No Kids Wedding Invitation Wording
There are various ways to make it clear that kids are not invited to your wedding. Here are a variety of polite wedding invitation wording options that will tell guests that your wedding is adults only.
- Please join us for an adults only reception at. . .
- This is an adults only occasion
- Although we love your little ones, our wedding is an adults only event
- Please note that our reception is adults only
- Unfortunately we cannot accommodate children at our wedding
- Come celebrate with us at an adults-only reception
- Due to limited space, we are unable to extend the invitation to your children
- Although we would love to include your children in our special day, due to budget/space constraints we ask that only adults attend
- Due to restrictions at our venue, children under 18 are not able to attend
- While we love your children, we have decided to keep our wedding an adults-only event
- We respectfully request no children under 16 at the reception
- While we can accommodate children at our wedding ceremony, we are not able to invite them to our reception. Let your hair down at an adult reception to follow!
- We adore your children, but due to space / due to budget we are hosting a child free wedding.
- While we would love to have all of our family members on our guest list, please leave the nieces and nephews at home for a kid free wedding.
- Although we adore your children, we are not able to accommodate them at our wedding reception. We hope you understand!
Dont Make It An Adults
The Knot: While you can have children in your wedding party and still have an adults-only reception, be mindful not to bend the rules for other people with children. If you let some guests bring their families and not others, it might look like you hand selected which children were and werent invitedand that could lead to a pretty uncomfortable situation. Inviting children just to the ceremony wont probably work either, since they might get upset having to say good-bye to their parents or if they see other guests going to the party when they have to go home or to a hotel.
My Take: Ultimately, I do feel its best to have an adults only wedding or to invite children to both the ceremony and reception but each couples situation is different and doesnt always allow for that. If kids know they have something special just for them after the ceremony, some of these conflicts can be avoid. Often times it is the parents that are offended if you dont handle the situation with grace and love. Weddings have a tremendous amount of dynamics, that need to be carefully considered, but in the end it is your day.
Photo Credit: L Elizabeth Events
Yes You Can Have An Adults
If youve decided that you want an adults-only wedding but are hoping to avoid the drama, check out these tips.
Photo: Aster & Olive Photography
No matter what anyone tells you, you dont have to invite kids to your wedding. Having an adults-only wedding doesnt mean you hate kids or that you are trying to make your guests lives difficultits a decision youll make based on whats best for you, your partner, and your wedding. Know, though, that if you plan on having a kid-free wedding, youll have some explaining to dothe idea of an adults-only wedding may be a foreign concept to some.
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Wedding Invitation Including The Name Of The Guests
__________________ request the honour of the presence of __________________ at the marriage of their daughter__________________ to__________________ _________, the __ of ________ at ____ oclock in the _________ ___________________ _________, ____________ followed by a reception_________, ____________ RSVP
The Complete Guide To Wedding Invitation Wording
If so, youre in the right place!
This handy guide will hopefully help you come up with the details your guests will need to know for your Wedding Day to run super smoothly. It includes information and examples of:
- Traditional, formal and informal wording for Day & Evening Invitations
- Venue details to include
- RSVPs and what should be in them
- Wedding gifts and how to politely ask for money instead
- How to tell your guests you arent inviting children
- Transport & parking
Along with some other really useful tips and things that you might not have even thought of. So read on!
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Casual Wedding Invitation Wording
Theres really no hard fast rule to writing casual wedding invitations adults only wording. The tone of the invite will take on the idea of the wedding youve got. Since its casual, the wedding wording invite will be toned down, slightly comedic and loose. See a casual adult-only wording below.
Christina Marshall and Randy Howerequest your presence at their marriageJune 17, 2017, 11:00 AMSan Francisco City Hall 1 Dr. Carlton B Goodlett Pl San Francisco, CaCelebrate with us at an adults-only reception to follow
Do Feel Free To Put A Note On Your Wedding Website
The Knot: Your wedding website is a place to put catchall information about your wedding, like your registries, transportation options, dress code and other pertinent items you wouldnt necessarily share on your formal invitation. This is an appropriate place to also mention that your wedding ceremony and reception are adults only and recommend any babysitting options in the area.
My Take: I wholeheartedly agree. A well oiled wedding website with all the pertinent information for guests like childcare, high altitude awareness, hotel blocks, other weekend activities is key. Modern wedding websites even have apps and other very useful technology to keep guests informed and excited about your pending nuptials.
Photo Credit: Koroko Photography
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Tip #: Word Your Rsvp Cards Just Right
This is our favorite place to make it clear that youre having a kid-free celebration. The nice thing about this is that the message wont get lost in the invitations wording, and youre able to create wording that fits your personalities and wedding style.
What do we mean by that? Here are a few examples of how you might word your response cards to convey that kids are not welcome at your wedding:
The favor of a reply is requestedby March 12, 2025
Weve reserved ___ seats for you! Please reply on or beforeMarch 12, 2025Accepts _____ Regrets _____
Casual Wedding Attire Wording
If the tone of your wedding is a casual one, the wedding dress code wording will encourage guests to dress down. This indicating that guests can appear presentable without looking scruffy. Youll be specific on what youd have them wear by giving options. See the casual wedding attire wedding sample below.
Casual
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First Things First: Envelopes
Your first plan of action should be properly addressing the envelopes. Guests should understand that only the people listed on the inner envelopes are invited to the wedding. Heres an example:
Outer Envelope: Mr. and Mrs. Michael CallanInner Envelope: Mike and Julie
If you were inviting Mike and Julie’s children, you’d addres the envleopes like this:
Outer Envelope: Mr. and Mrs. Michael CallanInner Envelope: Mike, Julie, Adam, Greta and Harriet
How To Politely Say No Kids At The Wedding
Telling guests that their kids are not invited to your wedding can be a bit awkward some parents may be upset that they cant bring their kids or that they have to hire a babysitter.
Its vital that you tell your guests that you are hosting a no-kids wedding clearly but courteously. Learn how to say no kids at my wedding politely so that guests arent offended.
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Address It In Your Response Cards
This method is a little more forward than hinting at it. It still gets the point across respectfully. However, some people tend not to RSVP by sending their response cards. They just look at the invitation and text or email the couple.
Please respond by Augusts 1, 2024We have reserved two spots for you._______ Adults will attend_______ but were sending our best wishes!
Please respond by Augusts 1, 2024___Yes! Wed love to be there___No! But we send out best wishes
Please respond by Augusts 1, 2024Your attendance means the world to usname of guest 1:
You can add the messages to the invitation, response card, wedding website or all three!
Please join us for an adults only reception at six oclock.
Please celebrate with us at an adults-only reception immediately following the ceremony.
Please note this will be an adults-only celebration.
Reception to follow at downtown nightclub, Phillipis
We respectfully request no children under 16 at the reception.
Due to restrictions at our venue, children under the age of 16 are not able to attend.
The bride and groom respectfully request that this be an adults-only reception.
What Time Should I Put On The Invite
My ceremony starts at 2:00pm but I would like guests there at 1:30pm to be ready and seated for the 2:00pm start
Whatever time you put on your invite, bear in mind that most guests will know to turn up earlier and not 1 minute before the start time! Some guests could start to arrive up to 45 minutes before the start time on the invite. So, if you have put 1:30pm on an invite, then be prepared for guests to start arriving from 12:45pm onwards. If your service doesnt actually start until 2:00pm then some of your guests may have been waiting well in excess of an hour for the ceremony to start. This might be ok if the venue has refreshments, heating and WC facilities, but if your ceremony is in a more remote location such as on the beach, on a cliff, or in the woods, or if you are using an older building such as a church or a chapel where facilities might be limited, this could be an issue for guests, especially those with children or the elderly.
Most couples put the actual ceremony start time on the invite with the assumption that the vast majority of guests will know to arrive and be seated before it starts, but if you are still concerned you can simply put:
Ceremony at 2:00pm Please arrive by 1:30pm
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Wedding Invitation Wording: The 5 Essentials
These five details absolutely, positively must be referenced in your invitation:
- The specific part of the day that the invitation covers – include whether the invite is for the wedding ceremony and reception, reception only or evening reception only.
- The name and address of the ceremony and reception venue – you want people to be able to find you!
- The date and time of the wedding. It’s a good idea to word the time as “3pm sharp” for civil ceremonies where the bride is not allowed be late.
- RSVP information – this should include details of where the reply should be sent. If you are not including an RSVP card, then an email address is the other really common option.
- RSVP deadline – this is usually 4 weeks before the wedding. When the final numbers are needed will depend on your venue or caterer.
Exceptions To The No Children Rule: Newborn Babies
Many engaged couples have not had children yet so are unsure what sort of baby will produce what sort of drama – so they run with a blanket ban over babies and children in general. But I ask that you are sensitive to the needs of parents with newborn babies, especially if they are RSVPing in advance of actually having the baby, as sometimes can happen.
I highly recommended you extend an invitation to babies under the age of 6 months, if you really want the mother to attend the wedding. Younger babies, especially those 3 months or less, will be exclusively breastfed or bottlefed and will generally be unable to part from the Mum for any longer than a couple of hours. Parents might be unwilling to be away from their children for a long period of time, so you may need to accept that not inviting the child means the parents will not be attending.
New parents tend to be especially sensitive to more than a peep from their wee one, and a quick feed from the breast or bottle usually settles these young babies down. Even my son who was a colicky baby was settled with a feed and a jiggle on the hip .
As babies grow past 6 months they become more mobile and harder to distract or settle. Toddlers and preschoolers are more likely to cause chaos!
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I’m Not Sure If My Child Is Invited To This Wedding
For parents, if there is any doubt whether your children are allowed to attend the wedding, then it is best to contact the couple and clarify whether your wee ones are welcome. Dont take it personally if the couple say no.
If your children are welcome to attend, be mindful of your childrens behaviour and temperament. Take along activities to distract them . Bear in mind you would not want to ruin the wedding just because your kid suddenly threw a tantrum. Assume the position of the couple. How you would feel if you were on their shoes, and children are creating scenes at your wedding. It would not be pretty and cute, right?
If you can swing it, get a babysitter and leave your kids at home when you attend a wedding especially if there are not many other little ones around. They might get bored throughout the wedding ceremony and cause stress and frustration, as youre outside soothing a grumpy baby while everyone else is enjoying themselves. Plus you want to be able to sit back and relax some adult company for once!
Formal Attire Wedding Invitation Wording
The destination or theme of your wedding determines how the getup will be. In this case, you have a formal theme, so youll let the guest know in a separate enclosure card. Formal attire wedding invitation wording often comes in one-liners as youll see in the wording sample below.
Formal, black tie optional
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But Children Are Meant To Be At Weddings
For some, weddings are inextricably linked with children. Most wedding scenes we see in movies involve cute and huggable children running round. But reality can differ. Check me out as a little four year old flower girl. I decided at my cousins wedding that I didn’t like beards… and the photographer had one. Hence a grumpy face, tears and a sullen attitude most the day!
When children get bored, they usher in trouble. They roam around, fidget, cry and grizzle. They aren’t out to ruin your day noise and chaos is just what kids do.
Bored children can be nightmares for adults, especially to their parents and the couple getting married. Just the thought of crying children, children messing up with her gown and that of the bridemaids can give you the cold sweats. Another sad fact is that some parents are not very sensitive to the impact of their children’s behaviour on others. Other parents will not be able to relax, because they’d be policing their children all day.
