Bride Gets Heat From Her Family After Choosing Her Cat And Dog To Be The Ring Bearer & Flower Girl At Her Wedding Instead Of Her Brother's "Miracle Rainbow Babies"

Her sister-in-law said it's against tradition to have animals at a wedding

Chelsi

• Published in Interesting
• May 25, 2023

In recent years, the term rainbow baby refers to a child born to parents who have previously lost a child or a pregnancy. Rainbow babies symbolize hope after a trying time in the parents' lives.

A Redditor's brother and sister-in-law have rainbow babies who are twins. Their family showers the twins, Liam and Ava, with much love and affection because of their "special" status at the expense of the other grandbabies in the family.

OP doesn't participate in this special treatment owing to the fact she and her fiancé live across the country. The details of their wedding must be finalized as the date draws near.

They decided to assign their dog Mika and cat Tibby to be the flower girl & ring bearer for the occasion. OP's fiancé enthusiastically agreed to the idea.

Their pets are like their children. They helped OP come out of her depression and kept her fiancé company while he was undergoing chemotherapy, and OP worked long hours to pay their bills.

They love Mika and Tibby to bits & they complete their small family. OP didn't think this choice would be a problem when she brought it up during a family get-together.

Her sister-in-law asked her later why she gave Liam's and Ava's roles to the animals. OP was confused by her sister-in-law's question and asked her to explain.

She said that Liam and Ava are miracle rainbow babies, they obviously should be the flower girl and ring bearer

She said it will be good for the family if the twins are in the wedding. It is also against tradition to have animals in a wedding.

She then showed OP a photo of Ava in a flower girl dress for OP to see how cute Ava would be

OP told her sister-in-law that she will not make a decision without her fiancé's input. Her fiancé said it would be okay but he prefers to have their pets fill the roles.

OP feels that they're not doing anything wrong, but she wanted other people's opinions just to be sure

OP said Liam and Ava are too young to walk the pets down the aisle

Is Tibby the cat leash-trained? If not, they will have a hard time at the ceremony if she's not comfortable with a leash.

Tibby is apparently leash-trained and has no issues being around a lot of people

A designated pet-sitter to mind them throughout the event could also be a good plan

OP says they already planned for that just in case, but the wedding will be held in their home so it is not a pressing issue

If OP gives in, she should be prepared to share the spotlight with the two kids

But it looks like the pets are already trained to walk down an aisle as long as their treat bag is visible

Their miracle babies are special to them as they should be, but OP doesn't owe her brother and sister-in-law the same reverence they give to their children

The focus on that day will be on the bride and groom anyway

She sure had that photo ready. It probably means the twins have been in other weddings or they already shopped for their clothes.

If it isn't OP's pets, why should the ring bearer and flower girl role automatically go to Liam and Ava? How about the other children in the family?

The choice is really up to OP and her fiancé at the end of the day

They only need to worry about themselves and the stress level of their pets on the day of the wedding

It's tacky to question OP why her beloved pets are a part of the wedding

However, OP should prepare herself from the backlash from her family after her SIL informs them of her final choice

It would probably be too much to ask OP for photos of Tibby and Mika in their wedding attire, right? We can only imagine how adorable and dapper they would look on the day!

OP and her fiancé obviously want their pets to be a part of their special day. They shouldn't be coerced into including anybody they do not want just to appease entitled parents.

Chelsi