Child-free weddings can be a seriously hot topic. While some people feel that limiting the invitations to adults only will make for a less chaotic and more intimate evening, but others argue that it puts parents in a tough position, since finding a sitter isn't always easy.
But what if you were told a wedding was child-free, made childcare arrangements for your kid, and then showed up to discover that other children were in fact there? That's what one man on Reddit says happened at his sister's wedding, and it's caused some major drama.
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The story was recently shared by u/NewAd5624 in the subreddit "Am I the A--hole?"
In it, the poster describes himself as a 46-year-old dad with a 29-year-old sister, Tracy, who recently got married.
Though he doesn't specify why, the man admits that he and his sister "aren't close," but says that they do have a good relationship for the most part.
Or at least, they did before all hell broke loose.
When his sister recently got married, she told her brother the wedding was "child-free"
"I have a [12-year-old] daughter Ella and asked Tracy if she could come, but she said sorry, she and her partner were sticking to the rules," the poster explained.
So, he made sure to plan around it.
"I managed to arrange for Ella to stay at a friend's house for a couple of days, since the wedding was in a different city," the dad explained.
But it wasn't until he showed up to the wedding that he started to suspect he'd been lied to.
"I went to the wedding and I saw quite a few older children, including my other siblings' kids," the poster went on. "I know this sounds like I should've known from before from my other siblings, but I never thought to ask them 'Oh, are your kids going?'"
Confused, the poster decided to ask his brother about it
In response, he was told that the child-free rule only really applied to young kids who are still at "disruptive ages."
But considering that his daughter is 12, this immediately didn't sit right with the poster. In fact, he quickly concluded that it was "obvious" Tracy lied to him so that he wouldn't bring Ella.
Naturally, he was furious, but felt like he had to hold his tongue
Then, when he couldn't take it anymore, he decided to pipe up.
"We went through the ceremony and toward the end of the reception, I pulled Tracy aside and said I realized she'd completely lied to me and there were plenty of other kids," the man explained. "She looked pretty uncomfortable and said it wasn't a big deal, but I replied 'I deserve an apology, and so does Ella at some point.'"
Unfortunately, that only made the bride mad.
Before he knew it, the poster was getting yelled at by his sister in the middle of her wedding reception and being accused of "ambushing" her at her own wedding.
Ultimately, she said that it's a choice she and her partner made together, which should be respected.
"We ended the conversation there and went off to talk to other people," he said.
The tension only grew from there
They each went about their nights while avoiding each other at all costs. But once the wedding had passed, the poster says his sister shot him a text that only made things worse.
In it, she accused him of being selfish and said he was the one that should be apologizing to her and her husband for making such a big deal about things.
"I'll admit I sent a not-so-nice text back about her caring more about aesthetics than people," the poster admitted.
But now, the whole thing has "blown up" within the family and is leading to all sorts of drama and tension.
A lot of people immediately took the poster's side
"Well, clearly she targeted your daughter," one person confirmed. "The question is why? Because your daughter is going to figure it out at some point and realize her aunt specifically did not want her at the wedding. I'd be pissed."
"She was definitely dishonest with you concerning how child-free her wedding was and it being a wedding doesn't make it any less of a big deal," another person agreed.
"So at the next family gathering Ella is going to find out that Aunt Tracy invited a lot of her cousins but purposely excluded her??" someone else asked. "That's messed up."
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Other commenters wondered if there was more to the story
Several people wondered if Ella's behavior had anything to do with the sister's decision, which could fill in a few blanks.
And at least one person came right out and asked if Tracy ever gave a solid reason for excluding her niece.
The dad's response shocked them …
"My daughter's arm was amputated when she and my late wife were in an accident," the poster explained. "Tracy didn't say it directly, but I could tell this is highly likely the reason why, so that's why I said she cares more about aesthetics than people."
This extra bit of insight only made Redditors furious with the sister
"After finding out the daughter had her arm amputated, OP's sister is not only an AH, but a monster," one person wrote. "OP, cut that toxicity from your life. As a dad, I'm just so angry for you."
"What a horrific way to further traumatize this child," added someone else. "I would NEVER talk to that monster again. And I'd let the rest of your family know exactly who she is."
"Your sister didn't want a child-free wedding, she wanted an amputee-free wedding," another person declared. "That's absolutely terrible and I'm so sorry you and Ella have to deal with her. I would definitely go no contact after this."
These stories are based on posts found on Reddit. Reddit is a user-generated social news aggregation, web content rating, and discussion website where registered members submit content to the site and can up- or down-vote the content. The accuracy and authenticity of each story cannot be confirmed by our staff.
