Kids

We invited kids because most of our wedding party wouldn’t have been able to attend (or their SOs would have had to stay home) if kids weren’t invited. I don’t think you’ll regret not inviting kids, but I think you have to be prepared that especially for a destination wedding most people with kids will decline if the kids aren’t invited.

I think with a destination wedding it will be hard to make it kid free. It's more difficult to get a babysitter for a whole weekend vs one night. One option will be to provide information for a local babysitter so their parents can attend.

We didn't have children at our wedding and have zero regrets.

We’re having a stateside DW and kids have to be invited just due to the travel and who we’ve invited. But I’ve been surprised by the number of people who have told me they are planning on leaving the kids at home. So you might get lucky. We’ll still have quite a bit of kids as there’s a lot of younger kids in my family. So I’m just planning on arranging games and things to keep the kids busy. But if you’re going to a resort you might see what type of kids activities they have that could be arranged during your wedding. Some resorts have those “kid camps”.

View Quoted Comment What about in the wedding party?

View Quoted Comment

We had our two nieces as flower girls and they attended the reception, as well as my 7 month old niece that wasn't in the wedding. Infants are typically the exception to the "no kids" rule anyway.

I totally understand your desire to have your DW kids free. We are actually doing the same with our DW. We thought we would get a lot of declines with the restriction on kids, but so far we have only had 1 decline due to kids! I say if you want your wedding to be kids free, then that’s what you should do! It completely changes the vibe of the event. Just be prepared for those with kids to possibly decline.

We didn’t invite children but if anyone asked we said yes. Only one person actually brought their kid and he was so well behaved I didn’t even notice.

View Quoted Comment I agree. Well said. I mean if their si has to stay at home w the kids the peiple can come solo. They do not have to stay long. I would make a decision soon you both you and your guests can be prepared.

I had a destination wedding myself and I also said no kids in the beginning. Of course my family had to travel with the little ones so I was looking at options for the kids to have their own activity while the wedding was going on. In the end I only had 1 kid attending the weekend and he was 2 years old at the time and very calm baby. He attended all pre wedding events and was part of the wedding itself. He slept most of the reception thru music and all so no issues there. Is hard when having a destination wedding that requires people to travel for multiple days to ask them to leave the kids behind because they might not have people to leave them with. One of our friends did but is harder for family. I suggest find hotels with kids club and night care options. For the wedding you can have a room for all kids with a couple of sitters and kid movie nights and other activities for them.

We’re having a DW in the US (Alabama coast) and the only children who are invited are nieces/nephews (4 total) because we’re closest to them.. I struggled with that because on the boards here I always see “all kids or no kids” but this is what works for us, plus the rest of the people invited who have small children have feasible options for in-laws to watch their kids while attending the wedding.

We invited kids. I would also be a little hesitant to attend a DW without kids though. That's a long time to be away because normally it requires a lot more travel or people make it a vacation. So definitely something I would think about.

A “kid-free” wedding is great but not great for a DW. Of course you can do as you wish but prepare for a high decline rate.

View Quoted Comment Infants would never be an exception to a no kids rule in my book! They’re more likely to scream and you know mom and dad will not be having ANY fun.

View Quoted Comment Plenty of people have fun with their children. There are also lots of babies who literally cannot be away from their mothers or parents who aren’t ready to leave their infants, especially not for a DW.

View Quoted Comment Then they can send their regrets for the event.

View Quoted Comment That’s great. The OP asked me specifically about my own wedding and I answered. You’re welcome to handle your wedding and your guests however you please.

Thank you everyone! You all have given me a lot to think about and some really good advice!

My guess is the concern your cousins have is who would watch the kids. If all of there immediate family is coming to your wedding, who watches the children at home?

I was recently invited to a destination wedding where their wedding website said no kids for reception due to space; however, they Gave plenty of options nearby for childcare! I thought that was respectful.