Is it ‘hurtful’ to ‘ban’ children from weddings? Thus begins the latest wedding controversy flung at Ms. Manners by a sensitive mom whose children were NOT invited to an upcoming wedding. Children at weddings is a timeless, dicey issue
The use of ironic quote marks above is intentional. A woman writes to Miss Manning complaining about recent family weddings (cousins) where the invitation stated no children. The woman’s reaction is pretty over-the-top. She said,
“I responded honestly that I did not like it, and that it was weird that they were excluded.”
Weird? Seriously?
A woman weighed in on Reddit with these observations:
“Totally depends on the type of wedding. And as a parent, there are some weddings you don’t want your kid at anyways.Our wedding was in a big forest manor with lots of room for kids to be hooligans. We did a child-friendly wedding.”
My friend did an evening wedding on a hotel rooftop. There was a champagne tower and the vibe was more reserved. Even though there was no stated rule about kids, there’s nooooo way we’d have brought our baby daughter.”
Ever heard of a disruptive child?
A recent bride writes about how children tainted her wedding day experience:
“Children ages 4-12 need to be banned at weddings. My walk down the aisle was interrupted, our walk back down after getting married was interrupted and the children are in our photo. The same child was climbing on chairs and making fart noises during our ceremony. Holes in my cake with fingers and bites taken out of it by these kids mouths. Stuff torn up everywhere by these same kids.
I loved my wedding and my day but I can’t help but feel a disdain for this whole entire family now considering mom and dad allowed every single one of these things to happen and did nothing to stop it. The list of what these kids did and were doing is so long. I can’t sit here and type it all. And that’s only what I know. I’m sure they did worse. My day can’t be redone and it was a one shot thing. I don’t have children. But I promise I will either NOT bring them to a wedding or if I do and they are majorly interrupting I’ll take them out.”
So what’s interesting about the mom’s perspective who wrote to Ms. Manners at the top is her unwillingness to see anyone’s perspective on the subject other than her own. She even called her pediatrician to get his opinion and hopefully shore up her position.
Now that is weird.
Miss Manners weighs in
What did Ms. Manners say about having children at weddings? It’s up to the couple. Ms. Manners said, “she finds them (mostly charming), and their imperfections make a sweet addition to the occasion … However, there are some for whom the chance of a child ruining their “special day” is too great a risk.”
We love to see kids on the dance floor. It’s a magnet to pull the adults out of their seats and join in on the fun. Kids at weddings really make the event a fun family event. BUT … we’ve seen the dark side of kids at weddings, too. On occasion, parents won’t … or are unable to rein them in. The results can be quite disruptive.
So what’s the answer? Easy. It’s up to you, regardless of what your cousin’s pediatrician has to say about it!
What else is easy? Finding the perfect wedding entertainment specialist for your affair. Columbus Pro DJs specializes in Columbus weddings. Check out our availability today.
