No kids, no worries.
Or perhaps just some children.
It's a common hurdle we find many of our couples running into. It doesn't need to be stressful, we've popped together a number of ways to politely say, "leave the kids at home". If you have guests who give a little push back... well we have some friendly words for them too.
It's important to clearly state early on that children aren't invited. Be firm and consistent from the very beginning, this is your day and your guests have been given plenty of time to make other arrangements. If you do this, should you have any trouble later with certain guests later on, it'll be much easier to contend with.
This detail should go on your details card and can be reinforced on your wedding website if you have one. It doesn't hurt to have family and your bridal party also spread the word. We recommend personalising invitations with guest names to make it very clear who is and isn't invited.
Below are a few wording suggestions:
Adult Only Wedding
"Although we love your little ones, this is an adult only affair."
"Unfortunately we can not accomodate children, thank you for understanding."
"We love your children, but it's time to let your hair down, this is an adults only celebration."
"To give you the opportunity to really let your hair down, we've decided not to invite children."
“To give all our guests the opportunity to celebrate without having to worry about little eyes and ears, we politely ask, no children.”
“While we love all of the children in our lives, we have decided to keep our wedding and reception an adults-only event.”
"We plan to kick curfews to the curb, please leave the children at home."
"We love your little ones, but we ask that only adults attend."
"So that we can have the big day we’ve always dreamed of, we’re making it an adults-only event."
"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!"
"Call the sitter, this party is just for adults"
Some Children Welcome (newborns, nieces and nephews)
“Unfortunately we are only able to accommodate children in the wedding party at our reception.”
"While this is an adult only affair, infants under (12 months/6 months) welcome."
“Due to necessity rather than choice, it is children of immediate family only. We hope you understand and enjoy your night.”
"Unfortunately, as much as we’d love to invite all of our friends’ children, we can only accommodate a few immediate family children. We hope that you will understand this decision and that you will still be able to join us on our special day."
"So that we can all relax and let our hair down, our evening wedding reception will be adults only. Please feel free to make use of our babysitting service from [time] onwards."
"Please join us at 6:00pm for an adult only reception."
For Guests Who Ask For An Exception
"Unfortunately we cannot accommodate (child's name) as this is an adult's only occasion. We'd love to have you there, but completely understand if you need to change your RSVP."
"As much as we would like for (child's name) to attend, our budget/venue/space only accommodates adult guests."
All the very best with your wording! If you have any suggestions of your own, we'd love to see them in the comments.
Much Love,
Kim
Smitten With Love
Founder + Creative Director
P.S If you choose to work with us we're also happy to help with fine tuning your perfect worded tone.