Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Sister's wedding and no children invited

713 replies

BigSister1991 · 21/07/2025 14:15

My younger sister is getting married next year and no children (including family children) are invited to any of the wedding celebrations. We will have two children by then (aged 2.5 and 6 months). They are the only children in the family.

The wedding is 2 hours drive from our home and over 3 days - starting on Friday and ending on Sunday.

Our blood family only consists of my Mum and Sister and so I'm disappointed that my Sister would not want her nephew/niece there or want to include them in the day (and that there won't be any photos of them there). I work full time and weekends with my children are important to me and so I'm sad to have to spend 2 days away from them.

The expectation from my Mum and Sister is that me and my husband attend the wedding without our children without complaint and sort and pay for any childcare arrangements that are required.

OP posts:
LucasBuck · 21/07/2025 16:17

They ANBU to have a child free wedding but YANBU not to attend because of it.

All you can do is decline going to the wedding -MOH to your sister or not, presumably you didn’t know it was child free when you accepted the role. I personally would be uncomfortable leaving a 6 month old with a baby sitter I didn’t know really well - especially overnight! (and obviously that assumes you aren’t BF too). Tbh I’d even be uncomfortable leaving a 2.5 year old overnight but that’s just me 🤣

A compromise might be just to get a baby sitter for the ceremony day (since a 2 hour drive isn’t that far for a special occasion) and go back home in the evening, but not attend the other days. But if your family would still be annoyed you didn’t do the whole shebang anyway, then it’s not worth the stress of being away from your kids imo.

randomlemonsheep · 21/07/2025 16:18

WhereYouLeftIt · 21/07/2025 16:17

Have you missed that attending would involve being away for three days from a six months old baby and a two year old for? THREE DAYS?

It's not about anything revolving around the children. It's about the difficulty of adequate childcare being available for such very young children. It would be a very big ask for, say, OP's PILs/children's grandparents to care for them for three days, and a very very big ask for a mother of a six months old (who may be breastfeeding). Too big.

Edited

and the father can't cope with his own children for 3 days because...?

Zov · 21/07/2025 16:19

lovemetomybones · 21/07/2025 15:35

Also I will go against the grain here and say I absolutely do not understand childfree weddings- people just don’t care about family anymore utterly selfish!

Hmmmm, yeah, I struggle with this a bit too, as I enjoy seeing children at weddings, but as I said (regarding my brother's wedding) some children are not well behaved, and can spoil a wedding! Our 4 cousins had some badly behaved children (4 ro 5 of them were little shits) and he knew they would very likely spoil the wedding. But it's odd to not want your nieces and nephews there - unless they are little demons! I doubt that is the case here though. Especially as one of the OP's children is still a little baby just a few months old.....

What I don't understand is the need to have a 3 day wedding, miles away (2 hours drive!) from where most of the family and friends live, adding multiple 100s of extra pounds to what people are already having to fork out. Some people will very likely have to use some holiday leave.

And then adding in 'by the way, your children aren't invited' is just top tier selfish, narcissistic, self-centred behaviour. The OP's sister is an idiot. Making her the maid of honour, knowing she has a 6 month old and a toddler. (And then saying 'but they're not allowed to come.') And the venue doesn't allow children overnight anyway, so the self centred sister wanted make absolutely sure that none could come!!!

What the fuck did the sister think the OP was going to to with her children? Put them in sodding boarding kennels? She's a selfish. thoughtless git, and doesn't deserve her sister (the OP) to be there.

Seriously, why the hell is the wedding 3 DAYS long?! Confused

RobertJohnsonsShoes · 21/07/2025 16:19

You can’t leave a 6month old for 3 days. Too young. It’s a no from me.

AvidJadeShaker · 21/07/2025 16:20

RobertJohnsonsShoes · 21/07/2025 16:19

You can’t leave a 6month old for 3 days. Too young. It’s a no from me.

Well you can if you want to.

Aceofcups82 · 21/07/2025 16:21

Not helpful for OP, and sorry your sister is being this way, but more generally on this topic.. Most British weddings these days are torturous. The expense means for your average couple the budget tends to be blown on the venue and the bride's dress, meanwhile food is awful or limited, and guests are tortured with hours of milling around with bad booze and no food. And children are largely excluded. Children are part of our family units and weddings are a special experience for them. It's a real shame we're so bah humbug about this as a culture. It's a fallacy that they'll ruin a wedding. We just got married and due to limited budget we did it in a pub so we could focus on family/friends, food, drink and music, with 25 children aged 4m -13yo + 75 adults. There were so many aspects we worried about re including so many kids (could they sit still for the ceremony, would they be bored/disruptive etc etc), but they were totally engaged and loved it - and all during a 33oC heatwave. All we did was provide little goodie bags, and get the dj set to start off with a 'kiddie rave' for 20 mins. Children are so naturally curious about adult occasions like this and they love being part of them, and with other children of different ages to play with. I think a lot of people would be surprised by actually what a pleasure it is, not just to accommodate them, but to actively include them. Also maybe if everyone did it more, children would have more opportunities to cultivate their ability to join in adult events like this. It's totally normal in tons of other cultures.

WhereYouLeftIt · 21/07/2025 16:21

randomlemonsheep · 21/07/2025 16:18

and the father can't cope with his own children for 3 days because...?

Well he sure as hell can't breast feed ...

JHound · 21/07/2025 16:23

Just say you cannot attend.

PinkBobby · 21/07/2025 16:23

I also wouldn’t leave my kids - at 6months I was still bf and still adjusting to being a bigger family. Plenty of people are happy leaving but it’s okay if you don’t want to.

Personally, I’d book accommodation as close as possible to the venue and go to as much as possible knowing DH and DCs were easy to pop back to. If you can rope in a relative or friend to help you and DH, I’d ask them to join too. I’d give your sister a heads up that you’ll be there for as much as you can but if your baby can’t be there, logistically you can’t be either. I’d say she can pick a different MOH if she feels this will affect her day. She may be upset or angry and that’s understandable. Child-free people don’t always understand what they’re asking when they don’t include very young kids and may not understand that you might choose to put your kids above everything else.

Sunholidays · 21/07/2025 16:23

I’d cancel the venue accommodation and book a hotel nearby for you, DH and DC. Next day go to the ceremony on your own.

Zov · 21/07/2025 16:23

WhereYouLeftIt · 21/07/2025 16:21

Well he sure as hell can't breast feed ...

This. ^ I knew someone would come up with that old chestnut. 🙄

UpDo · 21/07/2025 16:23

Dick move by your sister, and also your mother. At least Dsis has the excuse of ignorance!

JHound · 21/07/2025 16:23

sweetpickle2 · 21/07/2025 14:17

She's not unreasonable to not have children at her wedding, and you're not unreasonable to say you won't be able to attend.

/End Thread.

Uptightmumma · 21/07/2025 16:25

i personally had a semi child free wedding the only 2 invited were the 2 flower girls aged 7&5.
reason? My friends 3 year old screamed the church down, my cousins friends child declared he needed a poo really loud over and over again.

My then 18 month old, walked up the aisle like a celebratory at my SIL wedding high fiving people. I was a bridesmaid, DH had asked auntie to hold him as he was trying to help hand out order of service and she let him follow him instead and then he kicked off when wedding was about to start and now DH nearly missed his sister getting married. I had told her not invite him after my child free wedding

Children especially as young as yours won’t follow rules, won’t be quite, won’t sit still. If you don’t feel comfortable the whole weekend could someone just watch them from the Saturday morning to the Sunday morning? In laws?

cestlavielife · 21/07/2025 16:25

"Dear sis. I can only come for the ceremony itself. I 'll be there between 2 and 5 while jim looks after the kids"

If she wants more of you she will change the plans. If not is fine .

ShesTheAlbatross · 21/07/2025 16:25

randomlemonsheep · 21/07/2025 16:18

and the father can't cope with his own children for 3 days because...?

I don’t know about your DH, but mine has absolutely useless nipples.

And even if she isn’t breastfeeding, a lot of people just don’t want to leave their children that long. Which isn’t the bride’s issue. But she can’t insist that her sister does something she isn’t comfortable with.

Sunholidays · 21/07/2025 16:26

Aceofcups82 · 21/07/2025 16:21

Not helpful for OP, and sorry your sister is being this way, but more generally on this topic.. Most British weddings these days are torturous. The expense means for your average couple the budget tends to be blown on the venue and the bride's dress, meanwhile food is awful or limited, and guests are tortured with hours of milling around with bad booze and no food. And children are largely excluded. Children are part of our family units and weddings are a special experience for them. It's a real shame we're so bah humbug about this as a culture. It's a fallacy that they'll ruin a wedding. We just got married and due to limited budget we did it in a pub so we could focus on family/friends, food, drink and music, with 25 children aged 4m -13yo + 75 adults. There were so many aspects we worried about re including so many kids (could they sit still for the ceremony, would they be bored/disruptive etc etc), but they were totally engaged and loved it - and all during a 33oC heatwave. All we did was provide little goodie bags, and get the dj set to start off with a 'kiddie rave' for 20 mins. Children are so naturally curious about adult occasions like this and they love being part of them, and with other children of different ages to play with. I think a lot of people would be surprised by actually what a pleasure it is, not just to accommodate them, but to actively include them. Also maybe if everyone did it more, children would have more opportunities to cultivate their ability to join in adult events like this. It's totally normal in tons of other cultures.

spot on!

UndergroundChair · 21/07/2025 16:26

How long has your sister been engaged for? When did she start planning the wedding?

By the sounds of it your children are still very young and small. Maybe one isn't even born yet. I don't know.

So I doubt your sisters preferences are personal to you and your family.

Do you have a babysitter?
A possible solution is to book an airb&b near the wedding/hotel and bring your children and have the babysitter help for a day. Or pay for a hotel room for the babysitter. It's just one solution if you want to explore that as a possibility.

RawBloomers · 21/07/2025 16:27

I’m against child free weddings in principle, and would turn down child free invites from wider family. But I would try and accommodate close family I liked and loved.

Think about how you would best like to attend given the limitations caused by children not being welcome at the wedding or accommodation. There’s still a fair amount of choice. You could hire a nanny for the duration who keeps your children at home while you and DH attend (this seems to be your family’s expectation?) but that’s not something many mothers in the UK would be really comfortable with, for a 6 month old especially. You could rent child friendly accommodation near by for the nanny, or your DH to stay at looking after the children. Your DH could stay home and you could attend. You could drive up just for the wedding and wedding breakfast, maybe an hour or so of the reception and drive home again, either just you or you and DH while, say, your PiL look after the kids.

There’s a whole range of options, limited by breastfeeding considerations, money and babysitters you trust as well as how comfortable you are being away from your 6 month old. But there’s nothing inherently harmful in you leaving them for a few hours, or even a few days, if there is a loving, familiar caregiver available (DH or a grandparent, say). So you can build up that relationship for your DC to make it easier if that’s the way you want to go.

It sounds like you really want to be there and the important thing is to try and keep up friendliness with your DSis without jeopardizing your own family. In a few years time, if your sister has kids she might realise how badly she’s treating you, but at the moment she has no idea and she’s focused on her big day (which is probably feeling pretty overwhelming to her right now). Unless there is form for you always playing second fiddle, one instance of her being a Diva is not something to make a stand over, especially when it really is a very big occasion for her.

Personally I would decide what I was comfortable with that let me attend as much of the wedding as possible. My ideal would be to rent child friendly accommodation nearby for the duration and head up with DH, kids and a willing friend or in-law I trusted to babysit so DH and I could attend as much as possible. But the chances of being able to afford that and have a willing friend or in-law seems pretty low!

In any case I’d let my sister know what I cold manage. I wouldn’t offer it as a negotiation tactic, I would just say that it’s what works for me that doesn’t intrude into what she wants to do for her wedding and you’re sorry that you aren’t able to be more flexible now you have young children. If my plans didn’t involve me being there the whole time, I would offer to step down as MoH if she wanted but try to stay as supportive as possible.

UpDo · 21/07/2025 16:28

JHound · 21/07/2025 16:23

/End Thread.

It might be if the Dsis is willing to own the consequences of her choices. Alas, what happens when your wedding your choice meets it's an invitation not a summons has been the topic for many a thread on here!

ThatRubyMoose · 21/07/2025 16:28

I totally understand not wanting to be separated from a six month old but it is your sister’s wedding.

Can you answer why you can’t leave them with their dad?

PestoHoliday · 21/07/2025 16:28

If it’s a Michelin starred venue I can understand the No Children rule. As your baby will be so young and the wedding a 3 day celebration, I’d resign as MOH now. That will give her time to find someone else to go with.

MimiSunshine · 21/07/2025 16:31

It’s absurd to think you’ll leave a six month old baby for 3 days or even the 2.5 year old really . Not everyone is cosortable leaving toddlers that long.

but I do think YABU to be sad about them not being there to participate. Weddings aren’t child focussed events IMO and small children don’t care about them,

but your mum and sister are being unreasonable to demand you arrange and pay for childcare for 3 days. Not least because it would cost a fortune.

id be telling them that uunder their rules, you alone can attend the ceremony only and DH will stay home with the children. If they get shitty, just shrug and ask what else are you supposed to do?! Childcare for 3 days isn’t an option.

Merrymouse · 21/07/2025 16:31

BigSister1991 · 21/07/2025 14:15

My younger sister is getting married next year and no children (including family children) are invited to any of the wedding celebrations. We will have two children by then (aged 2.5 and 6 months). They are the only children in the family.

The wedding is 2 hours drive from our home and over 3 days - starting on Friday and ending on Sunday.

Our blood family only consists of my Mum and Sister and so I'm disappointed that my Sister would not want her nephew/niece there or want to include them in the day (and that there won't be any photos of them there). I work full time and weekends with my children are important to me and so I'm sad to have to spend 2 days away from them.

The expectation from my Mum and Sister is that me and my husband attend the wedding without our children without complaint and sort and pay for any childcare arrangements that are required.

Fine to have a child free wedding.

Not find to expect you to attend a 3 day event without your children.

RampantIvy · 21/07/2025 16:34

ThatRubyMoose · 21/07/2025 16:28

I totally understand not wanting to be separated from a six month old but it is your sister’s wedding.

Can you answer why you can’t leave them with their dad?

There are a lot of mothers, mysef included, who just did not want to be separated from their baby for three days when they were 6 months old.

Can you answer why you can’t leave them with their dad?

If the OP is breastfeeding that will be your answer.