Kids at the wedding

I’m having this same dilemma, I have no kids on my side and my fiancé has like 14. I really don’t want kids there but I’ll suck it up. People might decide not to come at all or leave the kids at home. But it’s all or nothing, you either invite all the kids or none of the kids. The only exception with “none of the kids” would be to only invite ring bearer and flower girl.

It’s definitely not “known” not to bring kids. You’d include it on your invites somehow

I'm in the same situation - all of our friends and family have kids and it would be a day care if we let all of the come, so we decided to no invite children at all. You'll definitely get push back, but just stand your ground and do what you want to do.

Do you want kids in attendance? If you do, then address invites to the entire family. Many couples/families view weddings as family events. However, if you decide on no kids, be consistent to avoid offending guests by skipping the flowergirl/ringbearer. There is no polite exception to the rule.

If you decide on no kids, you DO NOT say anything vin the invites. You address the envelopes to the adults only and spread the info via word of mouth.

This is entirely up to you – do you want children present?

That’s up to you on whether you want kids there or not. Bridal party kids are actually an exception. Kids are a no for us, except for my son who is 16 and my hubby’s nephew, who will be our ring bearer. Don’t word it on the invites though, as someone else mentioned, you invite the adults only (by name) and make it clear by wording like “__ of 2 seats reserved” in the rsvp. There are lots of forums about this, I suggest checking them out for how to politely handle this and get ideas! (If you go that route). It should be an all or nothing situation, though, otherwise people can get upset ❤️

If you don't want kids at the wedding besides the ones in the wedding then you definitely need to make it known. If you have kids at the wedding then I think it's a great idea to have an activity table for them. But it's up to you and your fiance on if you want to have children there.


Pros: you get such cute pictures of the kids playing and having fun. having all the families together with their kids. Most of everyone would be able to come because they won't have to worry about trying to find a babysitter.
Cons: parents really don't parent their kids like they used to, especially when they are drinking they tend to lack on their parental responsibilities. Kids can be unruly and throw temper tantrums. Kids can ruin things at the wedding. Kids can bother the guests.

We’re having a no children wedding- only the flower girl & ring bearer. Been to too many weddings where the kids are running around, screaming their heads off & the parents aren’t watching them! No thank you! We’ve told everyone it’s going to be kid free, perfect date night!

You have to decide if you want/can afford to have the kids there. If you DO have them there, a nanny/activity table for the under-10s is always a good idea.

If you invite them, you address the label to, "The Tanner Family", and indicate on the RSVP that you have set aside 6 seats for them. (...I just dated myself like WOAH.)

If you do NOT invite them, you address the label to "Miles and Keiko O'Brien" (or use their appropriate honorifics), and indicate on the RSVP that you have set aside 2 seats for them.

(And now that's I've dated myself and shown that I'm a massive nerd, I'm out.)

I'm having an adult only reception with the exception of the ones in the wedding party. I'm putting it on my wedding invitations

We had a similar situation that we just recently figured out. I have 1 kid on my side of the family and she will be 5 by then, so pretty able to behave. However, my FH has 3 nephews under 3 and 2 of his cousins just had babies. Plus we have several friends who have kids and most of those kids are under age 4. It would be insane if they all came and I personally think it would take away from our day, so we decided to not have any kids at all. We DID have to tell people, especially family, because they assumed that their kids were invited for some reason. And some people did have comments to make, but we stood our ground and said that they got to have the choice of having kids at their wedding and some of them actually chose no children, so we deserve the same thing. And nobody has said anything since!

Kids welcome here!

There are a lot of tiny humans in my circle of friends. My friends are very proud to be parents (as they should be), and most of them are skeptical of baby-sitters. So, if we said "no," I'd be losing a lot of important people.

The groom and I are pretty much big kids. Our wedding theme is rustic Renaissance, so we'll be having fake swords and a fighting arena and stuff like that--fun for everyone.

Kids love to dance if you have a dj. Some kids like activity tables while others don't have any interest.

No kids except the ring bearer flower girl and my grandson he is 10 and one of the escorts he will be escorting his 98 year old great great grandmother

It’s your day. You decide whatever works for you!

You and FH get to decide. And it needs to be a joint decision or one of you will keep slipping kids in as an exception.
We are having kids at ours, so are planning some legos, other non-coloring activities (I’m worried about coloring on walls but the vendor says that’s never happened. I say this as I look over at my nightstand with a 20 year old sharpie stain from my daughter).

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I appreciate you and these references so much!