Bride Asks If She Was Wrong For Booting Family From Wedding After Child Cries During Vows

Aug 24, 2021

Getting married is a huge step for couples to solidify their relationship and profess their love for one another in front of all of their friends and family. With such a grand and joyous day to plan, it makes sense that some couples can be a bit overwhelmed and stressed with all the planning that goes into a wedding. One couple got married on May 15, 2021, in a tiny ceremony with their closest family and friends by their side. They had one very specific rule for their big day: no kids allowed.

While most people typically enjoy having their family at their nuptials, sometimes couples opt for more sophisticated settings, or they want to have more freedom to say and do what they want without worrying about influencing children. As it is the happy couple’s special day, they are allowed to ask their guests whatever they want and set the terms to best carry out their ideal wedding ceremony and reception.

However, the bride had an issue at her wedding and went to Reddit just four days after it happened to talk about her situation and receive feedback from the community. Even though all of her guests were on board with the “no kids allowed” concept, her own sister went against the rules when an unpredictable circumstance arose. The bride was forced to break her own rules and at first allowed her sister’s children to attend the wedding, but it did not go as planned, resulting in some of the family members being kicked out of the reception.

In her Reddit post, the original poster (OP) went into more detail about her intimate ceremony and how her special day went. There were only 70 people in attendance, and the guest list was only full of adults. “I opted for a childfree wedding due to both costs and convenience,” she wrote. “I like kids, just not at my wedding.” Most people adjusted well to the rule, as the wedding date was announced a year in advance, giving parents plenty of time to find accommodations for their children.

“The problem is my sister who was one of four bridesmaids,” OP explained. Her sister has two sons, aged 2 and 5. Just two days before the wedding, her sister revealed that the babysitter she had hired was no longer available, which prompted her to ask the bride if her children could be allowed at the wedding. “I felt pressured, but she begged for them to come,” OP wrote. She ultimately agreed with the provision that the boys would behave and that her sister’s husband would pay close attention to them.

Unfortunately, this task was easier said than done. OP’s sister arrived late to the venue, causing her to miss out on most of the pre-wedding photographs. One of her sons then “began to act up during the vows,” causing a huge problem for the bride. “My husband and I wrote our own, and about halfway through mine he begins to cry and fuss,” OP explained. “I had to restart my vows twice due to the disruption, and I was already so nervous.” 

Even though the ceremony had gotten off to a rocky start, it proceeded smoothly following the couple’s vows. Unfortunately, the bride’s sister continued to hinder the wedding as she was nowhere to be found following the ceremony as she was with her children again. Since the sister was one of the bridesmaids, the wedding party had to wait for her to show up in order to take photographs together.

Laughing the situation off, the sister said, “Haha sorry about (nephew), it was nap time! He’s settled now.” However, OP was not happy with the apology. “It was such a non-apology and I was so upset,” OP wrote. “I told her I didn’t like how dismissive she was of my wedding and how I broke my own rule to accommodate her family and she didn’t seem to care.”

While it seemed like they were finally communicating and getting back on better terms, the sister had her own issues with the ongoing scenario and said the other woman was “blowing things out of proportion.” This became OP’s breaking point, resulting in her asking her sister to leave. “I didn’t want her there anymore,” she reasoned.

Although the Reddit community has mostly agreed that OP was not wrong for kicking her family out of her wedding, she has since offered an explanation as to why she still believed she could be in the wrong in this situation. She explained, “I made my sister leave a celebration after her son was rowdy. The damage was already done and I was being emotional and reactive.” 

Do you think this bride was right or wrong for kicking some of her family members out of her wedding? Let us know, and be sure to pass this on to your loved ones to find out what they think, too.