How to Politely Say “Kids Aren’t Invited to Our Wedding”
There are so many sensitive areas of wedding planning, and one we know so many of our couples struggle with is how to tell their friends and families “please don’t bring your kids!”
It might be that you have limited capacity in your venue, or that you simply want it to be an adults only affair. You are not alone, and you are not a bad person for this!
When it comes time to communicating your choice to your guests (and we recommend doing this sooner than later, perhaps on your Save The Date?), the most important thing is to be clear, leave no room for interpretation. Here are some examples of how you can word your request:
1. “We’re hosting an event that’s very adult-driven and so we would have to ask you to make other arrangements for your children/child.”
2. “Although we love your little ones, this is an adult only affair.”
3. “To allow all wedding guests, including parents, a night of relaxation and uninhibited revelry, we respectfully ask that no children attend the reception.”
4. “To give all our guests the opportunity to celebrate without having to worry about little eyes and ears, we politely request no children.”
5. “We’d invite the world if we could, but it’s simply not an option. Please note our event is adults only.”
6. “We have some really exciting things planned for our wedding reception. With this in mind, we’ve decided to say no children at the wedding, please.”
7. “We’ve decided to host a child-free wedding. We understand this won’t work for everyone, so please know that we respect your RSVP decision either way!”
8. “While we love your children, we have decided to keep our wedding an adults-only event”
9. “Unfortunately, as much as we’d love to invite all our friends' children, we would like the weekend to be an adult-only occasion except for any babies. We hope that you understand this decision and that you will still be able to join us on our special day.”
10. “We have decided to have our wedding as an adult only celebration. We hope this advance notice means you are still able to share our big day!”
11. “As much as we love your kiddies, we would like to respectfully ask that our wedding day is child-free, and hope that the parents can enjoy a night off.”
You will likely still hear from some guests asking for an exception, be clear and kind. Unfortunately no matter what we do someone’s nose will be put out of joint about something to do with your wedding. Try to remember all of your decisions are made for good reasons that honour how you want to spend the day celebrating your relationship and this great big step you are taking together.
For now, hopefully these tips will help you!
- The Scarlett & Bell Team x