I hate to be the negative one in all this... but we did this at our wedding - which was not interstate. We didnt invite children, and we had friends that RSVPed with their child's name. We told them that we would prefer they didnt bring the baby.
This had nothing to do with cost... it was simply because we hadnt invited kids that were a lot closer to us than them and their child, and we didnt want others to get offended when they saw their child there. They told us they werent comfortable leaving their 5 month old with a babysitter so they came to the church only and not the reception.
P.s. A few weekends earlier we found out they went to the AFL grand final together and left the baby with their grandmother...
I would talk to the bride, like the others have said. We've actually got a wedding next weekend and our DS is 4 months old. I asked the bride before we rsvp'd if i could bring him (I wouldn't have gone if we couldn't) and she was fine with it. It could just be that the message has been lost in translation iykwim? Personally, I can't see why she would be okay with the ceremony but not the reception - if anything it is the ceremony where a baby could cause a bit of disruption rather than the reception. Anyway, hope it all works out for you.
I dont see an issue with BF babies, I actually had 3 babies at my wedding 1 was 2 months old, another was 8 months and another 9 months. I made it clear to my friends that there babies were very welcome to be at the wedding.
However we had issues with someone cracking it as we wouldnt let there 5 year old come to the wedding!!!
Speak to the bride I cant see it being an issue at all, at our wedding we actually had a private room that they could BF in if they wanted (my MOH had 9 month old and no way could she BF in reception as needed to half undress to get boobies out of dress!!)
Usually it's the other way around! No babies/kids at the ceremony in case the make a racket... In saying that though, I have been to weddings with kids, and had kids at my own (albient ranging from 1 to about 14) and they generally get the idea that it's a big occassion and keep quiet.
I would definately go straight to the source! If the bride/groom says yes it's true then just let them know there and then you'll only be attending the ceremony...
I had heaps of kids and babies at my wedding and it didn't phase me in the slightest, actually at the ceremony my not even 2yr old nephew was going nanannana bat man LOL it was so cute made me laugh. And all the babies and kids were great at the reception. I think some people take the whole getting married thing a bit far and have to have this sterile unatural environment, but thats just my opinion. I wanted a realxed environment not one where people were to afraid to even talk. Oh and I think when you have kids at a reception everyone else seems to be more well behaved. Our reception venue actually told us we were the most well behaved group they've ever had.
It's different for everyone. The main thing is to not make assumptions either way. I'd talk to the bride. If they're adamant that there be no babies, then I'd not go, unless you have a family member who can look after bub. They should be able to accept that.
Whilst planning our wedding, I took into account there would be small children. We had a flower girl and page boy (brother's kids, 4 & 8) and teenagers. 2 friends would only be able to come (from interstate) if they brought their small children. Only 1 could make it, so we had an 18 month there. I just asked the parents to take him out during the ceremony if he started crying. The poor lamb was tired from flying down the morning of the wedding, but he was very good. We also provided bags with toys/colouring books for the younger kids to play with. We thought about hiring a babysitter, but then found we wouldn't need to - the parents were happy to look after them. The venue even had a highchair for the toddler and his meal was free. We didn't invite older children of friends, just family. We didn't have the room.
Whilst many bride's try to accommodate their guests, it is their day (& the groom's ), so their rules. As a bride, you can't please everyone and the whole thing is very stressful. It's up to you what you choose to do, but if they don't want kids on their day, then work around that to what suits you the best. And try not to take it to heart.
Generally if a baby is BF then I wouldn't expect the parents to leave them.
DD1 came to a wedding with us at 3 months and she slept in her pram the entire time - hardly anyone even knew she was there. It was interstate and we also had no babysitters available so there was no option.
We went to wedding recently where DD2 was invited but not DD1 which was fine with us. However, there was accommodation on site and the babies had someone looking after them who got us if they cried while we were able to enjoy the reception.
I would explain to the bride that you won't be able to attend if you can't bringthe baby. If the bride doesn't have children she may not be aware of why this would even be a problem.
For our wedding we had no children.... but that did not include the 2 BF babies that were under 6 months. I was happy for them to be there and both their mothers spoke to me to explain the situation. Most of the time you wouldn't have even known they were there. It is different to a squirmy mobile 2 year old.
I also had to take my DS to a wedding when he was just a month old. Just something I had to do - he was exclusively BF so he had to come. I spoke to the bride and she was fine. There were 2 other babies at the ceremony, one 4 weeks older and 1 a week younger and both were palmed off for the night. The mother with the 2 month old had to express a couple of times during the night which made her miss out on some of the party and the parents with the 3 week old had dinner and left. They didn't even consider that their babies could just sleep in the pram in the corner.
So I think you should talk to the bride or your cousin and just explain that your baby is not going to need food, or a seat at the table and he isn't at the age where he will run around interrupting everyone having a good time. If they don't accept it as a reasonable request then I would consider not going. It isn't fair of them to expect you to leave DS with a stranger for babysitting and it isn't fair to expect you to travel all that way to not go to the reception because they don't want your child there. But it is their day, and if they really don't want your DS there, then I guess you have to respect their wishes.
We had this issue after flying to NZ in Uagust for my BILs wedding....it was a PITA
We ended up getting a hotel room (it was at a hotel) and we and the family took turns babysitting the 2 girls upstairs in shifts after teh reception.
Worked out well, but it was a pain and quite frankly, had we known the children werent welcome before we spent $4000 flying to another freaking country I and Charlotte would not have gone in the first place... *grumble*
Anyway, I would speak with the bride directly and work out where to go form there.
If bubs isnt welcome, then perhaps both of you stay home
I should have mentioned, that the initial reason for not having children, was that our reception didnt allow children... possibly because it was right next to a lake and could be dangerous. If you say no to 1 person having their child, you have to say no to all otherwise people start getting offended.
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), so their rules. As a bride, you can't please everyone and the whole thing is very stressful. It's up to you what you choose to do, but if they don't want kids on their day, then work around that to what suits you the best. And try not to take it to heart.
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