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Apparently, my wedding was “extravagant.”
I got married outside on the Irish Coast. I wore a generic second-hand dress, had five guests, and no flowers or frills. But because children weren’t invited, my colleague labelled it as “extravagant”.
It’s not unreasonable to not include children at weddings. But it is unreasonable to boycott weddings that are childfree, just to try and make a point.
Sure, weddings with children in attendance can be great fun. But weddings without children present can also be great fun.
Ultimately, the guest list is up to those getting married.
Weddings were once about children, but not anymore
I’m surprised that the data from this recent study featured in YouGov shows a slightly higher percentage of support for childfree weddings than child-inclusive weddings.
But this doesn’t negate the controversy and politics childfree weddings incur. For almost 20 years, discussions around children and weddings have flared up regularly.
These days, almost half of weddings don’t include children. So childfree weddings are normal. And yet, the resistance toward them can be ferocious.
We don’t have to look far for tales of family drama interwoven with childfree weddings.
This plea from a bride-to-be, submitted on WeddingWire outlines what those opting for a childfree wedding are up against — from family feuds to friendship disintegration.
The WeddingWire piece gives an all too common example of couples being manipulated and guilt-tripped into inviting children with the threat of parents not coming if their children are omitted.
But like a response to the article suggests, surely a year is an adequate time to find childcare?
There have also been many cases where wedding guests have ignored the “adult only” invite and taken their children along anyway.
