Receiving a wedding invitation and imagining what the big day would be like is always thrilling. However, the bride and groom, not the guests, are ultimately responsible for the arrangements. In this story the couple was surprised when several couples brought their children, despite the fact that the bride had made it obvious that the location did not have enough facilities for them. Read the story to know what happens next and let us know if you agree with the bride and groom.
Source: Reddit
This happened a few months ago, but it was recently brought up again. My husband and I made it clear to guests that our wedding was child-free. I mean, I have a cousin with 8 kids and a lot of our family/friends have 2-3 kids.
The kids are generally good, so the main issue was cost. 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.
We wrote this on the website and clarified with anyone who asked (and everyone asked). We got a lot of grief over this, so we felt a fair compromise was to:
1. Extend the dinner the night before to include kids, and the restaurant was very nice about having close to 100 kids.
2. Hire 5 babysitters for 25-30 kids on the wedding night for locals who couldn’t find a babysitter last-minute and for guests who traveled with their kids. My in-laws offered their home less than 30min away to host all the kids.
On the wedding day, 3 couples showed up with their kids, a total of 9 kids (2 + 3 + 4 kids). My husband was more upset than I was because these folks were on his side. Groomsmen offered to drive the kids to the house, but they refused and made a scene. My husband was called to handle it and he said fine, as long as (a) the kids don’t cause trouble and (b) the parents pay the per head for the kids, they can stay. The staff even quickly threw together a kids table.
I saw that unfolding and avoided it, and went about the day since it was a beautiful day and so much was happening. When the ceremony started, one kid started wailing and another skipped down the aisle in front of me. I played it cool, and the staff was on top of it. They escorted the mom and the 2 kids outside. The rest of the ceremony went smoothly.
During the reception, the same 2 kids were screaming and throwing food. Other guests and staff were trying to get them to sit. At one point, one kid went under my dress, which was so damn weird. I didn’t notice and almost tripped. My bridesmaids pointed out that the food they threw got on my dress and that’s when I had enough. I gave my husband “the look” and he rounded up the kids, brought them to the parents, and asked them to leave for good.
After the event, and this is where we might be the Jerk, we sent a bill to the 3 couples with a letter saying we had a lovely time with them and reminding them that they agreed to pay for the uninvited kids. Two couples paid and were apologetic, and even said now they understood why we couldn’t include the kids. Of course, the couple with the 2 rowdy kids refused to pay because we asked them to leave before the cake… seriously.
Instead of apologizing, we got a nasty call. All I said was they should be lucky I didn’t send the dry cleaning bill for the dress. My husband even said this concludes their friendship. This weekend, they wanted to visit and we said no thanks. They asked if we were still mad about them not paying and uh yeah, we are. Did we go too far here?
What would you do in their situation? Any advice. Here are a few comments on the story where it was originally posted:
