The miserable rise of the childless wedding

Since becoming a mother, I have come to dread weddings. Children are often no longer welcome at nuptials. My children have been banned from several already, and we have attended several others where they might as well have been, so inhospitable were they to young families. I find it indescribably depressing and utterly baffling that small children would be unwelcome at such a momentous family celebration. The concept seems to contradict the very purpose of a wedding – to bring two families together for the creation of another. Perhaps as a result of the decline of religion, weddings are no longer for families – they are essentially very, very expensive dance parties for the couple’s young social group. The main event is a dance that can go on until the next morning – inhospitable not only to small children but also to great grannies with wheelchairs and 9 p.m. bedtimes.