Small weddings don’t always stay small.

In this story, a woman planned an intimate civil ceremony with a strict guest list and budget.

What started as ten10invitations quickly turned into a full-blown wedding with multiple guests and their plus-ones.

Her attempt to keep costs under control only made people more offended.

Read the full story below for all the details.

AITA for telling people to pay for their kids to attend my wedding?

We’re having a very small civil ceremony.

We found a last-minute venue opening for $500 for a few hours.

We only had about a month’s notice and plan to do something larger later when we can actually save and plan.

This just ended up being a couple hundred dollars more than the courthouse.

This bride-to-be and her fiancé decided to have a small, intimate wedding reception.

We invited 10 people total. Just parents, siblings, and our closest friends.

The venue includes 5 people for free, and then charges per person after that.

We also booked a private dinner afterward that’s billed per person.

There are no kids’ meals. Kids over 3 are charged full price.

But some guests assumed they could bring their partners and children.

Somehow, this turned into people assuming they could bring their kids.

They also assumed they could bring their partner or even their situationship.

One invite very quickly turns into 3 to 5 people.

Suddenly, what was supposed to be a tiny civil ceremony is starting to look and cost like a full wedding.

She mentioned that guests will have an option to pay for their children.

I am being told we should have kids at both weddings.

I am also being told to invite dates of family I have never met.

I offered that at our next wedding, we will include the option for people with children to pay a per-child fee.

This fee would cover their ceremony cost, food, liability insurance, and nannies on site to handle any screaming kids.

Everyone got offended by this decision.

Now, everyone is offended. They ask, “What if we don’t pay that?”.

Well, obviously, there is going to be security at an event we’re paying a lump sum to enjoy.

What gets me is that I also host other events, like Galantine’s or Halloween spooky dinners, or pool parties.

And when I explicitly ask people to leave their men and kids at home, no one questions it.

Now, because I want my wedding to be my vision, I’m being called a Bridezilla.

Let’s see how others reacted to this story.

This user shares their personal thoughts.

Here’s another personal opinion

This person gives a similar insight.

You caused this situation, says this one.

Finally, no is a simple sentence.

If you don’t want to pay, then don’t bring kids to the wedding.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a daughter who invited herself to her parents’ 40th anniversary vacation for all the wrong reasons.