Have yours and H2B's parents met before the wedding?

Hi everyone!

This may sound really bizarre, but i'm really nervous about our parents meeting for the first time at the wedding!

My parents live in Wales, H2B's mum lives in London, and despite us being together for over five years they have never met each other! They are just so different that i'm scared they won't get along or something, stupid i know! My family are really different in the sense that they're totally working class, into alternative music, fashion, lifestyle etc and they live in council houses, but are really easy going and lovely. But H2B's family are middle/upper class, they live in mini mansions in london, really churchy, really straight (sometimes a little snobby)

What i'm trying to say is that both families are lovely in their own way, but i'm really scared that H2B's family will look down on my family in some way which will really upset me and ruin the day! I'm being really silly but i just need to write this down, i may delete it later

Sorry cant help much as our parents will not have met until the wedding day either,

same sort of predicament though not sure if there going to get on!

I Wouldnt stress too much though, im sure all will be fine!

Thats what i keep telling myself anyway!

My parents have met OHs father and step mother loads of times. They have even been to stay at my parents in Wales. They've met his mother just the once though. I'm sure everything will be fine, I was really nervous before they met though.

ours met when my mum and dad came to visit me while i was living in glasgow - they are all quite similar as people despite different backgrounds, so they get on amazingly (in fact, my parents are going up to glasgow to visit h2b's dad next week - without us!)

why can't you arrange a meeting before the wedding?  or if you can't, try and get them to meet informally the night before, maybe go for a meal?  will be MUCH less pressure then.

Hey Lovely!

I had exactly same situation but other way round - OH's parents & my parents only met last august after us being together 6.5 years. My parents are relatively middle class/posh jewishy types and OH's parents come from a slightly different background (poor south wales mining village) so I was sh*tting myself when they met as thought my parents would be horrendous (love OH's parents btw) but actually it was okay - it turned out to be me that behaved badly!!!!

Let us know how it goes :-)

xx

theyve kind of met already but we'll be formally introducing everyone a week on saturday at the engagement party. i too am worried they won't get on, as until recently my dad was a terrible alcoholic. I think you should maybe introduce them the night before or something to take some of the pressure off. Other than that you just have to trust them to be as well mannered and lovely as they are normally!

Thanks for all your replies! Looking back at my original post, i was probably being melodramatic about it all and i'm sure they'll be fine with each other! I'm going to suggest that we all go for a meal the night before just to break the ice, so thanks to everyone who suggested this!

sorry but i can't really help, ours knew each other before we did!! long story!

i do know what you mean though, my family is very different to H's family. I was nervous the first time we all got together but now it's a regular thing.

Cx

Think that's bad - my dad had to sack H2B's dad in the 80's! Long story :)

They won't be meeting again until the wedding...

it will be the same for us, our parents haven't met, but i'm not too worried because if worst comes to the worst and they dont get on, they are at a wedding with lots of other people, not stuck in a small room together, and they dont have to see eachother again if they really dont want to!

its your day and as long as you get on with the one you're marrying thats all that matters hey!!

As the saying goes..."Opposites Attract", you might find that they will get on like a house on fire and that you are worrying over nothing

My parents have met h2b's mum and they get on great (h2b's dad is no longer with us), they just need to meet the rest of his family and I know I won't have to worry about any of them

What about arranging a weekend and inviting them all together, that way you won't have any awkwardness on the day

We took both my parents and H2B's mum out for lunch when we got engaged (over a year ago!). His mum took an instant dislike to my mum, and they've not seen each other since! Luckily, MIL2B is not coming to wedding, so won't have to worry about it!

My Mum seems to get on with OH's parents, but doesn't really make much of an effort. It SHOULDN'T be, but we feel it is again another background thing, ie: Mum & Step-Dad = Middle Class, Comfortable, (Doctor's daughter) whereas OH's parents = Moved from a rough area of London, are more working class. It's awful, that there is still this divide in society, well, that there are people like my Mum, who only really want to "socialise" with people of a similar background.

Mum keeps joking that if they don't meet up soon, they're gonna have to wear name badges in stead of corsages at the wedding.

They have spoken on the phone a couple of times but I'm sure (hope) they'll meet at some point in the next 6 months.

When we got engaged (about 3 years back now), we went out for a meal with both sets of parents to introduce them all, etc. Then they've been together at different family occasions, like my 21st a couple of years ago, and H2B's parents had a party for their 25th anniversary that they invited my parents to - things like that. Other than that though, they don't really socialise - not for any particular reason, I just think it doesn't really occur to them to!

They don't not get on, but then they don't get on amazingly either - it's more like they are friendly acquaintances. On paper you'd think they would get on really well, they are all from very similar backgrounds and have similar values, etc - plus they live within about a 5 minute walk from each other! The only thing slightly different is that I think my parents are a lot more social and outgoing - they always have a lot on, go to a lot of parties, go on holiday seperately as well as together, etc - while H2B's parents are very much stay-at-home types, and are always together, they seldom do things apart. I think this might be the main reason they haven't struck up a friendship independent of me and OH.