In the great debate on whether kids should be invited to weddings, two blogging moms have taken their opinions to to the internet, creating a viral buzz around this matter of wedding etiquette.
Cartoonist and art teacher Ali Solomon of Wiggle Room recently presented a blog titled, “Please Don’t Invite My Kids to Your Wedding” on Scary Mommy explaining upwards of 9 reasons why marrying couples should avoid inviting kids to their weddings.
Solomon, who emphasizes that brides and grooms don’t have to offer a reason why kids aren’t invited, like “the caterer doesn’t have chicken nuggets” or “it’s a late ceremony,” states that they simply just shouldn’t be invited.
The NYC-based mother of two girls (a toddler and baby) provides reasons like, “My kids don’t want to be there either,” citing the amount of time they must sit still, quietly during the ceremony; “it’s your day,” explaining that kids can change the “atmosphere” of the an otherwise adult-only event; and “it’ll keep your guest list in check,” insinuating that many wedding guests with kids now need a “plus-4” and that a small wedding’s “head count will spiral out of control fast” if every guest with kids was encouraged to bring their brood.
On the other end of the spectrum, Chaunie Brusie of Tiny Blue Lines published an earlier article on Your Tango called, “I Have Kids And I Think It’s Selfish To Have An Adult-Only Wedding” explaining her reasons on why weddings are family affairs and should include entire families of guests, including kids. Her article quickly went viral, sparking Solomon’s response.
Brusie, a mother to three girls and a boy explains that with nuptials stacking up in the summer “I just can’t afford so many kids-free weddings,” stating that many couples have to weigh the costs of finding a babysitter versus attending a wedding. On a similar point that Solomon makes about getting a night out without the kids, Brusie takes the opposite stance citing a $100 figure as the cost of a babysitter and explains, “$100+ could buy me a whole lot of date night elsewhere.”
The two do agree on one point, kids tend to liven up the party on the dance floor. Though Solomon frames this in the realm of “I don’t want them to upstage you” while they’re dressed adorably and “turned loose” on the dance floor, Brusie asks, “Is it just me or do kids sometimes make the party,” adding, “Who else has such a carefree lack of inhibitions (sober) on the dance floor? Who else can you do the robot with and not feel like an idiot?”
Which leaves us asking the question, should kids be invited to weddings?
