The Ring Bearer was the Child From Hell

The first wedding on Monday almost did me in.  The couple was from India.  They had a toddler and a daughter around 7.  The daughter insisted on holding the rings.  I spent time with her showing how to cup her hand, how to open her hand so the parents could take the rings.  You think that sounds funny.  Even adults drop rings, put them on their fingers and the rings get stuck.  So a cupped hand is best.  It didn’t matter what I said,  she was going to do it her way.

The couple stood under our wedding arch, the groom holding the toddler.

The daughter, let’s call her the Child From Hell,  CFH jumps up from the bench and throws the mother’s ring in the floor.  We took the other ring from her.  CFH is whining and screaming, no words, just noise. She pulls the wedding arch down. She is in a full blown temper tantrum.  She wants to be held like the toddler.  This child was nearly 4 feet tall and probably weighed over 50 pounds.  Throughout the ceremony she hit her mother and father, kicked them, pulled on them, whined at the top of her lungs.   Temper, temper, Janet, don’t kill the child in front of the security camera.

The parents said nothing to her beyond a quiet don’t.  I told them we would continue the ceremony and act like CFH wasn’t there.  Of course I didn’t call her that to her parents.  I got them married and then downstairs to finish the paperwork.  The whole time CFH is still ranting and raving, punching and kicking.

While we were going home I talked about this with Marty.  My whole thing was get them married and get them out of the building.  Marty said I should have refused to marry them until the child was under control.  I think he is right.  But, I think if I had refused we would still be there waiting for them to control CFH.