Bride Wonders If She Is Wrong For Charging Parents Who Brought Their Rowdy Kids To Her Child-Free Wedding
A bride and groom made guests who brought their kids to the childfree wedding face consequences.
IVASHstudio | Shutterstock Kids can be loud, rambunctious, and rowdy. That’s just in their nature. For this and other reasons, like cost, many engaged couples opt to have child-free wedding receptions. However, not all parents agree with that rule. While most who are against it choose not to attend the wedding, one family decided to just ignore it altogether and bring their kids anyway. Let's just say the bride in question was not having it.
A bride and groom decided to charge parents who brought their kids to the child-free wedding.
The bride took to Reddit to explain the situation, noting that while planning and preparing for the wedding, they found the venue they wanted was far too small and expensive to include kids from either side of the family. “The kids are generally good, so the main issue was cost,” she revealed in the post. “Our venue charges age 2+ the same as adults, which is $250pp (including tax/tip). It would double the cost and our venue wasn't big enough for all the kids.”
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In fact, according to the knot, couples can expect to spend an average of $33,000 for their wedding, which comes out to about $284 per guest, as wedding venues charge per plate, no matter the guest's age. In order to save money, many couples decide to make their receptions child-free.
The bride and groom hired sitters for couples who couldn't find childcare prior to the wedding.
While many couples leave it up to parents to find childcare, this couple was nice enough to set up a generous compromise where kids would be allowed to go to the rehearsal dinner, but would have to stay with hired babysitters that the bride and groom paid for during the actual ceremony and reception. And for the most part, everyone agreed.
“On the wedding day, 3 couples showed up with their kids, a total of 9 kids,” she wrote. “My husband was more upset than I was because these folks were on his side.”
After a small scene during the wedding ceremony, they agreed the kids could stay for the reception so long as they didn’t cause trouble, and the parents would pay per child the price that the venue requested. However, the night didn't go as smoothly as they hoped — the kids wreaked havoc, leading the couple to ask the family to leave before cutting the cake.
After the wedding, the bride and groom sent a letter reminding the parents that they agreed to pay for the children.
The parents of the 'rowdy' kids refused to pay.
“Two couples paid and were apologetic, and even said now they understood why we couldn't include the kids,” she wrote. “Of course, the couple with the 2 rowdy kids refused to pay because we asked them to leave before cake... seriously.”
They burned the bridge of their friendship, got a nasty call, clapped back with “they should be lucky I didn't send the dry cleaning bill for the dress,” and refused to let them visit — which most people on Reddit agreed with.
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“NTA. Stand your ground. You went above and beyond to accommodate guests with children, and they imposed,” wrote one user in response. “It was pretty darn clear what the restrictions were, and they proved the point on why you had those restrictions in place,” one person said.
Another simply stated, "Reading your post I felt second hand fury so strong. The audacity and level of entitlement of those people. They’ve just proven why they’re not worth knowing."
Bringing kids to a child-free wedding is about more than just entitlement and disrespect; it's a potential safety risk.
Yes, it's absolutely rude to disregard the wishes of the bride and groom who are hosting the event. In this case, however, it seems the couple weren't even that upset with the oversight until they absolutely had to be. What some parents fail to realize when simply asserting their entitlement is that they may be putting their kids in danger.
As That Childfree Life pointed out, "Venues for weddings may not always be child-friendly, posing potential hazards. From open flames to precarious staircases, these places are like obstacle courses for curious little tykes. Parents who bring kids without considering these dangers are basically playing Russian roulette with their offspring's safety as well as adding more stress and potential liability for the couple."
Imagine planning your entire reception around the fact that only adults will be present, and suddenly, kids are getting burned on candle centerpieces and sneaking booze spiked desserts. What some parents fail to realize is that a child-free event is as much for the parents as it is for the couple throwing the party.
Real friends and family should recognize that they were being far too selfish to even consider bringing their kids after already being told they couldn’t, but to not even apologize and pay after agreeing to do so? Those aren’t real friends.
Isaac Serna-Diez is a writer who focuses on entertainment, pop culture, relationships, social justice, and politics.
