Am I The Jerk For Bringing My Baby To A Child-Free Wedding?

Whether or not to bring kidsand especially babiesto weddings can be a very sensitive issue. Strong arguments could be made for either case. However, when the happy couple explicitly ask their guests not to bring their kids, its usually best to honor their wishes. It is their wedding day after all. And theyre giving everyone plenty of notice to find a babysitter. Heck, some of the other guests might have hired certified professionals for their own kids!

Redditor u/babyweddingthrowaway shared what happens when guests dont think that the rules apply to them. She turned to the AITA community for their opinion on whether or not she was a jerk for bringing her 10-month-old baby to her cousins wedding, despite everyone having been asked not to do this.

Scroll down for the full story in the new moms own words and to read how other internet users reacted to the entire drama. Oh, and when youre done, wed like to hear from you, Pandas. Who did you think was in the wrong? How would you have handled the situation? Do you have any weddings coming up soon? Tell us all about it in the comments.

Image credits: Justin Luck (not the actual photo)

Image credits: Samantha Gades (not the actual photo)

Image credits: babyweddingthrowaway

Its pretty darn unusual for the AITA community to be so united in their YTA verdicts. In this particular case, a huge number of redditors thought that the mom was clearly in the wrong because she did the one thing parents were asked not to do. She brought her kid. The baby disrupted the ceremony. And the thing that the couple dreaded would happen actually happened.

The redditors defense was that shed RSVPd and told her cousin that shed be bringing her baby anyway. The groom and his bride didnt tell her no again because they didnt want to start any drama. Meanwhile, some of the other guests were upset because they thought the redditor was given special treatment.

In short, this entire situation shows what happens when even a single person thinks theyre above the general guidelines. We absolutely adore kids at weddings and we totally get parents wanting to love and protect their munchkins, but at the end of the day, if its a childfree wedding, its a childfree wedding. And demanding exemptions when others are in the exact same boat as you sounds a bit selfish.

Previously, Anna and Sarah, team leaders at The Wedding Society, stressed to Bored Panda that it is vital to respect the wishes of the marrying couple.

Whether it be that kids of a certain age are welcome, only specific children of a few family and friends, or no kids at all, guests should honor the couples wishes regarding kids at the ceremony.

Please dont take the inclusion or exclusion of your little ones personally (especially if the couple dont have kids of their own to fully understand your situation) and rememberas nice as it is to bring your babes along to the celebration, its also an awesome opportunity for a fun night off if youre asked to leave them with a sitter! Anna and Sarah said that parents should strive to look at some of the positive aspects of going to a childfree wedding. Its an opportunity to spend time with your partner, friends, and family. Its a date night in disguise.

For marrying couples, the etiquette can be trickier. Newborns really need to be with their parents so please dont ask for any babies under a few months to be left at home. Its perfectly reasonable to ask for parents of older children to take the night off and leave them with a sitter, but the fairest way to do this is to make a blanket rule for everyone rather than picking and choosing which kids can come and who cant.

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Am I The Jerk For Bringing My Baby To A Child-Free Wedding?