Everyone wants their wedding day to go perfectly.
That being said, most of the time, brides and grooms are so overcome with emotion on their big day that they tend to overlook when things go astray, be it the wrong colored napkins or a massive tsunami that wipes away the entire tent.
This was not the case for recent bride Claire Kendall Taetz, an actress based in Fort Worth Texas, who had a very difficult time ignoring a disrupter during her recent nuptials.
And thanks to a now-viral video that Taetz posted to her TikTok page, it’s clear she made little effort to hide her displeasure.
The 20-second video, which has now amassed more than three million views, began in the midst of Taetz's ceremony, as Taetz and her now husband, Josh, stood opposite one another, listening to their officiant.
Unfortunately, a baby could be heard screaming throughout the ceremony, resulting in Taetz including the following text overlay in the video:
"When a guest refuses to take their screaming child out of your wedding ceremony because 'they drove 10 hours to see it'."
The video then cut to a close-up of Taetz, giving some very conspicuous "side eye," presumably to the screaming child, followed by one of her bridesmaids and one of the groomsmen offering similar looks, culminating in a shot of Kenta, the viral Monkey puppet from the Japanese television show Ōkiku Naru Ko, who has become a favorite for side-eye memes and GIFs.
Appropriately, the shots were all accompanied by Casa Di's "Bombastic Side Eye."
In the caption, Taetz also made it clear that this unidentified child's screaming was not a passing issue, and that efforts were made to have them removed from the ceremony:
"Mind you, this went on for 10 minutes and said guest refused people offering to take child out for him."
"Mother of bride whipped around and motioned to 'take her out'."
Taetz would later go on to tell the New York Post how "disrespected" she felt by the fact that this unnamed guest allowed their child to scream through her special day, particularly as hers was meant to be a "child-free wedding," with the exception of Taetz's own nieces and nephews, and the crying baby distracted both her and her now husband from concentrating on the ceremony.
"The crying baby definitely distracted me and left me feeling disrespected."
“I was confused but also trying to stay present because it was an important moment so I tried to focus on my soon-to-be husband and on the officiate."
“My husband was concerned as well and in the video you can see he was trying to lock in, despite the child fussing loudly.”
"I was just on edge the whole time. I wanted to be fully present for my vows."
However, Taetz admitted that she managed to "hold her tongue," believing it wasn't "acceptable for a bride to say something."
As she mentioned in the video's caption, Taetz's mother and other guests made an effort to get the father of the screaming baby to take the child outside.
While father and baby did briefly leave the room, they came back in and stayed put during the rest of the ceremony, claiming his 10-hour journey entitled him to remain in the room with his screaming child.
Taetz has made it clear that she holds no ill will towards the screaming child, who didn't know any better, but does still hold a bit of a grudge towards the child's father.
“It’s not the child’s fault, it’s the fact the father didn’t have the courtesy to excuse himself out and that took away from the atmosphere in a monumental moment of my life.”
“Everyone thinks their child will behave but children are not extensions of us because we all have our own emotions and free will.”
"You can’t predict how a child will behave in a situation like this and it’s your responsibility to help them regulate their emotions.”
While Taetz made the choice not to confront the child's father herself, she would later learn that she was not alone in her frustrations.
“I didn’t say anything to [the dad] about it because I was socializing with many guests but I did have people come up to me and express their frustration.”
Thankfully, for all of Taetz's frustrations, her big day still managed to be every bit as special to her as she hoped it would be.
"The ceremony was still so sweet and special that I don’t think the baby spoiled it but it did take my focus in and out, especially when you have a lot of nerves."
Even so, Taetz also shared how this experience has made her a firm believer that all weddings should be child-free affairs:
"I love all my nieces and nephews and I’ve worked with kids before but no matter if you like kids or not, it’s about whether you trust your guests to step outside,” she said. “Everyone always says their kids will behave, but you’ll be thankful you said yes to a child-free wedding.”
“A lot of people are pressured by family members but I don’t think it’s rude to have one."
It’s a decision for the groom and bride to make without pressure."
Viewers of Taetz's video tended to agree with her, feeling the video was all the evidence anyone needed to make all weddings child-free, with some even admitting they wouldn't have been nearly as patient as Taetz had they been in her shoes:
Claire Kendall Taetz/TikTok
Claire Kendall Taetz/TikTok
Claire Kendall Taetz/TikTok
Claire Kendall Taetz/TikTok
Claire Kendall Taetz/TikTok
Claire Kendall Taetz/TikTok
Claire Kendall Taetz/TikTok
Claire Kendall Taetz/TikTok
Claire Kendall Taetz/TikTok
Claire Kendall Taetz/TikTok
Frustrating as this experience no doubt was in the moment, it seems that over time Taetz will be able to look back on this episode with laughter instead of anger, evidenced by two subsequent videos Taetz would eventually add to her TikTok page.
In one, Taetz shared the answers to the questions her officiant was asking, "when did you know you were in love?"
The officiant revealed in the video that Taetz knew her husband Josh was the one she was meant to be with for the rest of her life on Sunday, September 25, 2022.
Amidst the laughter from the audience, we could also hear Josh declare how "specific" Taetz's answer was.
While the child could still be heard crying in the video, Taetz looked remarkably unfazed as she stared into Josh's eyes as the officiant read a touching entry from her prayer journal.
In Josh's answer to "When did you know you were in love," he revealed that their relationship began before he and Taetz ever met and that their shared devout Christianity eventually led him to believe that he'd found his soul mate.
In another video, Taetz even further emphasized that the screaming child is all but water under the bridge, showing a montage of romantic photos between her and Josh.
In the video's text overlay, Taetz declared:
"Don't worry- still was a beautiful day."
"Best day ever."
An important reminder that at the end of the day, it's the marriage and not the wedding that truly matters.
