Wedding guest disregards child-free invite
Image: Getty / Reddit
Hosting a child-free wedding seems like a good idea for some couples who are hoping to save money and perhaps are looking for a quiet, less rowdy event.
It isn't always a popular choice among families, however, and can lead to tension that lasts for years. In this case, a couple has hosted a child-free wedding only for one of the groom's friends to arrive with his four children.
"My husband (30) and I (30) got married 2 weeks ago," the bride explains on Reddit, explaining they decided on a child-free wedding "due to venue choice, food choice, alcohol, location" and included this "rule" in every invitation.
Her new husband's best friend is a widower and has four children. He took immediate issue with the rule, according to the bride, to the point the groom was worried he wouldn't attend the event.
"But about almost an hour into the wedding, we start hearing noise from a distance," she continues. "We look closely and see Leo standing there with his 4 kids dressed nicely," she writes. "He was arguing with the staff about the kids not being allowed."
The bride say she felt "horrible" because "the staff were drilling that this an adult only wedding and the kids needed to leave" only for Leo to continue to argue, yelling out the groom's name so he could back him up.
"I was so upset and embarrassed but I kept my composure and went over to talk to Leo. I told him to either get the kids somewhere else and come back or just leave," the bride continues.
Leo "acted offended" and said this was his best friend's wedding and he was invited to it. "I said I was sorry but the rule is followed by everybody, and everybody should respect that," she continues. "He argued about how he wasn't just a random guest but was family but I said it still applies.
"I insisted he make his choice but he doubled down talking about how he couldn't find babysitter and how he shouldn't have to miss his best friend's wedding."
It was then the couple had staff escort Leo and his children out of the event.
The incident divided guests, especially when Leo and his children were forced to leave the event, which the bride says "led to some of my husband's friends to complain saying Leo has special circumstances because he's a widower and it's essentially my fault for not providing babysitting options for guests".
The wedding continued, she explains, but her husband was angry with her: "He said this is his best friend that I just caused to miss his wedding. He said Leo stopped answering his calls (til today) and respond to his messages because of what I did."
Her husband is now accusing her of ruining his relationship with his friend when she "could've just made an exception for him and the kids since they were there already".
She says before the nuptials her husband was "onboard" with their child-free rule and she was concerned by making an exception for Leo others would have felt "deeply hurt".
"What a way to start a marriage," a user writes. "Throwing your wife under the bus at the f--king wedding ceremony."
One person shared a story of a wedding they attended that catered to children separately from the formalities.
"Bride and groom paid for 4 sitters and arranged a separate party for kids with a bouncy house," they recall.
"It is especially gross that his friends are saying it his her fault for not finding Leo a babysitter," writes another. "Like, this dude is incapable of finding a babysitter for his own children, but they expect his best friend's wife who is planning a whole wedding and totally unaware he didn't have a babysitter to do it for him?"