I just attended a wedding out of town. Had to get a sitter in the hotel and deal with those logistics. Then I was pretty annoyed to be seated at a table with 2 babies.

Yes. Totally normal. We had no kids for most people, but exceptions for close family members who came from overseas.

Anonymous wrote:OP, I get it. With my kids now older, I'm glad the wedding phase is done for me. When you consider a "no kids" invitation, you must accept that the bride and groom don't want YOUR kids there. That's what they are saying. It's hard to stomach, but you can either accept the invitation and force yourself to not react negatively for any reason or decline the invitation.

I don’t understand why this is “hard to stomach”.

We had a no kids wedding.

A few people (not even people we were especially close to--co-workers) just showed up with kids anyway. I (the bride) had no idea that would happen until I actually saw them at the reception!

You sound like a good guest, OP. Many people are not. It may be that the bride and groom did not want any kids at their wedding, but that some people pitched a major tantrum or, even, just showed up with their kids. It happens. But, it might also be that there were some kids that were guests in their own right--kids with whom the bride or groom had a real relationship. Those kids are guests, not kids of guests.

I had a no kids wedding, except my nieces and nephews because my parents made me.

Yes it’s normal to have kids in the wedding and allow them to attend.

Two colleagues of mine got married. Both single parents of kids around 5. They invited me and were so apologetic that they didn’t have room for my kids who they had never met, when it wasn’t exactly “childfree” because they included their own children and their children’s first cousins. The amount of apologizing made it clear that someone else had complained it wasn’t fair. Who would complain about that? Of course the rules are different for the bride’s kid and some kids you never met.

Anonymous wrote:I’m having a wedding this fall and inviting a handful of nieces and nephews, but none age 5 and under, and none who are young adults I’ve not seen for over 5 years. It’s not my responsibility to host a family reunion.

Amen, sister! I have 2 kids and applaud this choice.

We asked our local friends to not bring their kids because we figured they could find sitters. We were fine with out of town guests bringing their kids because we knew it would be more difficult for them to find sitters. Different people do different things.

I had a no kids wedding. When I looked at the wedding pictures after, there was a kid! Guess my cousin, who also handled all the music and sang, had her young son there. Probably only for a short time, and then I guessing her husband left early and took the boy with him to a hotel. I was a young bride and didn't know what trouble I was putting her through. They traveled from NYC. She really was extremely important to the success of the event and was doing me a big favor. Guess she just made it work. And I never would have known if I hadn't noticed a picture.

I’m having a wedding this fall and inviting a handful of nieces and nephews, but none age 5 and under, and none who are young adults I’ve not seen for over 5 years. It’s not my responsibility to host a family reunion.

Anonymous wrote:Your kids were not invited. Does not matter how many other kids were invited - yours were not.

Here we go, this is the answer.

Anonymous wrote:OP, I get it. With my kids now older, I'm glad the wedding phase is done for me. When you consider a "no kids" invitation, you must accept that the bride and groom don't want YOUR kids there. That's what they are saying. It's hard to stomach, but you can either accept the invitation and force yourself to not react negatively for any reason or decline the invitation.

I’m at a wedding this weekend. The groom went to law school with me, not my kids. They’ve never met. I’m here to honor our friendship and celebrate his happiness. He doesn’t need to spend $200 extra for my kids to eat chicken tenders. No grandparents available so DH is home with the kids and I am living it up as an individual for a change.

Your kids were not invited. Does not matter how many other kids were invited - yours were not.