To think people shouldn’t bring babies to weddings full stop?

for most people, they are a pain in the arse, but many couple put up with them 😂

I don't know anyone who actually WANTED the kids at their wedding, but it's family, so you invite everyone and you bear them.

I genuinely don’t think I’m unreasonable to say weddings should be child free

You’re not unreasonable to say your wedding is going to be childfree. You’re unreasonable to say all wedding should be.

OP, I'm sure that for their next event, the bride and groom will be sure to consult you for your opinion! Different strokes for different folks and all that.

The baby wasn't at fault here. Sure, their parent should have taken them out straight away but they were invited to the day just as much as you.

As for the post by someone else...
"My DM thought I shouldn’t bring my 4 month old breast fed DS to my own wedding, and sourced a childminder to have him for the day." Wow @LynetteScavo I bet that made for an interesting conversation!

This.
and again, this.
Keep reading until you actually understand what a wedding is supposed to be.

If you just want a grand event, host a ball!

YABU. It's not for you to decide who should attend other people's weddings. I would want everyone I love at my wedding and that would include babies or children.

A wedding is a marking of a couple coming together to form a new family unit, a baby crying doesn't mean they couple aren't legally married. It's not a play - if the audience miss a couple of words they won't lose track and forget who's getting married.

Of course the parents should have brought the baby out sooner, but it's not the end of the world, a wedding isn't a top West End show, women put so much pressure on themselves to produce a perfect wedding, opinions like this just increase the pressure.

If it’s a wedding for instagram then fair enough.

If its a meaningful and real wedding then surely the couple want to celebrate with their nearest and dearest.

It’s not the bringing of the baby that is the problem.. it is the parent of the baby not sitting in a seat with an easy exit route and immediately doing so as soon as the baby started fussing.

When mine were babies/toddlers we sat at the back of the church with them so we could whisk them outside if they caused a disturbance at a wedding. It's what you do if you have manners but some people behave selfishly and without any thought for others.

Why don’t you let the people having the wedding decide on this and worry about it, OP? What’s it got to do with you?

This

Such a shame for the couple but presumably they invited them? The parent is a sick for not taking the baby out immediately though, why in earth would you stay with a baby squalling?

Because they've been invited you absolute lemon.

YABU - My DM thought I shouldn’t bring my 4 month old breast fed DS to my own wedding, and sourced a childminder to have him for the day. Of course he came. Weddings, IMO, should be for families and friends, old and young to celebrate. But if you have a baby or toddler you sit by the door and make a quick exit during the service if necessary.

Just because you’re irritated by babies, doesn’t mean everyone is. The bride and groom invited babies so surely they weren’t fussed. It’s a wedding with normal human beings where things don’t go as planned, it’s not a polished theatre production.

Maybe the bride and groom wanted a busy wedding filled with family and other people they love, including babies and children as affirmations of life, rather than an Instagram-inspired cocktail party attended by only perfectly made-up young people.

You describe this as something that lasted for 20 minutes. It didn’t. Poor show from the Vicar to just pause. In most situations where I’ve seen this happen, Vicar/Celebrant has some kind of joke up their sleeve to deal with this, everyone laughs, tension breaks, and person with baby takes them out of the room.

Unless you were the bride and you had asked someone not to bring their baby but they did anyway, this is none of your concern. A crying baby for a moment of the entire day isn’t going to ruin the experience.

The thing is wedding vows are very important legally and spiritually (if it is a religious service). Also for the close family and friends they might really want to hear them! So I think letting your baby cry through them or toddler kick off is actually quite disrespectful even if the bride and groom don't mind.
Obviously babies should be allowed on the day though!

I had two very greedy breastfed babies. They never cried at inopportune moments. I took them to weddings, christenings, on flights, to an adoption ceremony and to a graduation ceremony.

If it was important that the baby didn’t cry at a particular point then I would try and schedule a nap for that point. If that didn’t work then any sign of discontent and I would feed them. The first time my son went on a flight I think he thought it was his birthday as I fed him on the way up, on the way down and mid flight!

Kids running around the dance floor should be compulsory at a wedding.

Many people want babies/children at their wedding. Especially if they’re nieces/nephews etc. A baby crying at my wedding wouldn’t bother me - an important family member being absent would.

In the weeks after my wedding I remember a close relative apologising to me because their toddler cried during the vows. I didn't hear it. Neither did my DH. No idea if the wedding was disrupted for anyone else by the crying. But for us, it wasn't a performative moment of romance, beauty or love; it was a very special moment where my entire focus was on my husband, myself and the vicar. A brass band could have trouped through and I wouldn't have noticed

There’s nothing wrong with even tiny babies at weddings - the issue is inconsiderate ignorant selfish guests. If you have a baby or toddler at a wedding you use your common sense and sit at the back, taking them out IMMEDIATELY if they make a loud noise. It’s completely inappropriate to ruin or drown out the sound of a religious ceremony by failing to put the married couple’s interests first.

The same goes for ensuring basic standards of behaviour from all children at the reception No running round the dance floor or venue yelling.

All our extended family weddings had children. of various ages present and they were never permitted to disrupt proceedings. Their attendance enhanced the experience. I have had the misfortune to attend other weddings with poor parents where this was not the case.

It is up to the parents of the babies to make sure that they are respectfuk. Sit somewhere with quick access out of the venue and if the crying goes on for more than a few seconds they should leave immediately.

I do agree with this though - first hint of crying and the parent holding the child should have legged it out of there!