Keeping children off the guest list at a wedding isn't an uncommon practice, and for many couples looking to tie the knot, going child-free means saving money on food as well as the added stress of trying to keep them quiet during the ceremony. But one bride and groom have decided to go one step further with their child-free destination wedding in Norway, as instead of just not inviting any young children, they chose to ban teenagers too, making their wedding a 21-and-over affair.
This meant that the bride's 14-year-old half-brother and 15-year-old sister were both set to be kicked off the guest list and made to stay at home, but the woman decided she would make an exception to the rule for her sister, meaning only her brother was banned. And to make matters more complicated, the woman didn't tell her teenage brother that he wasn't invited until one day before the wedding - after he had already flown out to Norway with the rest of the family.
Get the news you want straight to your inbox. Sign up for a Mirror newsletter here.
In a post on Reddit, the bride claimed: "I just got married a couple of weeks ago in Norway. It was amazing.
"From the start, my fiancé and I knew we wanted a child-free wedding with nobody under 21, as we both find children and tweens very annoying, but we provided childcare for the little kids.
"Here's the problem: I have two siblings much younger than me. My full sister, who's 15, and my half brother, who is 14. My half-brother is the result of an affair my mom had while my dad was away for work, which caused their divorce.
"My fiancé and I decided to make an exception for my sister because we are both close with her and she's a very mature 15-year-old.
"My mum had figured neither of them were invited and that they would stay at the hotel for the day, so she was fine with it since they were together. When we told her it was just my brother not invited, she was p***ed and said he can't stay here alone. I said he could stay with the kids (all under ten, unfortunately) and she told us we could do whatever but we had to tell him the news.
"We decided not to tell him until the day before to avoid any major drama during the weeks leading up to it. When we told him he threw a fit, I said this is why he wasn't invited, and left. The wedding day went amazingly.
"When I got back from my honeymoon I was met with angry texts and voicemails from my mum's family. Apparently my mum spilt the beans to my aunt and she told everybody."
And while the guest list for a wedding is completely up to the bride and groom, many commenters on the Reddit post were quick to tell the woman that banning her brother was "nasty".
One person said: "He wasn't invited because you think it's his fault your mum and dad got divorced. He's allowed to be upset that his sibling disinvited him from her wedding but allowed the only other sibling to go. That's nasty."
While another added: "Not just disinvited him, but disinvited him the day before when it sounds like he had already travelled and was stuck in a hotel. You didn't want a child-free wedding, you wanted a wedding without your half-brother there, and you couldn't even communicate that to him like an adult."
And a third wrote: "That is so unfair. From your words, it seems like you did this simply because he's an affair child. You are playing favourites. He is still your brother. Why are you treating him like an alien compared to your other sibling? That's so uncool."
Do you have a story to sell? Get in touch with us at yourmirror@trinitymirror.com .
