My children weren’t invited to the wedding, but others were.

Dear Polite One,

I am so angry and insulted as my children weren't invited to my niece's wedding, but others were. The invitation clearly stated that children were not welcome. I contacted the bride to make sure and she said that there will be child attendants, but no others. There were 10 other children enjoying the reception while mine were stuck with a babysitter.

Angry Aunt

Dear Angry Aunt,

This is the principal reason I always advise couples not to include children in their wedding if not inviting them to the wedding/reception. It causes hurt feelings when guests see other children at the reception. That said, you mentioned that the invitation clearly stated that children were not welcome. That is a big no-no. Those guests who are invited are mentioned on the invitation envelope. That's unfortunate. Many people do not know this though.

Perhaps the children enjoying the reception were not invited, as is common. Many guests do not know how to be good guests or just don't know what is proper. So, they invite their children to events. This very well could be the case here.

If not, well, we will never know why these children were invited and yours were not. The couple could have been pressured into inviting these few, which is never nice, but happens.

It is best to let this go. The couple wanted a childfree event but ended up with more than they wanted. At least you were good enough to follow their wishes. You did the right thing.

Sincerely,

The Polite One

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