Getting married and my family does not agree

[Anonymous]

I was on the other side of this issue. I went to a parent's second wedding despite having voiced my objections to my parent and the officiant well in advance of the ceremony. I then attended the ceremony and reception and even made a wedding gift to a charity in my parent's honor. I felt that not attending would be a semi-permanent to permanent shift in our relationship, and I was not ready to accept being estranged. In retrospect, however, the disagreement over the marriage was a symptom, not a cause. Years later, we remain unhappy in our relationship with each other. It almost would have been easier to allow the wedding to become that breaking point. We each could have gotten our fresh starts.