A doting mum was left "mildly irritated" by a child-free wedding invite as she disliked the wording.
Whilst Mumsnet user JukEki was thrilled to be invited along to two weddings in June, she couldn't help but disagree with how the message had been sugar-coated to seem like it is a night off from childcare for parents.
Taking to the website, she created a thread which was titled, 'To be irritated by this wedding invite?' and ranted to anonymous users online.
She began: "We have been invited to two child-free weddings, both in June. We are going to attend both and are pulling in favours for childcare.
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"However I can’t pretend that I’m not mildly irritated by the wording in one of the invites!"
Detailing what both invites said, she continued: "One invite said, 'Unfortunately bearing in mind we have limited guest numbers we cannot accommodate everyone’s children however this is a golden opportunity for parents to enjoy a night of relaxation and uninhibited revelry!'
"The second simply said, 'Whilst we love your children please note this is an adult-only occasion."
But it was the first invite that didn't sit right with the mum, who went on to list of her reasons for frustration.
She added to her post: "The first annoyed me as actually it’s not going to be relaxing for me in the slightest, it’s quite inconvenient and expensive to not be able to bring the children and I’m more likely to be hand expressing in the toilets than dancing on a table.
"It is absolutely the couple’s prerogative to have the wedding they want including making a decision to have no children - just own it and say so instead of dancing around it and pretending it’s a night off for me."
She concluded: "Happy to be told I’m unreasonable - first also contained a money poem which may be biasing me."
Thankfully, other users agreed with her and agreed that there was no need for the bride and groom to "dress up" the invite as a favour.
One person commented: "I agree with you. I hate it when they try to pass it off as doing the guests a favour. It's a nuisance and an expense sorting childcare. I think the second wording is much better. I'm all for child-free weddings, but as you say, just be frank about and don't dress it up as a favour."
Another shared: "Not unreasonable at all, and yes the appropriate response is ‘irritated’.
"They are trying to put a positive spin on their decision, but it comes across as patronising. It’s also the babysitter that is allowing you to be child-free for a night, not the wedding. However, it sounds as though it is well-meant and they just haven’t had the opportunity to know what they are talking about.
"It’s also one of those things people say at this kind of event when they have young children “oh it’s great to have a night off”. It’s true, and it’s a polite thing to say, but it glosses over the effort involved. They have probably heard this before and taken it completely at face value."
A third concluded: "Agree with you. For us, we like to spend weekends with our children, have no local childcare and I would pass on the “golden opportunity” to pay £80 for childcare to attend someone’s wedding. I am from a country where I have never heard of or been to a child-free wedding. Children are accepted as part of life and families."
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