The age-old debate surrounding child-free weddings tends to rile up people. Whether or not a guest agrees with the policy, the invitee should respect it and RSVP accordingly. However, a bride recently recounted how she brought her 11-month-old to her own child-free wedding – but then booted a guest who brought her kid.
A Reddit user vented online about a guest’s behavior at her wedding. In their invitations, she and her husband clearly expressed that children were not welcome at their nuptials. With that said, they involved their young daughter in their big day. That meant one of the guests mistakenly assumed this was a free pass to bring her son.
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The Redditor and her groom were adamant about having a child-free wedding.
In December 2024, a newlywed took to the AITA subreddit to explain and have others weigh in on the wedding situation.
“So my husband (M29) and I (F27) just recently got married. We spend almost a year planning the perfect wedding, taking the right precautions, etc.,” the OP (original poster) wrote. “One of our first rules that we decided was that it was a no-kid wedding. We wanted an environment where we wouldn’t have to worry about children running around, getting into things, crying, etc.. We made it very clear on our invitation that we didn’t want anyone to bring children under 14.”
They did, however, want to include their 11-month-old daughter.
“I wanted to hold her during the reception and photo taking,” the bride wrote. “And then have a family friend drive her home and wait for the babysitter to get there before coming back.”
One guest showed up on their wedding day with her young child.
Fast-forward to the wedding, and the wife of one of her husband’s friends showed up with her 4-year-old son.
“I was obviously taken aback, but I went to ask her about it,” the OP shared. “She told me that ‘since I was bringing my kid, it was okay if she took hers.'”
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The bride was 'furious.'
“Honestly, I was furious,” the OP admitted. “I tried to stay calm and tell her that this is a child-free wedding and she can’t let her kid run around, but if she took her kid home she was welcome to come back. She started yelling at me about how since I had a kid it wasn’t fair that she couldn’t have hers.”
Furthermore, the guest’s son was “already climbing on things, as she just let him run free,” the OP noted.
“I told her that this was her last chance or she’d need to leave. She rolled her eyes, sat down in a chair, and just watched her son run wild,” she added. “Eventually, her husband Darren convinced her to get her kid and leave, but it ruined the whole first part of my wedding.”
A few weeks later, the OP wondered if she had been a jerk.
After asking users in the ATIA subreddit if her actions were “hypocritical” because she brought her daughter to the wedding, Redditors all agreed: She wasn’t the a–hole.
One person commented, “NTA. Bride and groom always has the right of exception to any rule they make for their wedding, ESPECIALLY for their own child that is being included in the ceremony.”
Another pointed out, “I probably would reconsider the friendships. At this point is not about the rule is about the disrespect. It’s your wedding, her child being there and your child being there aren’t on the same universe. You wanting your child there for a couple of photos is one thing, her bringing her toddler and letting him run around free, I don’t have words for it. To top it off she had the audacity to yell at you.”
Yet another Reddit user echoed, “The ONLY people exempt from a child free rule are the HOSTS. In the case of a wedding that is the bride and groom. NTA.”
These stories are based on posts found on Reddit. Reddit is a user-generated social news aggregation, web content rating, and discussion website where registered members submit content to the site and can up- or down-vote the content. The accuracy and authenticity of each story cannot be confirmed by our staff.
