May 28, 2008

Wedding Question Wednesday - No Children Please!

Our question today comes form Kacie-

"Is it proper to put
no children please in the invites?

This is a fabulous question, one that I am sure causes much stress for many brides! I can also speak from personal experience on this one. I had to include this very message on my invitations due to spacing issues. It is a delicate subject, and you want to be sure you do not offend anyone.

Be sure you state it in a way that is non-offensive. Simply stating NO CHILDREN may offend those who have them. The way I did it was to state that there was an "Adult Reception immediately following the ceremony."

The one exception to my "Adult Reception" was that I let family members bring their children. But that was it!

I think the best thing to do is be honest. Ask yourself, "Why do I not want children at the event?" If you can't come up with a really good reason, then I would leave it off the invites. If you can, then make sure you do it in a way to not offend your guest. Just remember, they will be spending a lot of money on you and to attend your wedding.

Need help finding invitations? Check out this fabulous site:
- Party Invitations Blog

Check out some of these Diva's (courtesy of the divapreneur network)
- Jenny Moore
- Marisa of So Inviting Paper

Have you run in to a sticky situation before regarding "no children?" Let us know!


6 comments:

Chris said...

What if you put no kids on the invitation, and the people bring their kids anyway? (or don't RSVP even)

KDC Events said...

Then there is nothing you can do but be prepared! Have coloring books and crayons at the ready!

Accept they are there, take a deep breath and know the day will come and go and it will be the BEST day of your life!

The RSVP issue- call them! I did!

yummy411 said...

great advice! *taking notes* ;)

Girl-Woman said...

My friend, the mother of the bride, has this exact challenge. The parents of the children ignored her request and brought the children anyway. I agree in your suggestion about kid-friendly activities, just in case. She didn't have a "just in case" backup plan.

bridekim said...

Okay.... my problem is the rehearsal dinner. We are not having children in the wedding, and I do not want children at the rehearsal. Our bridal party consists mainly of family members and they have 11 children combined. Currently our rehearsal dinner numbers are 20 - after kids if we had them 31. Primarily, we are on a budget. Secondly, we do not want our rehearsal dinner to feel like chuckie cheese. My mom says that my family will be mad at me if I request this. I don't think it is an unreasonable request, as we have a rehearsal dinner hopefully once in a lifetime. Thirdly our rehearsal dinner is on a thursday night and we will probably not sit down until after most would be in bed. Thursday is a school day and school night. The kids will be coming from a long day at school and have school the next day before the wedding. i want them to be awake and enjoy the wedding as that is the main event. i DO NOT want siblings leaving my wedding early as a result of sleepy children. Is this an unreasonable request? Am I being unreasonable or is my mother being unreasonable for giving me a guilt trip telling me that my siblings are going to be mad at me for not including their children. (FYI - we have already discussed this with my fiances family and they were happy to abide and were not expecting to bring the kids in the first place)... Please give me some advice!!!

KDC Events said...

Hi BrideKim!

If the restaurant does not cater to children, then I do not see an issue at asking people to not bring them.

It is really all in how you stage the event. If you present it as a "Thank You" to your wedding party and that it is an adult event, parents should understand.

An idea is to arrange child care for them. Get two teenagers or friends not involved in the rehearsal to meet at your place, and watch the children. MAKE IT FUN, have crafts, cookies, like it's their own party. No one can be upset with that!

Parents will enjoy the night out and look to you as the savior!

I also suggest having some sort of activity at the wedding for the children. The longer they are happy, the longer the parents stay!

Have coloring books, crayons, puzzles, doodle pads, fruit snacks etc at a "KID STATION" this works wonders!

Hope this helps! Let me know if you need anything else! GOOD LUCK in your upcoming wedding!

Denice

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