Don't want kids at the wedding

Only list adults on outer and inner invites. State "adult reception" on the invite as well. I imagine you'll still have to have THE conversation with at least a couple people.

Stick to your guns.

A lot of people have adult-only receptions. If anyone gives you problems just explain that's what was decided and you hope that they can still make it.

List only adults on the envelopes, and specify how many seats have been reserved in their honor.

However, you should not say it's an adult only reception, because it's not.

I agree, clearly state "adult only reception" on your invite. I'm not a fan of the list the adults on the invite only as a approach because not everyone understands proper addressing protocol. They just assume if the invite is sent, it is for the whole clan lol

If anyone asks, just explain that only the kids in the wedding party are in attendence because they are in the wedding.

I agree with Mrs S, it's not a adult only because you are allowing family. So maybe on the RSVP you can have "__# of seats have been reserved in your honor" and they should figure this out if you list two and not four.

Im still trying to grasp why people would even want to bring their kids to a wedding. Definately put adults only on imvite and if anyone gives you a hard time tell them they dont have to cone

@abby thank you!! i have no idea either. and thanks everyone for your suggestions, it really helps to get others perspective. but i still do consider it an "adult only reception" even if there are some children that are our nieces and nephews at the wedding. they are just the "privileged." i can't think of any other way you would explain it to make it clear to others that you don't want other children there other than saying "adults only." i'm not gonna get all technical on an invitation just because there will be a few kids there. but i value your opinions. thanks again guys

People are sensitive about their kids, and to them, it's not a "technicality". It becomes the issue of why are other kids here and mine wasn't invited? You may consider it adult only, but your guests won't. And they will be right.

So if you call it adult only, and people start calling you about it, you will have problems. It's easier if you're upfront about it, and just put the number of seats reserved on the RSVP card.

I'm with you Abby, I just don't get why any parent would want to bring along their child when they can have a relaxing evening out for one night! FH and I have a son and is well behaved in public but we wouldn't bring him to someone else's wedding unless they specified. And probably still wouldn't. There is a time and place.

However every wedding I have been to in our families has not had this issue. I have never noticed and outrageous kids running around crazy. It's a matter of the parents to control their child.

Whatever you choose to do you have plenty of time to figure out before the invites go out.

I don't get it either, and we only had a problem with ONE person, well, a couple. It was a 3 month long debate, but unfortunately she was my MOH so we had to debate.

But my only saving grace was the fact that we actually had an adult only wedding. As in, the youngest person in attendance was 21. If we had allowed family kids, even one, there's no way she would have ever forgiven me for not letting her bring her kid.

I would say list "adults only" as well. We plan to do the same thing. Yes there will be a few exceptions with kids but as far as the guests are concerned except for close family and friends, it's adults only.

Im glad you girls agree with me! This was an endless battle for FH and i! We have a 2 year old so his justification was the families kids(15 total) needed to be invited so our son could have fun too. I said no one wants kids running around at a 5 hour open bar wedding nore will parents want to bring them, plus our son could have fun talking to a wall if we let him, he doednt need 15 other kids! Needless to say FH won the battle but we already know about half of them definately arent coming with their parents. Then FHs aunt said to me oh why would we leave them home, we bring them everywhere! ... Um yea isnt that the reason why you would want to leave them home!! Needless to say shes always the drunk one at family gatherings that dont pay attention to the kids!

Thanks for asking this question we are having an adults only wedding and I had no idea how to approach it. We are also limiting our guest list to people that don't have kids. Like cousins and things with small children we are just spending wedding announcements later after the wedding

I am doing the same thing, Adults only. I have a small guest list as well & as much as I love children I don't want the distractions on this day imparticularly.

Yeah i understand what Mrs S. is saying, saying "Adult only" is technically not true since family children will be there...but honestly I dont know what I'd rather have in this case.

Just list the people who are actually invited on the inner envelope, and then say "2 seats have been reserved in your honor" on the RSVP card. I don't think it should need any more clarification than that.

If you have a website you can also mention there that children are limited to family only.

No offense Mrs. S but if I want to call it "adult only" out of simplicity even tho there will be 2-3 children there who are immediate family I think I can. It's my wedding, so my guests will have to understand what I see as right, and respect my wishes for children there or not. Who cares what I wanna call it? I'm not gonna label my invites "only adults except a couple kids" cause it might upset someone. I say "adult only" to get my point across because some people, even if you label their invite with only their name, will still write in the names of their kids. And instead of making phone calls to those who might I'd rather just have a clear message not to bring children. If they get upset that there are a couple kids there then so be it.

FH and I are having an "adults only" wedding. Other than immediate siblings and those IN the wedding, we aren't having kids under the age of 18 at our wedding/reception. I've found that this is perfectly acceptable for a couple to do, and people shouldn't disrespect it. If you are worried about how to voice it to those with kids, you 1. Don't put the kids names on the inner/outer envelope. If they respond with the kids, you simply give them a call and respectfully state "we are having an adult only wedding, so no kids. We sure hope you still come despite this as we want you to share with us, but we hope you understand that we aren't having kids at our wedding." 2. You could just call them up before invites go out and explain this to them. If people don't come b/c they can't bring their kids, you'll have to accept that, but it's your day, have it the way YOU want! Good luck!

We are having a very tiny elegant evening chapel wedding with an ever so tiny private dinner reception. We invited only a handful of couples. One person called me to say that they were bringing they're two kids, an infant and a toddler. It broke my heart to say that unfortunately we were not able to accommodate them. I would have loved to have a great big day wedding with boat loads of kids, but sometimes it's just not in the budget. My point is - it doesn't matter what you put on the envelope or whether you say it's adults only, be prepared for people to try to circumvent that. They could just "show up" on your day - what are you going to say? Get out? Not likely.