January 5, 2026 at 11:35 pm

Cousin Agreed To Work Security At A Child Free Wedding, But She Had To Turn Away Relatives Who Showed Up With Kids And Got Accused Of Ruining A Family Event

by Heather Hall

Man and woman embrace each other on the stage at their small wedding

Pexels/Reddit

Nothing tests family loyalty faster than a wedding with rules no one wants to follow.

So, what would you do if your cousin asked you to help enforce a child-free wedding, but half the family showed up with kids anyway, and expected you to look the other way?

Would you do what the family wanted? Or would you enforce the bride’s rules?

In the following story, one cousin finds herself in the middle of this exact chaos for simply choosing the latter.

Here’s what happened.

AITA for agreeing to be a bouncer at my cousins child free wedding?

My little cousin (21f) got married, and in our families, weddings are always a huge affair

My cousin and her fiancĂ© have decided they are going to have a small wedding with only adults, with no plus ones (unless you’re married), due to not having the funds to accommodate everyone and their children.

I got a call from my cousin a couple of weeks ago asking me if I could run security at her wedding instead of being a guest because I am a licensed security guard.

The guests were going to do what they wanted.

It turns out that all our family members she invited said they are going to bring their children anyway, and she is absolutely upset. The venue doesn’t even allow anybody under 21, and she explained that, but nobody cares.

I agreed without even a second thought because somebody needs to make sure her wedding goes the way she wants it to. Especially if she wants to pay me and my coworker to make sure I have backup.

On the day of the wedding, it’s CHAOS!

Things got so out of control that they threatened to call the cops.

Our family members showed up with their kids, and it was a circus.

The way I was screamed at and threatened with violence because we denied family members with children in tow has me going no contact with about 30 percent of the family now. My cousin threw her clutch at me for God’s sake.

The venue coordinator had to threaten to call the police to get everyone under control.

Now, her phone is blowing up with upset family members.

Everybody with kids left, and the wedding was beautiful. I’d never seen my cousin look so beautiful and happy.

My phone’s been blowing up all day today and yesterday.

I’ve gotten texts and calls from my family members saying I had no right to keep them from attending a family affair and that the kids deserve to be a part of things, too. As a mother, I should’ve understood them and let the children in.

AITA?

Eek! They should’ve just followed directions.

Let’s check out how the people over at Reddit think she should handle the calls.

This reader thinks they asked for it.

Wedding Guests 3 Cousin Agreed To Work Security At A Child Free Wedding, But She Had To Turn Away Relatives Who Showed Up With Kids And Got Accused Of Ruining A Family Event

According to this comment, the day wasn’t about kids.

Wedding Guests 2 Cousin Agreed To Work Security At A Child Free Wedding, But She Had To Turn Away Relatives Who Showed Up With Kids And Got Accused Of Ruining A Family Event

For this reader, the people who brought kids were wrong.

Wedding Guests 1 Cousin Agreed To Work Security At A Child Free Wedding, But She Had To Turn Away Relatives Who Showed Up With Kids And Got Accused Of Ruining A Family Event

As this reader explains, that’s what she was paid to do.

Wedding Guests Cousin Agreed To Work Security At A Child Free Wedding, But She Had To Turn Away Relatives Who Showed Up With Kids And Got Accused Of Ruining A Family Event

She was doing her job.

The wedding called for no kids, and the guests should’ve respected that.

If you thought that was an interesting story, check this one out about a man who created a points system for his inheritance, and a family friend ends up getting almost all of it.