Although this post has been pretty popular as of late.

For the rest of you, thanks for following along with my journey through the crazy world of wedding planning. Only 14 more days until this adventure comes to an end and a whole new one begins! (Whoa, how did we get to this point already?! It feels like yesterday that we were months away.)

Most of you know that Spencer and I hosted our first Thanksgiving yesterday, and it went pretty darn well, thanks for asking! I’d had my menu planned out for weeks, all of the dishes and cooking instructions were programmed into my Google calendar, and Spencer and I spent the weekend cleaning our apartment until it was spotless. Or as spotless as you can get when you live with a cat. If I’m being completely honest, my biggest concern had to do with the guests: would our families get along? would there be those awful awkward pauses? would I want to kill his family or mine more by the end of the weekend? Thankfully, I can say that our families did do well together, there were very few (if any?) uncomfortable moments, and I didn’t want to kill anyone by the end  of it all!

Dealing with family can be a plethora of things, some wonderful and others trying.  Just try to keep that in mind because with wedding planning, everything is increased tenfold.  That’s why when two families become one, it can be…

Stressful

That’s because weddings are stressful. While you’re dealing with photographers and caterers and cake makers, you’re also trying to bridge the gap between his people and your people. And since his people will soon be yours, too, you want to make a good impression, not step on any toes, and make the transition from miss to missus as smooth as possible. Just know that sometimes feelings may get hurt and misunderstandings will occur, but as long as you maintain your composure and be conscious of the opinions of those important to you, everything will work out long-term.

Laughable

Sometimes your future mother-in-law wants this when you want that. Sometimes your mother gets her feelings hurt because you do one thing when she thought you were going to do the other. Sometimes your brother won’t have a clue what you mean and will do the exact opposite of what you asked. In these times and more, text your fiancé about all the familial ridiculousness and have a good laugh. It’s really all you can do in more situations than I would care to admit.

Unbelievably fulfilling

I am among the lucky ones, I know. Spencer and I have been dating since the beginning of time, so I’ve gotten a chance to know his family prior to all the wedding crazies, which has made everything incredibly easier than I imagine it is for some. I can also say with confidence that I won’t have a crazy mother-in-law, the hugest of blessings in this whole getting married ordeal. I also have a great family that tackles everything with enthusiasm, a level head, and just a hint of sarcasm. So I never have to worry about confrontations in the kitchen about how we cook our turkey, or anything weird like that. Instead of losing a part of my attachment to my family by joining his, I feel like we’ve created our own little strange, dysfunctional group of people (read: family).

We have the dad who talks and the dad who listens, the mom who will love granddaughters and the mom who will love grandsons, the brother who interjects and the brother who remarks under his breath, and the sister who keeps them all on their toes. And then, of course, there’s Spencer, me, and Zoey. I could not be more lucky.

How do you handle the “dreaded” in-laws? I’ve had an entirely positive experience so far; what about you?