When planning a wedding, the bride and groom should always have the final say on who gets to be included in the guest list. If they have a distant relative who is infamous for enjoying alcohol a bit too much at family gatherings, their invitation might get "lost in the mail." And if the happy couple doesn’t want any children at their celebration, then parents need to plan ahead and hire babysitters!
But one woman refused to accept that her friend’s wedding was a child-free occasion, so she decided to show up with her son anyway. Below, you’ll find the full story that the bride recently posted on Reddit, as well as a conversation between the bride and Bored Panda.
The bride and groom get to decide exactly who is included on their wedding guest list
Image credits: Leon Seibert/Unsplash (not the actual photo)
So when a friend showed up at this child-free wedding with her son, the bride made the difficult choice of kicking them out
Later, the bride shared an update, including a message she received from her friend
Image credits: Christian Bowen/Unsplash (not the actual photo)
Image credits: JessieLynnReddit
Many couples are opting for child-free weddings nowadays
Image credits: Micheile Henderson/Unsplash (not the actual photo)
To find out more about this situation, we got in touch with the bride who shared this story, Reddit user JessieLynnReddit. She was kind enough to have a chat with Bored Panda and explain what's happened since the wedding.
"Since then, I've cut her off," the author shared. "She's been trying to get in contact with me, but I've just been ignoring her now."
We also asked the bride why she thinks her friend didn't ask for permission to bring her son ahead of time. "Honestly, I really don't know. It still confuses me as well," she said.
But thankfully, she was still able to have a wonderful wedding, despite this uncomfortable encounter. "After that hiccup, we had a great time," the bride shared. She also noted that she enjoyed reading through the responses to her post and found them to be helpful. "I loved seeing everyone's different responses and advice."
Weddings are meant to be joyous celebrations for all involved. And while many couples choose to include a flower girl who’s about 5 years old in the ceremony or a ring bearer who just learned how to read, not everyone wants little ones running around at their reception.
That’s why some brides and grooms have opted to throw child-free bashes. But parents don’t always take the news well when they hear that their kiddos aren’t included in their plus-one.
When it comes to the pros and cons of having a child-free wedding, Bride and Groom Direct notes that you can be sure that there won’t be any interruptions during the ceremony. No crying babies and no toddlers that need to have their diapers changed immediately.
Guests might also be able to fully relax when they know that they don’t need to watch their mouths around kids, keep an eye on their children the whole night, worry about stepping on a kid’s toes on the dance floor or wonder if they’re too drunk to be in the presence of children.
Having kids around can pose a safety issue, if they don’t have eyes on them at all times. And nobody wants to be a babysitter while trying to enjoy a wedding.
Plus, when couples don’t have to include food, drinks and seating for children, they might be able to invite even more of their own friends! Or, if they’re interested in cutting costs, they can simply save money by making sure that it’s an adult-only event. No need for kid-friendly meal options, kiddy cups or silverware or entertainment for little ones.
When a couple spends thousands on one day, they deserve to have the exact wedding of their dreams
Image credits: Marc A. Sporys/Unsplash (not the actual photo)
However, there are some downsides to planning a child-free wedding as well. Some guests may be offended, and others might decline an invitation simply because they can’t bring their little ones along. If the wedding requires guests to travel, it might be too much of a hassle to get a babysitter who can keep the kiddos overnight or for several nights in a row.
Some parents might even consider the bride and groom selfish for not allowing children to enjoy their celebration. One bride who had a child-free wedding told Glamour that guests were extremely upset about her choice to exclude kids.
“You wouldn’t believe the amount of people who are acting like I requested they throw their kids off a bridge or put them up for adoption,” she shared. Apparently, some of her guests even insisted that they would still bring along their little ones if they couldn’t find child care.
But part of the reason why people might be so split on whether or not kids should be invited to weddings is because not everyone views weddings in the same way. Glamour explains that, for some, a wedding is “a celebration of family, community, and continuity.” Meanwhile, for many young couples, their wedding is the most expensive one-night-only rave they’ll ever attend.
And if you’re paying tens of thousands of dollars for the occasion, shouldn’t you get to decide who exactly gets to attend? We would love to hear your thoughts on this situation in the comments below, pandas. Do you think this bride did anything wrong by bringing her baby to her wedding? Then, if you’d like to check out another Bored Panda article discussing similar wedding drama, look no further than right here!
The majority of readers were supportive of the bride, and she joined in on the conversation to provide more details
Many continued to chime in, assuring the bride that she didn't do anything wrong
However, some thought that the bride was being hypocritical
