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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Invited to a child free wedding.

333 replies

sea74 · 14/01/2011 13:46

I have been invited to a wedding, but children are not welcome.
Now, isnt a wedding the start of a family? Aren't they telling me "come to celebrate our special day but we dont give a t*ss about your family"?....because that is the message i am getting.
If you dont have money, do not invite all these people. But if you are inviting us, you should invite the whole family....

Am i being unreasonable?

OP posts:
ChaoticAngelofAnarchy · 14/01/2011 15:39

YABU

A wedding is the name given to a day when a couple make a public, legal commitment to each other, not to anyone else.

What are the vows....for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, we pledge to have children...oh, wait, no that bit isn't in there HmmGrin

People should have the wedding they want without other people whinging or trying to dictate about x,y or z, including whether or not kids attend. Don't you think at the ages your kids are that they would be bored with having to sit quietly for most of the day?

working9while5 · 14/01/2011 15:45

I thought there was a bit in the service about accepting whatever children God chose you to have into the family? Might be Catholic but I thought in Anglican too?

PatriciaHolm · 14/01/2011 15:49

Working9 - maybe there is the church wedding service, but I had a civil ceremony and there was certainly nothing in there about children!

headfairy · 14/01/2011 15:52

working... it is in the Catholic marriage service. We had a whole pre-marriage counselling thing when we got married in a Catholic church and there was a lot of emphasis on how children are a "natural product" of a marriage etc etc. Depends on your religious beliefs as to whether you agree or not.

wukter · 14/01/2011 15:53

That bit is definitely in the Catholic service Working9.

sea74 · 14/01/2011 15:53

BTW, this one is a churc wedding... Confused

OP posts:
ISNT · 14/01/2011 15:55

I really can't agree that people should have whatever wedding they want, if what they want involves really upsetting people.

That's just me though, apparently.

ZillionChocolate · 14/01/2011 15:56

"We pledge before God to have children and to take them everywhere with us and to shun our friends if they try to overlook the little darlings."

Something like that for the vows?

TrillianAstra · 14/01/2011 15:57

I don't think that "if it really upsets people" should be a criterion if people get really upset at silly things.

swanandduck · 14/01/2011 15:57

Yes, it's in the Catholic ceremony. But there is nothing about 'accepting that you have to invite all of the children God has chosen to send your friends to every social occasion from now on'

Duna · 14/01/2011 15:58

'their wedding, their choice, don't go if you don't like it' bah bah bah.

I didn't realise there were quite this many saintly people around who would never have an opinion on another person's decision or choices Hmm

working9while5 · 14/01/2011 15:58

Not saying it does, just responding to the vows post out of interest.

amothersplaceisinthewrong · 14/01/2011 15:59

Op

YABVU. It is the couple's choice what kind of wedding to have. And no doubt venues charge nearly as much for children. Also i would have thought a wedding would be rather boring for small kids.

swanandduck · 14/01/2011 15:59

ISNT

Obviously people should be considerate when having a wedding and not deliberately upset parents or relatives for no good reason.

But they shouldn't have to pander to every hissy fit their friends throw.

amothersplaceisinthewrong · 14/01/2011 16:00

Indeed Swanduck.. I had the full Catholic works and not a kid in sight!!

working9while5 · 14/01/2011 16:01

Also, it might explain some cultural differences in how people view the issue of children at weddings... I am Irish Catholic(ish, born that way anyhow Grin) and although it has changed a lot in recent years, it is more common than not to view it as about family and community which would involve putting your guests needs and desires ahead of your own. Big huge wedding, all the relatives etc, a boringly staid meal and music to suit everyone. Children are a part of this package.

ChaoticAngelofAnarchy · 14/01/2011 16:04

Ah, so it is Blush I don't remember it being in my friend's wedding but that was 8 years ago.

Technically it's a question and not a vow though Wink Yes, I'm splitting hairs Grin it is a part of the service.

"The most important part of a Catholic wedding is what is commonly known as the exchange of vows. These words are the heart?the essential element?of the sacrament of marriage; they form the covenant that establish the couple?s marriage. The Church calls the exchange of vows consent?that is, the act of will by which a man and a woman give themselves to each other, and accept the gift of the other. The marriage can?t happen without the declaration of consent (Catechism #1625 - 1631).

Catholic wedding vows are usually preceded by three questions from the priest:

"(Name) and (name), have you come here freely and without reservation to give yourselves to each other in marriage?"

"Will you honor each other as man and wife for the rest of your lives?"

"Will you accept children lovingly from God, and bring them up according to the law of Christ and his Church?"

The bride and groom respond "I will" or "yes" (Rite of Marriage #34).

The Rite of Marriage (#25) offers several options for Catholic wedding vows. The standard version goes like this:"

The point is many couples, even if they do get married in church, do decide not to have children and they are committing to each other, not to any possible future children, or even the op's children.

ISNT · 14/01/2011 16:04

swanandduck that is not the message being given here though.

OhCobblers · 14/01/2011 16:07

I really can't agree that people should have whatever wedding they want, if what they want involves really upsetting people.

no offense, but i think that statement is complete nonsense.

be "really" upset about something worthwhile : 3rd world debt / children starving / abuse to children , etc.

some people didn't come to my wedding. could have been distance, or bad time of the year or that their children (who i hadn't even met) weren't invited - they didn't say. if they'd been really upset that their DC weren't invited i would have thought them to be utterly ridiculous.

ISNT · 14/01/2011 16:14

What has happened to us is this:

"We have had a terrible time with all this.

Once we couldn't go to one of DH's childhood friends no children weddings as I had a BF newborn, and they were really angry with us.

And twice we have been invited to weddings without the children and have got babysitters etc and have turned up to find hundreds of children there, at both of them we had loads of people coming up and asking us why we hadn't brought our children. Both times I watched all the children running around playing and got quite upset thinking what a good time the DDs would have had and wondering what was wrong with them."

If you think that treating people who are supposed to be friends in that way is fine, then that's your lookout. I don't know when it became fashionable to completely overlook how what you do might make others feel. I guess we are becoming a more selfish society. I don't and can't agree with it though. I would never behave in this way towards my friends, and I can't understand why these sort of things are becoming the norm.

In fact your post has really upset me. If someone you like basically says that there is something wrong with your children, that is a perfectly valid reason to be upset I think. Preposterous to suggest that people should only ever be upset by massive disasters, and an excuse maybe used by people who like to go around causing upset.

xstitch · 14/01/2011 16:15

So my marriage wasn't valid then because I didn't have children there? Wish someone had told me it would have saved me on lawyers fees.

Not having children invited to my Wedding was not intended as a slight on anyone's children we just had to draw the line somewhere. As I explained in my previous post we could only afford a maximum of 80 people including the Wedding party. As the groom had such a large family, Aunts and uncles all with children, many with partners and children and some of these children had children. This added up to 79 people so only one place for me. Meaning if we did that I would not even have been able to have my mum at my wedding.

The fairest way to do it seemed to us at the time seemed to be just to invite aunts and uncles as to invite some cousins and not others would be a lot more rude imo. I would have loved to have children at my wedding, I love children but having my mum at my wedding felt more important (I do feel guilty at my selfishness)> I spent a lot of my wedding planning constantly changing things to avoid offence to others. This included booking and paying for a taxi for someone who complained that the wedding was ridiculously far away (4miles). They then refused to use this taxi only telling me on the day.

I am actually really upset that my efforts to keep as many people as possible happy have been seen as rude by so many. My planning was by no means perfect but to be seen as intentionally rude and offensive just makes me want to cry.

LadyTremaine · 14/01/2011 16:18

Really? Are we really having this conversation? Really?

Why anyone thinks that their opinion counts on whether someone-else should invite their children to a function which they are paying for is beyond all comprehension..

They don't want to have your children there... with children around you have to watch your language, people leave early cause the kids are tired, you need a separate children's menu and often entertainer unless you want to lose half your guests while they try to keep their kids under control... oh and kids don't like weddings!!! If you really can't be separated from your children for one day then i think you are odd... I adore when my children don't get invited to weddings! Some adult time to celebrate the love of my friends or family - children don't even understand weddings.

saffy85 · 14/01/2011 16:19

YABU. Their wedding, their rules.

If the bride is a primary school teacher all the more reason to have no children at the wedding- she could do with a break....

working9while5 · 14/01/2011 16:19

I don't think it's worth getting upset about but it boils down to that old chestnut about who the wedding is for. For me, it was definitely not for us: that was the honeymoon Grin. The day itself was about giving everyone the Big Day Out. I think it was one of the best days of my mother's life! I thought it was fun, but although the ceremony stands out in my mind as something really special, I've had better nights out!

It is a real PITA to get childcare for young toddlers far from home, you know? We are having my mum come from Ireland which is a faff for all of us but I just can't predict how ds will be. If we'd all been invited, in all likelihood, we would have spent the day wandering about the garden and I would have worked hard to distract him so this way I will probably have more fun which is why I'm a bit nonplussed by the debate.

LadyTremaine · 14/01/2011 16:20

Ok, if it's because you can't get child care you are not necessarily 'odd' sorry.