Is it rude to ask guests to leave little ones at home?

It's not rude, you just have to be prepared that some people may not want to come because they can't/don't want to make childcare arrangements. I'm very pro adult only weddings.

Not at all! Just at the bottom of the invite you can put something "Adult Reception to Follow" and people will get the hint. Also, if you have a wedding site you can put something about it as well. Just google or even look on pinterest ways you can word it on you website without it sounding rude.

Personally, I think having the " Adult Reception to Follow" or even "Adult only Reception to follow" people will get the hint and that would be enough to get the message it is only an adult wedding .

Ditto Elyse. I would have had an adults-only wedding, but luckily we have very few children in the extended family at this point. We invited them in order to not ruffle feathers, but if there had been lots of kids, it would have been adult only.

ETA - It's actually against etiquette to put anything about "Adults only" on the invitations or website. The invitations should be addressed to only those invited - "Mr. and Mrs. John Smith" rather than "The Smith Family." You can also put "2 seats reserved in your honor" on the RSVP cards.

If people are brazen enough to assume their kids are invited even without them being on the invite, it's not going to matter if you put "Adults only" anywhere.

No. It is not rude to only invite adults to your wedding. There are plenty of social events that people are invited to that do not include their children (fundraisers, retirement dinners, etc.). You are under no obligation to invite children to your wedding. It's entirely up to you. If you are having a formal wedding, the kids will be as bored at your wedding as you would be at their birthday party. If you're having a casual, backyard wedding with lawn games, it could work. However, it sounds like you want a child-free wedding. That is what you're entitled to if you're paying for the event. If a guest declines because they can't bring their children, they decline. That's life. Children are a game changer as far as social events are concerned.

No, not rude at all. Just make it known ahead of time ie have it on your wedding website by the time STDs go out. Then, spread the news by word of mouth if need be. I too feel like weddings-minus the children in the bridal party-are adult affairs.

I do not think it is rude. Most of the Parents I spoke to for my wedding welcomed the choice of not bringing their kids.

This makes me feel much better and your right about them being bored thanks for the help by the way I'd like to just say I'm new to ww and I love this site so much!

Welcome, Adrienne. This is a good site filled with some really great ladies (and lots of humor). I hope you stick around.

Some people will tell you that because weddings are family events, children MUST be included. Be prepared to hear that. I am firmly in the opposite camp. You are completely entitled to host the event you desire.

Be clear about who is invited (Mr. and Mrs. John Smith rather than Smith Family). People have no problem finding a sitter when they want to go out, but somehow forget that skill when it comes to weddings.

Welcome to WW! You're getting married on my birthday. It is not rude. We aren't inviting children (mostly because FHs family has too many kids and they are not well behaved).

It's not rude. But think about at least the VIPs among your wedding guests. If your sister has a breastfeeding baby and would be coming in from out of town, barring children could mean that she would simply be unable to attend. (She may well not want to trust a babysitter in a strange town, and wouldn't be in a position to leave the baby for a weekend.) On the other hand, if the people you care most about are local, and the children are old enough to be with a babysitter, having an adult only wedding may be no big deal.

And if you do decide to have an adults only wedding, you don't get to pout when some people just say, "I'm sorry, I can't leave my kids for that long." You don't get to judge whether being with their kids is more important than being at your wedding.

Not rude at all! Some people have child friendly weddings, some don't. Some can't imagine weddings without kids or vice versa. It's your day, celebrate it the way the two of you see fit! Your loved ones should respect your decision and if they don't, oh well.

Not rude at all, however that doesn't mean some won't try to impose their will. Babysitters are a special thing.

Not rude at all. Most people we have told about our wedding, we are offering onsite babysitting, told us they were going to us it as an excuse to leave the kids with grandma and grandpa and enjoy the weekend kid free. But they are fortunate to have that option. Just let people know ahead of time.

Not rude at all, but don't put it on the invite. ("Adult reception to follow always makes me think it's going to be, um, risqué, lol....) When you invite your guests, be very specific about exactly who is invited; do it by name and state a number on the RSVP. Be prepared to tell anyone who deviates, in a polite and succinct non-disscussional way, that you are not including children in the wedding.

Parenthood changes everything; they've traded that privilege for some other ones, and one might be going to a child free wedding (though I agree with 2 about nursing, really close relatives; I don't think anyone would blink an eye...)

And babysitting? Frankly, I wouldn't make that my expense.

The only reason I'm having small children at my wedding is because I have one of my own. Truthfully, he'll probably cause a racket and I'm really tempted to hire a sitter to be at the reception to watch him. If you have the option not to have kids at your wedding, go for it.

We aren't either- the only children we're specifically inviting are FH's kids and that's self explanatory.

I agree with everything Celia said. We won't put "adult only" on the invitations, but we will specifically name who is invited and put a number of seats reserved on the RSVP card. I'm sure we will have some relatives who are offended that their kids aren't invited, but I'm not rich and can't afford to triple our guest list, so too bad.