Bride goes viral for not wanting elderly guests at her wedding
A bride has gone viral online after seeking advice regarding her wedding plans, namely her plan to issue a ban on all guests over the age of 70.
The woman posted to the popular ‘Am I The A**hole’ subreddit, asking if she was in the wrong for not wanting elderly guests at her wedding for fear they might take some of the attention away from her.
The ban on elderly guests would have included her grandparents, as well as her fiancé’s grandparents, and she revealed that she finds her fiancé’s grandmother Alzheimers’ Disease “really depressing”. She also expressed concerns that elderly guests might need a lot of care and attention that couldn’t be provided on the day.
She wrote, “My fiancé and I decided that we don't want anyone over 70 at the wedding and are making a blanket rule so it's fair to everyone. I really don't want any of this to ruin our big day. I don't want his grandma shouting or making noise during the ceremony or my grandpa needing help and being a big distraction, and I feel like people are going to be paying a lot of attention to them instead of the wedding and the wedding couple.
“I think they would be bored and more comfortable at home anyway, and it's an opportunity for their caregivers to come out and relax and have fun without worrying about caregiving responsibilities for the evening. My fiancé is on board but the rest of my family is upset. AITA?”
The majority of commenters were quick to criticise her blatant ageism, calling her “the worst” and warning her that her actions were going to hurt and offend a lot of people. One person wrote, “If my Cousin or sibling was getting married and tried to pull this crap I would 100% skip their wedding and take my grandparents out for dinner or something. And I’d implore my other family members to do the same.”
Another said, “This isn't you caring about their feelings over the look of the thing, this is you caring about the look of the thing over anyone's feelings. I'm sure your grandparents will be heartbroken you don't want them there.
“Being over 70 is not the same as being under 10 - you can't exclude people just because they aren't able to do the cha cha slide. You are going to offend and hurt a lot of people.”
Other commenters argued that it was no different to excluding children from weddings, telling the bride, “It’s your wedding and you’re allowed to invite whoever you want”.
Several users felt that given how controversial the post was, it was bound to be fake, with one person writing, “This is 100% someone gathering fodder for the next argument over child-free weddings. Look at the way OP describes the elderly relatives...These are all the same reasons people don't want small children at their weddings, point-for-point. I don't think OP left out anything.” Another user agreed, saying, “That was my thought. They're setting up for an argument that if we can't ban old people from weddings, then child-free weddings shouldn't be allowed either.”
Image: CareyHope