How to word a kid free wedding on the invitations

If you search the forums, there are plenty of great ideas for this.


I would suggest not to call your wedding childfree. It’s not. If there are children even wedding party or even exceptions, it’s no longer “childfree” and some will be offended. Some will be offended regardless. Being on various forums, babes in arms are not as common of an exception in some places (like my circle)
You can always have a blanket statement on your website (along with other suggestions) that you can only accommodate those named on the invitation. I wouldn’t say anything on the invite other than for FAQ see website.
Address the invites to those invited, specify how many seats are reserved
What you don’t want to do is open the conversation for people to try and accommodate. Oh we can’t afford it, they will offer to pay. We are at capacity, well aunt Jill said she can’t come so little Sarah can have her spot, etc.

It's against etiquette to put who isn't invited on the invitations, so I wouldn't do that. Address the invitation to only who is invited. In the RSVP card put 2 seats reserved in your honour. If people add in or write in other guests, then contact them and say the invitation was just meant for the adults. Don't apologize or explain or give reasons, people will try to "solve" the problem.

For the website I'd say something like "while we love the little ones in our lives, the reception is meant for adults" or something like that.

View Quoted Comment Agree with this.


Also, there is no way to say “these kids are invited while yours are not” no matter how sugar coated without hurting someone who sees that someone else is an exception.

I’ve been having some trouble with this and have been reading around- I’ve heard it’s rude to say “child free or your kid isn’t invited”. So the advice I took was just make the invitation plain and clear about who’s invited- by listing specific names on the invites. I did take it a step further and add a q&a regarding kids to my website. The question simply states - can I bring my kids? The answer- limiting the guest list has been very difficult! We ask you make proper arrangements for your children unless specified otherwise. Please and thank you! Some people might think this is rude but however it’s your day, your wedding, your budget. Also don’t explain why or even tell anyone that certain children will be there. This is just my opinion, as I’ve been struggling with this topic all day and finally came to a conclusion. Hopefully this helps a bit! Good luck!

We included on out details card and on our website "We respectfully request that no children, except those of immediate family, be in attendance." We also gave a heads up to all our close friends and family ahead of time that we wanted this as adults only as possible, but we wanted nieces and nephews in photos. So far no complaints. I also think that infants are generally ok, on our website we did say infants under 2 welcome but did not include that on the details card.

I wouldn't explicitly put it on your invitations, but I would address invitations to the specific people you're inviting (ex. "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" and not "The Smith Family").

I'd say your best bet to be as polite as possible would be to have an FAQ page on your website and have one of the questions be "Can I bring children or a guest?" Then the answer would be something along the lines of "Unfortunately, we are only able to accommodate those listed on the invitation. If you have any questions about this, please contact the bride or groom." That way, you're not saying you aren't inviting ANY kids, but can only accommodate those who were formally invited. People will get upset, but at the end of the day you can't please everyone.