Children at weddings

[mintich]

Not exactly AIBU, but what do you think of children/babies at weddings? Do you get offended if they aren't invited? Do you prefer to go to adult only weddings?

McTufty we did family and close friends kids, but our cut off was friends whose kids we don't actually see/know that well. So I agree that there's a good middle ground but also accept that not everyone wants any children at their wedding. Also fine.

I definitely think you're verging into bridezilla territory with the ME ME ME though faith - what about your husband to be? Or is it all about YOU?!!

I like children of family at weddings, it's is lovely seeing children dressed up formal/smart for an special family occasion, meeting their extended families and either reluctantly dancing with them, or running about the dance floor playing with a balloon. Falling asleep on the dancefloor or in Great Auntie Jeanies arms, who they've never met before but have taken a shine too and Auntie Jeanie is loving it.

I love seeing generations coming together. Its a special occasion to be remembered by all and having all the family children there makes it just a little bit more special.

I would rather have that in a basic hotel function suite than a stuffy adults only do in a posh over priced country mansion/hotel any day.

Children make memories, that will be remembered, and money cant buy.

You can't win on MN

We wanted to invite the friends we care about to celebrate with us

We wanted to be able to reciprocate invitations to those friends who'd invited us to theirs

We didn't want an out of town wedding, we wanted a wedding in London where we all live. We wanted to feed our guests and for them to be able to sit down to eat their meal

We had family bring kids but to have invited all our friends to have brought their kids we'd have needed a venue that could accommodate a third more guests

So which should we have done

• not invite some close friends to make room for other friends' kids

• not had a London wedding and made everyone schlepp out of town and get a hotel just so we could hire a venue with room for an extra 40 guests seated (and pay for the bouncy castle and children's entertainment)

• spent all our money on a larger venue to accommodate 40 kids (on top of 100 guests - at London prices) and then not enough for food and drink to keep everyone fed and watered

How should we have picked which friends should get ditched altogether so that other friends could bring their kids?

Children make memories, that will be remembered, and money cant buy.

That's nice.

Except children make noise and a mess and interrupt conversations and run around with sweaty heads and do knee slides.

As I said in a pp There will not be any at my wedding because I am not inviting any and I don't like them.

Faithinthesound have you considered applying for the next series of Bridezillas? I'm not joking I seriously think you'd be great to watch, it's like some sort of Cinderella complex, please go for it. Why invite any guests just have a photographer follow you round.

Children make memories, that will be remembered, and money cant buy.

Silly me, I thought our adult guests who actually knew and cared about what was going on around them were 'making memories' too.

And, again, maybe you don't like sophisticated, adult events and find them stuffy. I, and lots of other people, like them (as an occasional treat at least) and don't really want to find myself in the middle of children's party when I'm trying to celebrate a friend's marriage.

About 80% of weddings I have attended have been child free and whilst I understand due to cost/numbers for me it is a PITA to arrange childcare. I also hate the "let your hair down" assumption, if I was going to do that it would be in a venue that I chose at my convenience not a castle 300 miles away from home in the middle of nowhere.

My DM thinks children at a wedding "take eyes off the bride" but I must say that the ones I have attended I have been shocked at how the parents allowed their dc to behave. Running wildly around the reception unsupervised, talking loudly during the vows and in one wedding a 4 year old photobombed every single picture of the B & G. Her parents just gushed about how she loves photos.

faith

Your post made me chuckle to myself a little. Did you actually just type "it's MY day"? There's a female comedian who does a bit about that "I WANT MY DAY" in a half growl / half hiss. So attractive .

I remember getting shirty about something in the run up to my wedding. We got married quite young, so I was being a bit of a madam about a guest who'd sent us a nasty reply to our invite (long story). Anyway, my dad looked at me and said "not very bridal darling". That immediately shut me up and chilled me out for the rest of the wedding and run up to it. I didn't want to be an 'ugly' bride (not talking about looks).