A case where everything is fine between potential spouses but not quite between their families
Assalamu Alaikum wa Rahmathullahi wa Barakathuh dear brothers and sisters,
I would greatly appreciate your advice on this matter which I am sharing with you below and I apologize in advance for it being a bit lengthy.
I am a 27M hailing from India who happened to find a potential partner online. We did see each other in person twice and have talked quite a bit since then to make sure we are compatible and that we really click. Alhamdulillah, she ticks all the boxes for me be it Deen, character, personality, profession and beauty. We really did end up liking each other a lot.
What is a bit unfortunate here in this case is our families not quite getting along with each other. Both of our families prioritise Deen first and foremost from what we were able to understand from inquiries and from direct interaction with them. There is also not much of a mismatch between the financial background of our families ( guess we are a bit better off Alhamdulillah ). The distance between us also not an issue as they live relatively close to our place.
But where there is a mismatch is between the culture of both our families. The other day when her parents came over to our house, we prepared the entire previous day tidying up the house and preparing good food for them to create that good first impression of us valuing them as our esteemed guests which could potentially lead to the union between two families.
But....when we paid a visit to their place, things did seem out of place right from the initial greeting. My parents did not feel half the warmth that we showed them. In general, they felt a lack of hospitality given that it's the very first time we were visiting their place. Their house seemed a tad untidy and not well maintained, her dad came to greet us around 10 minutes after we stepped in. It was her brother in-law who greeted us at the door. The food served was below expectations for such an occassion. There was also unnecessary drama when we handed them over a few gifts from our side which was a token of love and appreciation from our side towards her and her family.
All of these events led to my parents losing interest with this proposal citing the cultural clash as the main reason for calling this off. What they are saying is that marriage is not just the union between spouses but between 2 families as well. In this case, they were so put off by the treatment on that day that they are extremely hesitant to continue with this proposal. My family and hers were mostly in sync before this event though.
The only factor that is keeping my parents from cancelling this proposal entirely is the connection between the both of us. We did really sync on multiple grounds and I really thought she would be the one. She feels the same towards me and so does her family. Her family wants to take this forward but not mine.
My parents have ultimately left the decision to me. I find myself in a very tight spot here where I don't want to proceed with a proposal that my family doesn't like but at the same time, she is perfect in my eyes and I don't want to let her go just like that. My parents absolutely love her as well; they only find faults with her family's culture.
Advice on this matter from my brothers and sisters would be a huge help in making a decision here.
Do I overlook the family drawbacks because she's a 10 in my eyes? My personal opinion of her family is that they are very down to earth and are absolutely against any extravagance of any kind. She too holds a world view of leading a simple life. What irked my parents was the lack of hospitatlity which they perceived as a sort of a disregard/disrespect shown towards us on that day.
Jazakallah Khairan.
Posted Sep 28, 2026, 4:34 AM UTC