I was going to see a Jamie Cullum concert at the end of March. I’d bought three tickets (I was going with a couple of other people) and now I can’t go to the concert, because I just got an invitation to my cousin’s wedding for the same night.
Grump.
And I was really looking forward to it, too! Now I’m stuck with three tickets I can’t use and paid 30 bucks each for.
I don’t think I’m sufficiently irritated to put this in the pit, but I just wanted to get my feelings out there.
Hold your horses, there. You got three tickets, right? You know, pitch this to your cousin and his (her?) soon-to-be-spouse. Maybe you can work a deal where everyone gets what they want?
Could be worse. I had ninth row seats to see Clapton once, when my great-grandfather up and died. He was 96.
I gave the tickets away and went to the funeral.
Oh, yeah? Beat this: once, WPLJ-FM sent me a pair of free tickets to a concert featuring Chicago and Survivor…
to take place on the night of Rosh Hashana. Man, how my wife and I would have loved to attend that concert! Well, gotta appreciate that G-d rewards well, I guess…
(man, would we have loved to be at that concert)
Chaim-
At least you get extra s’char for missing the concert. I’m just doing it for a family wedding-- nothing particularly holy.
Just out of curiousity, if you had tix to a “once-in-a-lifetime” concert, would you skip the wedding? By that I mean, there are touring artists that you could reasonably expect to see again in the future. However, there are some that might never get up on stage again. I’d doubt I’d be attending anybody’s wedding if they scheduled it on April 19th!!!(David Gilmour at the Kodak Theatre, Hollywood)
Aw come on, it’s a cousin fer cry-yi! If it were a sibling, sure, go to the wedding, but it’s a cousin. Skip the wedding, go to the concert. In these modern times it’s pretty likely that you’re gonna have at least one more chance to attend another of the cousin’s weddings anyway.
Otto, once again grateful for having a small family free of these sorts of “obligations”
Reminds me of an old joke:
An old man is at a Notre Dame football game with an empty seat next to him. A stranger asks him about the empty seat and the man explains that he’s had these season tickets for years and always used to come to the games with his wife but she had passed away.
So the stranger asks: " Why not bring bring a friend?"
The old man replies: “They’re all at her funeral.”
Inquiring minds want to know:
-Are they stupid tickets?
-Does your cousin eat stupid food for breakfast?
My family is very big on the family obligation thing, and this is the small side of the family, so we don’t often have occasion to see them. I think it would probably be a big affront to a bunch of people if I skipped the wedding, provided i was, you know, not dead and in this hemisphere and stuff.
(F’rinstance, I’m spending next school year overseas. If he were getting married 9 months from now, I could miss it without offending anyone.)
That said, if it were a major, once-in-a-lifetime event, I might skip the wedding anyway.
I’m feeling a bit annoyed with marriage myself. My best friend is getting married in July of 2007. She calls me on Tuesday to tell me that we have an appointment at David’s Bridal on Sunday.
Ok, I agreed to be your MOH because you’re my best friend and I love you. But, I hate weddings. I don’t like planning them. I’m only doing it because you’re by best friend and I love you. I even promised myself I wouldn’t be bitchy or grumpy as you become a bridezilla - which I know you will.
However, we need to get one thing straight. I work in retail. I do not work a set schedule like you do. If you need me to do something wedding related, you need to give me more than 2 weeks notice so I can request the day off. 5 days does not cut it. I was lucky to be able to swap days with a coworker. But, this has led to two more reasons for me to grumble.
And, for anyone who plans on harping on me for being mean-spirited to my BF in her happy time, let me say this:
When she called me, I told her I would do whatever it took to get the day off. I did NOT complain about losing the extra money. I did NOT complain about having to give up my day off so I could spend it surrounded by annoying brides to be. I have no intention of making my feelings known to her because I don’t want to dampen her spirits. I only told her that in the future, she needs to give me more warning since I have to actually request weekends off.
Couldn’t you do the concert and the wedding or reception?
Go enjoy the concert, send your regrets and a nice present.
(how close are you to this cousin, I am not close to mine)
Jim
Your cousin statisticaly will get married again. Go to the concert. You can be nice and give them the option of changing the date.
Someone once asked Miss Manners if he should go to his brother’s wedding or his 5th year high school reunion. She told him to go to the wedding, unless he thinks his brother is planning to get married every five years to keep him from attending his reunions.
Heh, I don’t care if it was my own wedding - I’d skip it to see Gilmour. Even if it was Gilmour in a pair of old man shorts and a wife beater playing a guitar he bought at Wal-Mart, I’d be there.