Dear Eric: I’m attending my estranged son’s wedding. As the mother of the groom, I’m unsure of what my responsibilities are. More importantly, his wife-to-be is Buddhist. I have absolutely no problem with this, what I’m unsure about is the gift and the attire. I know that you aren’t supposed to wear black, white or patterns of any kind.
Truly I am stumped on the gift. On the invitation it says if you’d like to give a gift, please donate money to their honeymoon fund! My concern is the gift at the wedding. Do I bring fruit and flowers? If so, what flowers do I look for? I know the fruit is mandarin oranges. Or do I go with incense and candles?
I haven’t met my daughter-in-law-to-be and my son hasn’t spoken to me in more than 10 years. So, I have no idea how to approach this. I also am unsure how religious she is. How do I find this out? Also, since I don’t know, should I scrap the idea all together? I don’t want to be disrespectful to her or her religion and I definitely want to keep this door open and hopefully repair the relationship with my son and create a new relationship with my daughter-in-law-to-be.
— Respectful Mother-in-Law
Dear Mother-in-Law: Traditions vary, as with all weddings, so the best way to figure out what your responsibilities are is to reach out and ask. Now, if your son hasn’t spoken to you in a decade, you may not have any responsibilities. The invitation may be an olive branch or a once-closed door cracking open. If you don’t feel comfortable asking for more information now and they haven’t made any requests, go and dress as you would to any other wedding.
As to the gift, they’ve told you what they want. Donate to the honeymoon fund and don’t worry about bringing anything to the ceremony and reception – maybe a card if you’d like. Your desire to do this right is admirable. Don’t worry about messing up; if they haven’t let you know you need to bring something, they won’t be expecting you to. The way to do this wedding right is to show up with openness and gratitude and enjoy the day.
(Send questions to R. Eric Thomas at eric@askingeric.com or P.O. Box 22474, Philadelphia, PA 19110. Follow him on Instagram and sign up for his weekly newsletter at rericthomas.com.)
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