Parents not at wedding

[Scott-86]

Hello everyone,

My wife and I have been together since April 2016, have lived together since October 2016, got married in May 2017 (she was granted a UK visa at the end of May 2017 after a successful application for a spousal visa) and are now in the process of applying for me to get PR through the family class sponsorship to move to Canada.

We have a lot of evidence to support our relationship which includes many trips abroad together, visits to each other's families etc. The only issue that is worrying us about our application is that our parents did not attend our wedding. The reason for this is that my wife's mother lives in the Caribbean, her father lives in Canada, and her friends and family are split between the 2. Due to the cost and logistics of getting everyone to the UK and the fact that marriage was something we wanted to do for us without any great expense, we did it with only my brother and close friend present. In fairness to my wife's family and to avoid any potential upset, my mother who lives here in the UK did not attend.

Does anyone have any input on whether this is going to hinder our application?

 

[kcward7]

Hello everyone,

My wife and I have been together since April 2016, have lived together since October 2016, got married in May 2017 (she was granted a UK visa at the end of May 2017 after a successful application for a spousal visa) and are now in the process of applying for me to get PR through the family class sponsorship to move to Canada.

We have a lot of evidence to support our relationship which includes many trips abroad together, visits to each other's families etc. The only issue that is worrying us about our application is that our parents did not attend our wedding. The reason for this is that my wife's mother lives in the Caribbean, her father lives in Canada, and her friends and family are split between the 2. Due to the cost and logistics of getting everyone to the UK and the fact that marriage was something we wanted to do for us without any great expense, we did it with only my brother and close friend present. In fairness to my wife's family and to avoid any potential upset, my mother who lives here in the UK did not attend.

Does anyone have any input on whether this is going to hinder our application?

No, it's not going to be an issue and it happens all the time. These things tend to be more relevant when weddings are part of huge cultural traditions, like in India (just an example). Additionally, sounds like they are well aware of the relationship and it's not like you were hiding anything from them.

I wouldn't worry about it. Just explain why they weren't there.

 

[msb]

No
My parents could not come at our wedding and our application was approved

 

[jordo]

My wife and I eloped. We have had no issues in our application to this point.

 

[Ceimi]

We also had a wedding with just one set of family. My mother was in an accident and couldnt fly, and all my siblings were broke. You can add in a short explanation in the box where it asks why certain people didn't show up and put in a brief explanation like you said above!

 

[hari.sunil]

My wife and I eloped. We have had no issues in our application to this point.

Hey me and my husband are in the same situation, we eloped in March 2025, it was just us two and the wedding officiant at our day of marriage. Maybe you could help me with some information, what did you put as the reason your parents couldn’t attend, or what explanation did you give for your elopement and to support your case. Woukd really appreciate a response.

 

[canuck78]

Hey me and my husband are in the same situation, we eloped in March 2025, it was just us two and the wedding officiant at our day of marriage. Maybe you could help me with some information, what did you put as the reason your parents couldn’t attend, or what explanation did you give for your elopement and to support your case. Woukd really appreciate a response.

If you have lived together for a long time that typically overrules any concern about parents being present. There can be many reasons from distance, parents not approving, intercultural marriage, etc.