This June, I (25M) am getting married to my fiancé (28M). We’ve been planning everything for months, and one of the things we decided early on was no pets at the wedding. The venue is indoors, really elegant, and super strict about animals. Plus, we just don’t want to deal with the extra chaos.

Last year, my older brother (29M) got engaged to a woman (35F) who is fine tbh. I don't have any serious problems with her. But she has this large golden retriever that she’s obsessed with. The dog is basically treated like their child, which, hey, good for them, but that’s not really something I want at my wedding.

A couple of weeks ago, my brother called me asking if his fiancée could bring her dog to our wedding. He said it would mean “so much to her” and that the dog would “behave” and could even wear a bowtie to match the wedding colors. I said no immediately. Pets aren’t allowed at the venue, and even if they were, my fiancé and I agreed long ago that we didn’t want animals there. It’s nothing personal to her or the dog. It just isn’t part of our plan.

Now my brother and his fiancée are upset at us. She apparently feels like I’m “excluding part of her family” and making her feel “less welcome” because her dog is such a huge part of her life. My brother even made a aide comment about how “some weddings are more about the spectacle than the love.” (Gee, really wonder who that was aimed at)

Some extended family members are now telling me to just “give in for peace,” but honestly? I feel like if people can’t respect basic boundaries at someone else’s wedding then that’s entirely on them, not me

So… ATIA for standing my ground?