\n
I don’t want children at my wedding. It’s not that I don’t like them, but I want to have a good time without having to worry about kids misbehaving or being underfoot all day. I want their parents to have a good time too and, frankly, I don’t want to have to pay per head for kids who probably aren’t going to eat anything! How do I tell my guests that children are not invited to my wedding? I’m dreading it as I know some of my friends and, certainly, some of my family members, are not going to be happy. I really don’t want to offend them but I just don’t want kids – any\u00a0kids – at my wedding.<\/p>\n
Ah, when it comes to wedding planning, the question of whether or not to invite children is one of the touchiest, most controversial topics\u00a0a bride\u00a0can broach,\u00a0but it’s also an intensely private decision,\u00a0one that can only be answered by the couple marrying.<\/p>\n
Personally, I love kids at weddings. I think they get swept up by\u00a0the magic of the day and may even enjoy it a lot more than most of the adults, but as you’ve stated, there are plenty of perfectly legitimate reasons\u00a0to hold a child-free wedding.<\/p>\n
So, given you’re not asking ‘should’ you invite kids, but how to do it without offending your guests, the most straightforward way to let guests know their\u00a0children aren’t invited to your wedding is to tell them on the invitation<\/a>.<\/p>\n You don’t have to be quite so brazen as to write something to the effect of: \u00a0‘oh, by the way, don’t bring your kids. They’re not invited,’\u00a0<\/em>but you can take a slightly more subtle approach by addressing the invitation only to the parents.<\/p>\n Of course, it may be a little too subtle and many parents may just assume three-year-old Andrew\u00a0and five-year-old Nicole are invited, so you could always add a P.S. saying any of the following that applies<\/a>:<\/p>\n –\u00a0Unfortunately, due to space restrictions, we are unable to extend this\u00a0invitation to children under the age of 12 If you’re not comfortable in being so overt, you could use a second line such as: __\u00a0seats\u00a0have been reserved in your honour.\u00a0Please let us know if you will\u00a0be joining us by XX\/XX\/XX.\u00a0<\/em> Then you fill in the blank with the number of adults or children over an age you’re happy with. That should clarify the fact that children aren’t invited to your wedding.<\/p>\n Or, perhaps, you could write something like this:<\/a><\/p>\n We can\u2019t wait to have you join our\u00a0celebration! <\/a><\/p>\n
\n<\/em>– Regrettably, we’re unable to invite children on this\u00a0occasion
\n–\u00a0With respect, we would prefer our wedding\u00a0day to be an adult-only occasion<\/em>
\n<\/em>– We hope you will understand our decision not to invite children to our wedding
\n<\/em>– Sorry, no children under the age of 12
\n<\/em>– Unfortunately, to reduce\u00a0costs, we can only accommodate the children of our immediate families.\u00a0We hope you understand – and will enjoy having the day\/evening off.
\n– We hope you’ll join us at an\u00a0adults-only reception that will\u00a0immediately following the ceremony
\n– While we love little ones, our wedding\u00a0is an adult-only\u00a0event
\n–\u00a0We truly wish we could invite\u00a0all our guests’ children to our wedding but, unfortunately, we are only able to invite the children of our immediate families<\/i><\/em><\/p>\n
\nPlease respond by XXX\u00a0,\u00a020XX
\n_______ Adults will be attending
\n_______ Sorry, I\/we won’t be\u00a0attending<\/i><\/p>\n