What to do if a relative can't travel to your wedding
When a relative's health prevents them from traveling out of state, couples are left battling intense guilt over their venue choice. The situation forces them to choose between starting their planning over in a new location or hosting a separate, smaller legal ceremony in the relative's hometown.
Overview
People affected2 accounts across 1 forum
Workarounds found6 items attempted
Community agreement1 total upvotes
What the numbers show
Counted from the threads quoted below. How we count
- People have been saying this in most months since September 2026.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
6 items+ Contribute
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Having a separate smaller legal ceremony or private wedding event closer to the elderly relative beforehandDid this help you?
- 2Paying for family members' flights to travel for the separate ceremonyDid this help you?
- 3Letting go of the accommodation and having the wedding in the original distant location anywayDid this help you?
- 4Having a small legal or symbolic ceremony in the guest's state beforehand.Did this help you?
- 5Livestreaming the wedding ceremony for the guest who cannot attend.Did this help you?
- 6Pivoting to a destination wedding closer to the guest.Did this help you?
Tried another approach not listed above?+ Share your workaround ↑
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
r/weddingplanning2 people · September 2026 – November 2026
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 5Is it rude to invite only some cousins to a wedding?
- 2Dealing with family pressure to include relatives in a wedding party
- 12What to do when your best friend won't come to your wedding
- 13Bridesmaids ignoring texts and not getting their dresses
- 13Feeling lonely planning a wedding without a big friend group
- 3Can I let grandparents take my toddler abroad without me?