A Man Is Under Fire For Not Even Inviting Relatives With Kids To His Child-Free Wedding

Picking and choosing who gets an invite to your wedding can be stressful enough — and it only got worse for one person whose uninvited family members decided to air their grievances publicly.

A soon-to-be married person took to Reddit to see if they were in the wrong for naming all the reasons they wanted a child-free wedding. This included some instances of the uninvited family member’s own children making a complete mess at the OP’s sister’s wedding, which was also *supposed* to be child-free.

“Several people did not understand the meaning of ‘child free’ and brought their kids anyways,” the OP explained of their sister’s wedding. “One screamed through the ceremony and the mom would not leave the chapel because she did not want to cause a fuss... The worst was the kid that wanted a cupcake off the table the wedding cake was on. He... tipped the wedding cake onto the floor. My dad saved it but there was a handprint on the lowest tier and a lot of cupcakes hit the floor.”

It wasn’t just one family who decided they were going to bring their child despite the fact the bride had politely asked otherwise. It was four families.

Understandably, the OP, who is set to get married in May, opted not to invite these four families to their own wedding. And when they found out, they decided to take to the OP’s Facebook wall (as opposed to a private DM) to ask why they were excluded.

“I messaged them privately and asked them to take down their posts and explained that my wedding was smaller and I wasn't having as many guests as my sister. They went public again and [complained] about me excluding them for no good reason.”

Frustrated, the OP posted “the receipts,” AKA footage from their sister’s wedding that makes it fairly obvious as to why the complainers were not invited.

“I posted a video my cousin sent me of the kid crying during the ceremony and the parents doing nothing. The video of the kid freaking out because he had to share trout for supper. The before and after pictures of the wedding cake table. And I also asked of they knew in advance that they were not supposed to bring their kids to the wedding.”

Apparently it wasn’t just the OP who was frustrated at the four couples who decided they were above the rules and could bring their children to, again, a child-free wedding.

“Then everyone started piling on. To them. I guess there was a lot of stuff I missed. Including one of them changing a kid on the table with the guest book because the closest bathroom did not have a baby station.”

The uninvited family members are now upset with the OP, saying that the OP embarrassed them “for having children” and also wanting to be part of family events.

But Reddit had the OP’s back. Many pointed out that wanting a child-free wedding isn’t synonymous with not wanting to associate with people simply because they have children.

“The uninvited don't deserve to ‘join family gatherings’ if they themselves cannot behave nor better take care of and supervise their children!,” reads one comment with over a thousand upvotes.

Others noted that the OP wasn’t even the one who brought this weird battle to the public, so they shouldn’t feel guilty about the fact that others called them out for their entitled behavior. “They tried to call you out publicly for making a decision about YOUR wedding, and you just met them where they were. They sound horrible, no wonder you don't want them at your wedding.”

Another commenter broke down the saga in a play-by-play to really lay out how bonkers it was for the uninvited friends to feel like they were wronged.

“You messaged them privately and gave them a very kind response about your wedding being small, and asked them politely to take down their public complaints. They publicly complained louder and demanded answers. You gave them answers. They brought this on themselves at every tiny step of the way and you and your sister both showed way more grace than they deserved.”

Setting boundaries can be tough — but it seems necessary for the OP, especially given the track record these wannabe wedding guests and their unruly, uninvited plus-ones have had in the past.