Steve and Mia: Couple needs to invite grandpa's girlfriend to wedding
Q: MY SON and his bride are having a simple wedding - marrying with just two witnesses present, followed by a dinner for immediate family and one or two friends. That's their wish, and I respect it. The problem? They don't want to invite my late father's
Q: MY SON and his bride are having a simple wedding - marrying with just two witnesses present, followed by a dinner for immediate family and one or two friends. That's their wish, and I respect it. The problem? They don't want to invite my late father's longtime companion. She lives in another city but is within driving distance. We are still close, and I know she would want to be included. How can I tell her about the wedding without hurting her feelings? If my dad were alive, they would have been invited.
MIA: Uh-oh. I annoyed a lot of my own wedding guests when I planned an adults-only reception and did other things people didn't like. So, I ran this by Mark Kingsdorf, one of the leading wedding consultants of Philadelphia.
He said, "There is no way not to invite her, given all that information. If it were not a long-term relationship and she had been with grandpa a year-and-a-half, then you could get away without inviting her. . . . If the grandfather were alive, they would have been both invited. So there's really no way to not invite her and not have hurt feelings."
STEVE: Who's paying for the wedding? If it's the bride and groom, it's their call, although you have good grounds for an appeal. If you're paying, then you can invite her yourself. If the bride's father is paying, then he should discuss the situation with his daughter. But the generous thing to do is to invite the woman.
Q: My husband bought an AK-47! I can barely sleep knowing that thing is in the house. We have kids. He said he bought it at a gun show because he's afraid that President Obama is going to wind up banning them. I don't mind him having a pistol-you never know when someone's going to break into your house. But an AK-47? What does he need that for? I've tried talking with him about it, but I got nowhere.
STEVE: Does your husband wear black pajamas?
MIA: When you're married, you have to agree to certain things, and he brought this into your home without asking you first. If you can't get through to your husband, maybe someone else can. Is there a minister whom he respects or a close friend?
If he has a permit, he's certainly within his rights, but for the safety of your children, you must ensure that he keeps it locked up.