A bride-to-be has been left stunned after several guests demanded she pay for babysitters to look after their children while they attend the wedding.
In a post shared to Reddit's now legendary 'Am I The A**hole?' subreddit, the woman explained that the decision to make their nuptials a kids-free occasion has "caused a lot of drama."
Child-free weddings are not uncommon in this day and age—but they continue to be a source of consternation to some guests.
According to Whitney C. Harris and Jaime Mackey at Brides.com, it is perfectly acceptable for the bride and groom to not want children present on their special day, but there must be "no exceptions."
"Make sure you're applying that age rule across the board," they advised. "If someone calls to ask if they can bring their kids along, let them know what you've decided and stick to your guns."
In the case of the soon-to-be-married woman posting on Reddit as TraditionalSound4192, their reasons for excluding kids from their wedding was twofold.
She said they had been to "multiple friends' weddings where kids have run wild. Screamed, cried and threw tantrums throughout the wedding ceremony which echoed and was the main thing you could hear."
Additionally she said throughout her life she has "been sensitive to high pitch noises" and can often get "massive headaches" that leave her feeling "nauseous."
At previous weddings where children had been present she had had to take "strong painkillers" to get through the day and wasn't able to drink alcohol as a result.
"Weddings aren't the place to bring kids, they get bored easily and they have to sit still and be quiet for an extended period of time which can be difficult when you're young," she explained.
"We want a child-free wedding so we can enjoy our wedding. I can have celebration drinks on my wedding and don't have to spend the day medicated."
The bride said while her family were happy with the plans, some friends are not and have said if they don't invite their kids then they should "have to pay for babysitters" or "they aren't coming."
Torn over whether she is being unreasonable for wanting a child-free wedding, the woman turned to Reddit for a second opinion on whether she should modify her plans with her post garnering over 10,000 interactions.
However, users were wholly supportive of her plans and instead hit out at her supposed friends for attempting to hijack her big day.
Kiiimbosliceee01 said they "have every right to exclude children so they can celebrate how they want," adding that their guests' demands were "ludicrous."
LordVetittynari was baffled by the suggestion. "Why on earth would you have to pay for other people's childcare?" they asked. "Their kid, their problem. If they don't want to pay for a babysitter then they don't get to attend."
They added: "I'm sure most people with young children have hired babysitters for far more trivial reasons, they won't be bankrupt after paying for a few hours of childcare."
Kitchen-Arm-3288 also noted: "If you pay for anyone's child care—you have to pay for *EVERYONE'S* childcare—and that's not a reasonable expense for you to be expected to bear."
ANewStageInLIfe added that the only logical response to those friends demanding financial support otherwise they wouldn't come would be to simply respond: "We totally understand, you will be missed."
Further justification of why the bride may not want kids there came courtesy of SharkClub12, who shared their experience of being at a wedding that was ruined by children.
"Two little brats unplugged the DJ equipment mid first dance then threw the cake table over and ruined the cake," they wrote. Their parents did nothing until the bride had security show them out and the mother went on a screaming tirade."
Newsweek has contacted TraditionalSound4192 for comment.
Wedding invites continue to prove a source of online drama. One couple, for example, sparked fury after excluding their family from their big day and making it a friends-only event.
Elsewhere, a husband earned the ire of the internet after refusing to babysit his three kids while his wife went to her brother's wedding, which is also a child-free event.
