“I just want to say upfront—I’m a really anxious person, so I honestly don’t know if I’m overthinking this, but it’s been weighing on me. My fiancé and I are the first in both our families to get married, and we’re also the youngest, so from the start we talked about wanting a kid-free wedding. The only exception is my high-school-aged cousin on my dad’s side, who I’m really close to.
The tricky part is my younger cousins on my mom’s side. They’re between 4 and 10 years old, and I really only see them once or twice a year. We decided not to invite them to our actual wedding at Pats Peak, but we are planning a small church ceremony later that they’ll be invited to. That ceremony is important to our families' faith and will be a more kid-friendly setting anyway.
Originally, my mom was on board with this, but now she’s been asking me to invite them to the main wedding. I already compromised and let her invite a few family friends, but this is where my fiancé and I really feel the need to draw the line. We want the celebration at Pats Peak to be fun, relaxed, and truly us—a party we don’t have to tone down.
I just hope people can understand this isn’t about not caring—we’re just trying to stay true to what we want while still including everyone in a meaningful way
