I kicked my cousin and her babbling baby out of a family wedding

This wedding guest was faced with a tough predicament: have her brother's wedding ruined or step in and upset her family.

A woman recently earned praise and sparked a heated debate online after she decided to ask her cousin to remove her eight-month-old baby from her brother’s child-free wedding ceremony. 

The incident raised questions about the fine line between respecting a couple’s wedding wishes and maintaining family harmony.

In her post, the woman recounted the dilemma after the ceremony. 

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The lowdown

“My brother got married last weekend in a church, and my entire extended family was there. 

“My brother and his fiancé were adamant on the reception being childfree.”

The poster’s cousin brought her baby to the wedding with a nanny, “My cousin has an eight-month-old son that she brought with her to the area for the weekend, but she also brought a nanny to watch him while we’re all at the wedding.”

Throughout the wedding, the baby’s loud babbling caused disruptions, even though he didn’t cry, “During the ceremony, he started babbling and ‘talking’ and wouldn’t stop. He didn’t cry or anything, but he was very loud and making disruptions.

“After it went on for about 10 mins during the ceremony, I turned around and asked her to take the baby outside, which she did.”

However, this wasn’t well received by her family, “After the ceremony, that whole side of the family was very angry with me. My one aunt kept saying how mad she was that I ‘made her grandson leave the wedding.’”

Was the woman out of line asking the mum to leave the ceremony? Source: iStock

Hero or villain?

The woman’s post generated a flurry of reactions on Reddit, with commenters split between labelling her a “hero” and questioning her actions. 

Many supported her decision, commending her for intervening to ensure the bride and groom’s special day remained child-free.

One commenter stated, “Talking/babbling is just as disruptive as crying. And it went on for 10 minutes with the bride looking visibly annoyed before you had to step in and stop it?! So rude and entitled. I hope the bride and groom thanked you for what you did.”

Another commenter emphasised, “Your cousin owes your brother & his wife an apology. They explicitly asked for no kids. Your cousin didn’t respect that, and her child was disruptive.”

However, some commenters took a different stance, questioning the logic of bringing an 8-month-old to a child-free wedding ceremony. 

One asked, “Who brings an 8-month-old to a wedding ceremony? That’s grossly entitled and just asking for trouble.”

The family eventually came around

The woman later updated her post to reveal that her brother and sister-in-law had thanked her for her intervention, and the family had managed to move past the drama. 

While the Reddit debate raged on, the bride and groom appreciated her actions to maintain the sanctity of their child-free celebration.

This article was updated in July 2024. 

Originally published as I kicked my cousin and her babbling baby out of a family wedding