Weddings are the biggest events in peoples’ lives. When kids are invited or adults start acting like children, things go downhill very fast. People share stories of bratty and entitled kids they’ve encountered at a wedding. Content has been edited for clarity.
Can We Eat First?
“Some uninvited kids came with their parents to the wedding. This woman and her unruly children had come with the bride’s estranged, problematic mother, who had not been invited to the wedding, but, showed up anyway. Both women were under the influence. The kids were also not invited to the wedding.
The woman’s kids ran around at the reception playing tag with each other. These kids were repeatedly asked to sit down. The mom ignored the kids, and their behavior and enjoyed her beverages while talking to her friend, the bride’s birth mother. The bride would not speak to her birth mom, yet, asked the mom’s friend to sit with her kids or take them home.
The two women just came to belittle the bride, be belligerent, and make a scene. The groom’s family was very conservative, and his parents were more the age of grandparents, not parents. He was the last of five kids, a later-in-life child. The bride knew the groom’s mother would have been mortified by a family scene.
The groom’s mother told me several times no one in her family would ever be divorced, like the bride’s birth parents. Each of her parents had several past marriages. Interestingly, all four of the groom’s siblings and the groom are now divorced. So the groom’s mom may not have had any divorces in her family then, but wow, they are there now. Of course, it couldn’t be her kid’s fault. You may get the idea of why the bride desperately did not want a scene with her mother at the wedding, in front of her groom’s mother.
One of these unruly kids then ran into the cake table, and part of the cake came tumbling down. The homemade butter mints were made by another relative of the bride’s foster sister (her grandmother-in-law). These molded, handmade, mints flew off the table as the cake fell and were scattered on the floor.
The antique, crystal two-tier candy dish holding the mints shattered too as it hit the floor. The mints and the dish were also a wedding gift by this very generous lady. The china bride and groom statue also broke into several pieces. I bought it. It was a Lenox bride and groom statue and a tradition in our family. I still have the one that was the topper on my wedding cake. It was also expensive.
The cake’s top two layers were a mess on the table and the floor. It was a gooey mess of frosting, broken crystal glass, fresh flowers, a shattered cake topper, and white cake. We salvaged the bottom cake layer, and we served thin slices of white and chocolate cake. We were so grateful for the groom’s cake. It was a surprise, we had not planned for it. This type of cake was a tradition in the cake baker’s family. It saved the day for a wedding cake, at least.
The mother of the child was loudly upset about how her son was crying and how the bride’s foster family, who by the way, paid for the wedding, was being so mean to him. They were asked to sit down and finally behave. The bride then asked her to put down her drink and take her kids home. This lady and her kids did then go and finally sit down with the bride’s mother.
The woman said her kids were hungry and told her they would leave after dinner. These two women then complained about how the cake was ugly, anyway. The bride didn’t want a further scene, and the buffet dinner began. The bride just wanted them to be quiet, eat and leave. This woman and the bride’s mother also stole food from the buffet, but that’s another story.”
Calling The Critter Over
“The wedding was going great, everyone having a good time, when I noticed my ten-year-old looking scared, with a big-eyed look. I asked what was wrong, and she pointed to her cousin, and I noticed his hands were all dirty. I called the critter over and realized his hands were covered in food.
The monster was running around digging his hands into various items at the buffet dinner bar. I notified staff and the buffet line was shut down. After conferences with the bride, groom, and parents and a long wait, there was another dinner buffet set up.
The new buffet had generic food items because the catering company had pre-ordered just what the couple wanted, not two setups. Parents split the costs for the extra buffet, costing almost as much as the original buffet. Of course, the kid’s parents did nothing, said nothing, and just kept on drinking it down.
There’s something positive about not including kids at wedding receptions.”
Silly Todd
“My mom, myself, my older brother, and my baby brother were at my baby brother’s babysitter’s wedding, even though she was told by many of her family to not invite any kids. Instead, they should have said ‘don’t invite over-drinkers.
The wedding was gorgeous, and it was held at their church. They held the reception at a very swanky yacht club. It had a beautiful view of the Illinois River. After the D.J. had announced it was an open bar, but to please drink responsibly, a light went on in my older over-drinker brother Todd’s head.
If facial gestures could talk, he would have said, ‘Oh heck yeah!’
After gulping at least four drinks and a couple of mini drinks. He left. At first, he behaved himself. That was until he overhead some ladies at the next table rudely commenting about the music playing.
Immediately Todd got up and said loudly, ‘If you don’t like the music that is typically played at weddings, then I highly suggest that you go the frick home and never go to another wedding!’
I grew tired of his crazy actions, so I ignored him. However, my mom did tug on his fancy blazer and told him to sit down, or he was going to have to walk home. He did sit down. After a few more drinks, he had to go to the bathroom.
The next thing we noticed was my baby brother Zach tugging on my mom’s blouse and pointing to the punch bowl area. The both of us looked and Todd was peeing in the punch bowl. Since I still refused to acknowledge him, my mom went up to him and asked him what he was doing. He asked how she got into the men’s room.
She replied that she wasn’t in the men’s room and she was at the punch bowl.
At first, he didn’t believe her, until the father of the bride came up to them and told us to leave. My mom had apologized to him and preferred to pay for the damages. After she did, we left in embarrassment. Needless to say, the word got around of what he had done. We still got invited to weddings, just without him.”
Lovely Photos
“Unfortunately, this was my nephew, and he got my two kids wrapped up in his shenanigans. About fifteen years ago, my cousin had a big wedding and a reception at a country club. Greg decided it would be funny to take the disposable cameras and take photos of people mid spoonfuls of food into the mouth and/or extreme closeups.
My brother and his wife were sitting there watching their 13-year-old son running around wasting photos that were supposed to be for guests to get candid shots. The newlyweds would be paying to get the photos developed as well.
When my children (ages 11 and 17) got involved, I lost my mind. One thing I didn’t mention was how I had been extremely ill a year ago and was in remission but still very weak. I was furious when my brother and son-in-law were letting their kid drag my kids in. I made it clear this was not okay for my children. The newlyweds would not appreciate paying for obnoxious photos to get developed.
I threatened that if my kids didn’t knock it off, they’d be sitting in the car. The threat slowed down Greg’s shenanigans, and he eventually stopped when he saw I was mad and he couldn’t have his cousins as conspirators.”
The Best Wedding Attire
“It’s a family joke at this point; although I’m not sure everyone has a sense of humor about it.
My aunt and uncle – my mom’s youngest sister from their family of five – had a lovely, lively wedding. They are still together and a wonderful couple with whom I spend time often.
That side of the family was what you might call ‘hippies’; my aunt and uncle especially. Their wedding was outdoors for ceremony and photos before dinner and dancing at a local hall. Much of the decor and extras were wedding gifts from their talented friends, from the live music to the fresh and dried wildflower headdresses and flower arch to the beeswax candles from beekeeper friends.
I was about twelve at the time and thought it was all unbearably cool.
Like many of the other wedding elements, a friend donated the photography. The photos were gorgeous with all-natural light and wild nature with love in which shined through the lens. So it was a generous and valuable gift.
Well, some of the photos were.
As the photographer was their friend, and the photos her gift, she was included in some of the wedding activities. Her son, maybe seven or eight years old, was there too for childcare reasons and because the wedding was family-friendly.
But, because she was working the event, she wasn’t dressed in formal wedding guest attire. She was in comfortable but tasteful clothes that allowed her to get on the floor, climb on chairs, etcetera.
Her son was dressed casually, taking her lead. But, like her, he was also included in many of the events as a guest. So he included himself in the group pictures and most of the family photos.
The photos looked ridiculous with this grinning kid no one knew standing in the front, wearing these silly Bart Simpson pants next to our nicely dressed family in a beautiful outdoor setting.
If you want to hear someone in my family say, ‘Tsk! Such a shame, that kid,’ show them a group photo from my aunt and uncle’s wedding.
Why his mother didn’t pull him out of the crowd, or even just put him in the back of the group is still a mystery to me.”
No Go Zone
“I always ‘joked’ how if I got married, my wedding invitation cards would show ‘no kids allowed in a font as big as my name and my husband’s name.
To start with, I don’t like kids at all. They are exhausting, they cry a lot, run around and create chaos. While not all kids are like that, the ones I have seen are.
I remember when I attended weddings back in my hometown in Syria. There were kids all over the place. The babies would cry a lot because the music was too loud. Often the wedding halls were closed spaces, so if they soiled their diapers or themselves, the stink would spread to three meters in radius, creating a ‘no go zone’. If the odds were not on your side and two kids have synchronized digestion, the entire wedding hall became a ‘no-go zone’, and evacuation could be necessary.
They would often sit at the stage where the bride and groom usually sit, which would obstruct any attempt to move or take any pictures. What was worse was how they would sit there and cry. It was embarrassing for the mother to go there and drag her child away. They often also made a mess of their outfit, and they didn’t look presentable.”
Expensive Cleaning Bill
“They were making slobs of themselves with food and running around like idiots.
I used to work in the catering business and weddings as part of the job. Ninety percent of the weddings made it clear children were not invited.
However, some of the adults acted like children. There was one where it was just adults, and someone decided to defecate on the floor, leaving it for us to clean.
Now at this Hawaiian-style wedding, there was a table just for kids. The way they ate made them seem like they were worse than the pigs.
It was like cleaning up after kids with no table manners. Kids were running with no regard for safety. There was a water fountain, and there was a little boy who was about three years old asking where the bathroom was with no parental supervision. He decided to pull out his winky and go to the bathroom in the fountain. The other little boys followed his actions. So I went to my supervisor, and with proof, I took a picture with my cell phone to show them.
My supervisor said they would have to pay to have it cleaned because it was unsanitary. This would’ve cost the bride and groom an extra 1200 bucks.
They tried to fight the charge. I said to them then they needed to sue the parents because they were the guests not watching their children.
Talk about unruly nasty kids.
As a server, I couldn’t touch any guests. I could only report unruly actions.
People who choose to be parents need to act like one, especially if little Johnny decides to go potty in the water fountain in public and expect a cleaning bill.”
Crazy Uncle’s Influence
“The most horrifying thing I ever witnessed was unfortunately done by my little princess.
She was three at the time, and she was the flower girl. The wedding had gone well, and we were at the reception. Everyone was having a great time, and the wedding cake was displayed on a table in preparation for pictures.
This was when the bride’s crazy uncle (there always seems to be an overly cheerful crazy uncle) began whispering to my three-year-old and urging her to do something.
I was a bit distracted by her brother and missed her as she darted past me and up to the cake, taking a swoop out of it with her little hand.
The crazy uncle shouted, ‘There ya go! Now eat it up!’
My mom grabbed my daughter and headed out into the apple orchard with her as fast as she could walk while my daughter kept screaming, ‘But, I wanna eat it! I wanna eat it!!!!’
Fortunately, the bride and groom were absolute sweethearts, and they thought the whole thing was hilarious. They simply turned the cake and took their pictures, and the party continued.
Now they have kids of their own to keep a watch on at events, but I still remember the horrible sinking feeling I felt in my stomach when I saw her hand go into an elaborate cake which cost as much as my rent, on one of the most important days of my cousin’s life.”
All About Lisa
“My new sister-in-law insisted on having her crying infant on her shoulder throughout my wedding ceremony. She made no effort to step out, or even soothe the baby. Her two-year-old son banged on his seat and kicked the back of the guest seated in front of him, during the same time. Neither parent even addressed the situation.
My soon to be mother in law, laughed like a hyena at her grandchildren’s antics the entire time. I rented a suite and hired babysitters so the children could be removed if they acted out or if their parents wanted a break from parenting during the formal affair. They never used the services.
After my honeymoon, my new mother-in-law scolded me for having set up the babysitting services in the first place. My wedding was a big day for her Lisa. Lisa had last given birth three-and-a-half weeks before my wedding, and had ‘struggled for a week to get her size zero designer gown to zip.’ Lisa had taken almost a month off from the white-collar firm, where she was a senior partner, for her maternity leave. Lisa could’ve used the wedding weekend to catch up on decorating her new penthouse, but Lisa graciously attended the wedding. It was Lisa’s first formal affair since giving birth. Since Lisa chose not to fly her nanny to the destination, she was intent on parenting- not leaving the children with a babysitter.”
Wedding Prank
“At a family member’s wedding several years ago, we had placed disposable cameras at each table. There was formal photography, yet the wedding party asked guests to take photos with this camera, of the reception, and leave the camera at the table. This was a wedding reception in a hotel ballroom. This was a tradition at the time. The wedding couple would then have casual photos of their friends and families to keep and share later with their wedding guests.
Two teenage twin boys, who came with their parents, thought it would be fun to ask six of the adult tables for the cameras on their dining tables. The boys then took one or two photos at each table. There were 24 photos on each camera. The boys, young teens, then decided to take the other photos, primarily in the bathroom. They took photos of the boys standing at the urinal, sitting on the toilet, the sinks running water, making faces in the mirrors, and other nonsense.
There were other weird photos of older ladies from the backside, such as a lady leaning over to pick up her napkin. It was not just the cost and the waste of the cameras for some stupid prank. There were 25 tables with eight seats each. It would have been so nice to have more photos, 144 more photos of the wedding guests. Several people at this wedding have since died. Photos are precious.
There was also the expense of processing the film and the camera store refused to process one of the cameras. It was embarrassing. This was a rude, horrible prank by young teens, who knew better.”
Money Can’t Buy Class
“I was the planner for a large (350) wedding that included a lot of kids. I’ve never seen such ill-behaved children. The parents were all ignoring them as they drank heavily. The kids were very destructive. They dismantled numerous decor items from my private equipment supply.
Over the years, I started just lending my decor/set up as a collection at no charge. It was my way of saving young couples a bit of money. Most people were so appreciative.
This family allowed these children to hopelessly disassemble and destroy so many lovely things. The grand finale? The kids took a bunch of butter rosettes from the bread and roll portion of the buffet. I discovered them in the ladies’ room at this beautiful, classy venue. They had smeared the butter all over the floor for a ‘slide’ and were merrily sliding across the floor in their dress shoes. I should mention this was a 100,000-buck wedding. Money but no class.”
No Children, Please!
“The invitations specified ‘no children please’, but one couple brought their four-year-old brat anyway and let him run riot. At the reception, as they were drinking & socializing, the brat was still running wild. Fortuitously, I was near the wedding cake when I saw two filthy little paws reach out to grab it.
I growled in a furious voice, ‘Leave that alone!’
Shocked, he stepped back.
But his useless mother, only a few feet away, said, ‘He’s only little!’
She said this as if it was all my fault.
Even more furious, I replied loudly, ‘Yes, he is, and you should be looking after him, not leaving him to everyone else!!’
If looks could kill. But, I received quiet applause from many other guests. I guess everyone else was sick of them too.”
Dude There’s A Wedding Going On
“Oh, I just saw it last week. I attended my cousin’s wedding dinner, and one of my other cousins in his early teens sat throughout the whole dinner with his earplugs watching a video game.
Imagine a banquet-style wedding with everybody else standing up to applaud the walk-in of the wedding couple. Everyone is standing except for him. He was sitting and staring at the phone (and those elderly who can’t). He sits through the 10-course meal staring at the phone. The wedding couple did the tango, and everyone stood and cheered, but he still stared at his phone. It looked like a game addiction.
Although we are pretty close among cousins, we couldn’t tell him how to behave as it is his parents’ job.”
A Close Call
“This was at the rehearsal. Both bride’s and groom’s parents had divorced and remarried. The step-mother-in-law insisted one of her angelic grandchildren (no relation to the bride or groom) should be the ring bearer.
He walked down the aisle at rehearsal, whacking each of the decorations on the pews, then went up to the altar and began messing around with those decorations.
Finally, the ‘angel’s’ mother captured him and gave him her cellphone to play with. He threw it at the flower girl, hitting her in the back of the head. He was screaming and crying causing chaos. The only thing that saved the actual ceremony was he got sick that night and missed the wedding.”
The Last Straw
“During my engagement party two years ago, I was really mad and angry with the kids.
Why? The party was held at my fiance’s house, where most of my things were there too. So when the kids of the invited families got bored, what did they do? They raided the house.
Due to their bratty and itchy hands, they proceeded to mess up multiple things in my house. They made my fiance’s expensive speaker break down. My magnet bought from Amsterdam was lost. One of my stuffed animal toys was missing. They made strange and dirty rubbish appear in the whole house. Finally, the decorations for the reception almost got spoiled, but they were saved by another adult luckily.
I got so mad that I didn’t feel the day was special. It was, rather, just a compulsory ceremony to shut the relatives’ mouths up. I mean, why did they care about whether we organize an engagement party more than keeping their kids in tow?
So if I have the chance to organize a party or my wedding, and since it will be my special day, I will not allow kids anymore.”
