Everyone has different intentions when it comes to their wedding. However, most people view their nuptials as a celebration where whatever they say goes. For some brides and grooms, that means a day where they don’t have to deal with kids. It might seem cruel, but there are plenty of reasons why the happy couple might choose to have a child-free ceremony. Unfortunately for this bride, it appears not every guest got the memo about keeping the little ones at home.
Something’s bound to happen
People often put their all into planning a wedding, which is why some engagements can last several years. They’re willing to wait if it means having the perfect day, no matter how much time and money that takes.
Of course, the more pressure you put on the ceremony, the likelier it is that something will go wrong. Problems are an inevitable part of life, and the more you try to avoid them, the worse they’ll affect you when they happen.
Planned to perfection
This bride is one such person who wanted everything to go her way come the big day. She wasn’t necessarily a bridezilla; she just wanted her wedding to go off without a hitch. Her partner felt the same, and that’s why they took some time to officially tie the knot.
Despite getting engaged in September 2016, the ceremony didn’t roll around until June two years later. The pair had used every minute to their advantage, planning each element down to the finest detail. They were confident that everything was going to play out as hoped, unaware of the surprise waiting in the wings.
Child-free wedding
When it came to organizing their big day, there was one thing that this couple was sure of. They didn’t want any kids at the venue, and they weren’t willing to make exceptions. Although there were bound to be people who weren’t happy about it, this was their wedding, so they were going to do what they wanted.
Child-free ceremonies aren’t a rare thing these days, with many couples preferring to keep kids away from the nuptials. This might be because their reception has an adult theme or that they simply don’t like children. Not everyone has a parental instinct.
Not welcome here
The couple didn’t put too much thought into whether or not kids would be welcome at their wedding. They both agreed it was best that their big day was an adults-only area, and they made that crystal clear to everyone.
Throughout their engagement, they reminded guests that children would have to be cared for by someone else on the day. While that might have been inconvenient for some people, it wasn’t like they didn’t have time to organize a sitter to watch their kids. That’s why the bride and groom gave their loved ones plenty of notice about their intentions.
Going as planned
Thankfully, whether people were happy or not, they still complied with the couple’s wishes. They found someone to look after their kids for the day so they could celebrate the bride and groom’s special moment.
It didn’t go unappreciated by the pair, although they were too busy enjoying their big day to really acknowledge it. Everything went to plan, and they tied the knot exactly how they wanted to. Well, they almost did.
Locating the culprit
While things appeared to be going off without a hitch, they were stopped in their tracks by the sound of crying. One of their guests had brought a baby! The bride was understandably furious when she discovered that someone had broken the rules.
They’d put them in place for a reason, and someone had decided to just ignore them completely. She soon found out that the crying belonged to a child no more than a few years old, and they’d been brought along by her husband’s cousin.
Breaking the rules
You’d think that a member of the family would know better than to defy the happy couple’s wishes. Although the couple did tell guests that their wedding was going to be a child-free zone, that wasn’t technically true.
The pair had enlisted the bride’s niece and nephew to act as a flower girl and ring bearer respectively.
Their own rules
Of course, while they were technically breaking their own rules, the duo had every right to do so. It was their big day, so if these were the only kids they wanted at the wedding, who was anyone else to argue?
There was specific reasoning behind it and that was due to the place they had chosen to have their reception. The bride had already agreed with her sibling that the kids would be part of the wedding and then they would go and stay the night at their friend’s house.
Nothing out of the ordinary
It appears the rebellious behavior of the groom’s cousin was nothing too surprising. Since day one, the bride has apparently had a strained relationship with the woman.
The cousin apparently goes out of her way to be rude, including ignoring her new in-law at family functions and that’s not all.
Making it awkward
She’s also left the woman off the Christmas cards she’s sent to the groom for the last four years. Clearly, she wasn’t above being petty when it came to the wedding.
The bride had no idea why the cousin had chosen to take a particular disliking to her. After all, the pair had never actually had a disagreement about anything, she just decided she didn’t want to be friends with the bride.
Hurt by her betrayal
While this betrayal wasn’t necessarily shocking, it still cut deep. It was the fact that the cousin didn’t even ask about inviting her kids that really stung the bride.
She figured the least that the woman could do was mention that she was going to bring the children, especially given they were banned from the wedding. It’s not like they created the rule for nothing.
The real reason
With the reception being held in a casino, it wasn’t like they’d be allowed to stay for the whole day and so to avoid parents feeling like they needed to leave the celebration early, they thought it would be much more enjoyable for everyone to find a babysitter.
If the cousin had spoken up about wanting to bring the children, the bride would have had the opportunity to explain the situation properly to her.
Help from the internet
Unsure if she was in the right to feel so angry, the bride turned to Reddit. She wanted to hear what other people thought and see if she was just overreacting about everything.
She wrote down everything that had happened, from the lengthy engagement to the surprise appearance of the children.
What should she do?
Now she just had to wait and see if people thought she should actually address the problem with her cousin-in-law or drop it completely. Opinions on Reddit were mixed, with some people in favor of ignoring what happened.
There are some people who just want to get passed awkward situations and move on with their lives, leaving the person in the wrong behind but as we all know, sometimes, you can’t help but draw attention to what happened.
Mixed opinions
They believed that the cousin was after the attention, so having it out with her would only give her what she wanted. Of course, others disagreed.
They believed that the woman was out of line, and she needed to be put in her place. What she did wasn’t okay, especially as the happy couple had made it clear that kids weren’t invited.
Justified anger
Regardless of what they thought she should do, most people agreed that she had a right to be angry. What the cousin did was incredibly rude, especially given she was part of her husband’s family.
Whether she liked the bride or not, she had no right just to ignore the rules by bringing kids to the wedding. It was almost like she was trying to give the happy couple a reason to kick her out of their lives.
Can’t have it both ways
Unfortunately, not everyone sided with the bride. While the vast majority agreed the cousin crossed the line, some stated that the happy couple set a bad example. By including children in the wedding party, they broke the no children rule themselves.
One user, in particular, told the bride that either she was concerned about kids ruining the big day or she wasn’t. They said she shouldn’t have expected everyone to be okay with her inviting her niece and nephew.
Betrayed by the bridesmaid
While the cousin’s betrayal no doubt put a damper on the big day, it’s hardly the first time that someone has broken the child-free rules before. One person wrote on the bride’s Reddit post about a similar experience she had at her wedding, except it was the bridesmaid who caused the problem.
Even though she’d been expressly told that children weren’t welcome at the wedding, she still went ahead and brought her kid along anyway.
Where was the warning?
While something like this shouldn’t have ruined the wedding, it seems that the bridesmaid went out of her way to turn her friend’s dream into a nightmare. She was basically late to everything, even forcing the happy couple to delay taking their wedding photos.
The bride was not impressed, especially as she’d only been informed that her bridesmaid’s baby was coming the day before. She’d have been a little more understanding if she’d gotten more advance notice.
A broken friendship
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the two women aren’t friends anymore. It seems that the bridesmaid refuses to admit she did anything wrong, despite going against the happy couple’s request. In her comment, the bride shared that she understood her friend didn’t feel comfortable leaving her baby at home.
However, what good was telling her the day before the wedding and bringing along the child regardless of anyone else’s feelings. It’s no wonder that these two have now drifted apart.
They weren’t invited
Another bride who had trouble with guests wanting kids at a child-free wedding revealed that it was a work colleague who gave her the most problems. Apparently, when the person sent back their RSVP, they confirmed that they and their child would be coming to the ceremony.
The happy couple had posted on their wedding website that the reception was just for adults, and they only addressed the invitation to the colleague and their partner.
Avoiding an upset
The reason the bride found this to be such an issue was that the colleague was a higher up in her company. She was afraid that banning their child from the wedding would cause problems at work, which is why she turned to the internet for advice.
Thankfully, plenty of people came through for her. They advised her just to respond politely that kids weren’t invited, and that she understood if this meant they could no longer attend.
Stick to the facts
The comments this bride received made it clear that people inviting kids to child-free weddings was not a rarity. One person wrote that their dad’s friend RSVP’d for him and his daughter, despite the girl not being invited.
Fortunately, they sent an email out that reminded people that the wedding was strictly 18+. The user advised the bride to always stick to the facts and not attempt to make exceptions because that only causes more trouble.
Completely oblivious
Another person shared that no-one had RSVP’d children to their wedding, but someone did decide to show up with one on the big day. To make matters worse, the person responsible was one of the groomsmen, so they couldn’t pretend they were oblivious.
The happy couple had made numerous attempts to point out that kids weren’t invited, especially to this man. It seems the bride and groom were afraid he’d break the rules, and evidently, they were right.
One without the other
What the user found strange about the whole thing was the fact that the groomsmen only brought along one of his kids, even though he had two. Both were incredibly young, so it was expected that they’d come as a package.
If someone was watching the other child, why couldn’t they look after the one that was at the wedding? At least the experience taught the bride to be more upfront with people in the future.
No-one’s an exception
It seems that people feel naturally inclined to bring their kids to weddings, whether they’re welcome there or not. Even though many happy couples request that their nuptials remain an adult-only affair, plenty of guests appear to think their children are an exception to the rule.
While you might not appreciate it if kids are banned from a wedding, you have to respect the bride and groom’s decision. It is their special day, after all.
It doesn’t change anything
It’s unfortunate that all of these brides have had to deal with guests defying their wishes about a child-free wedding. However, while kids might put a damper on the ceremony for some people, they don’t change what everyone is there for.
As long as the bride and groom get to walk away as husband and wife, isn’t that all that really matters? No amount of crying or screaming children can stand in the way of their happiness.