No Children

bkel131

That's good. I'm the reason we're trolls in the first place. Next time, I'm checking to make sure you're logged out of your account Hahaha, this is just too funny though.

not+bkel

Bkel - LDY is such a biitch.

bkel131

I'm really not into name calling. I find that to be childish, even if it is true. And I don't appreciate your ID.

LDYGTR13

FTR - "not+bkel" was my first ever legitimate AE. You should feel special.

bkel131

HA. Well, if that's the case..I totally feel special! Thanks for the entertaining afternoon. I'll be ready the next time I plan on posting on this site..

MrsJustWright2012

I don't think it's fair to say that kids as a rule don't mess up weddings.  I have personally witnessed kids make a wedding uncomfortable. Nursing babies can and often do cry, and some mothers (including some you may not know well from your guest list) may be content to sit there while they do. Not saying your guests will, but you never know - I've seen it happen.  Also, I recently watched a video of a friend's wedding and was reminded why we decided not to have kids at our wedding. The only dancers were kids, and everyone else was sitting there watching them. I'm not an attention freak but I don't want all the attention to be on the kids.  I want to dance with my friends and family and have the focus be on entertaining us, not the kids. It depends on what you want the focus of your wedding to be. Stay true to your vision and then don't back down. If you cave in one area, then people wonder why one person got to bring their kid and they didn't. It's been hard for us, but we have made it so far!

Some things we've done to help with this are to get the word of mouth out early and tactfully. We made special, personal phone calls to specific people where we knew it was going to be tough. I told them that I wanted to let them be the first to know about it because I knew it would be hard for them to arrange childcare. I told them that I would love it if they could make it but I would understand if they couldn't. I also mentioned that there were on-site babysitting services. We have also posted it on our website. We also continue to let people know that our venue is too small, and out of 100 guests invited, we would have 42 additional kids if we allowed kids. That somehow hit home with them. Plus we are having a special "kids only" party for our nieces and nephews to make them feel special. We have had a few people get pregnant during our engagement (how dare they? jk) and ask if they could bring nursing babies.  It's really tough to say no, but we have. My mother would be heartbroken if a baby were allowed to go and her own grandkids weren't. So that's how we break the news when they ask. It's not easy, but we hope at the end of the day our wedding will be low stress and focused on what we want it to be about. Plus most people who really love us understand this because we talk through it with them. We've done a lot for their weddings and kids, and now it's our turn. I don't think it's asking too much.

If you're still torn on this, maybe our website wording will help. While it is inappropriate to print "no kids" on an invitation, a website can be a more informative place to explain something like this.

WHAT ABOUT KIDS?
We love kids and are hoping to have a family of our own in the not-too-distant future.  (But not too soon either - let us have a honeymoon first!) However, due to space constraints at our Welcome Party lodge and age constraints at our Wedding venue (a winery), we are unable to accommodate kids…even our own nieces and nephews. While on one hand we will miss the angels that have blessed our lives, on the other hand we hope that this will give our friends and family the opportunity to relax and enjoy some adult time.

If you are unable to arrange childcare back home for the weekend of our wedding, please don’t let that discourage you from attending! For babysitting services during the Welcome Party and Wedding, please call ahead to XXXXXXXXX and request a list of authorized sitters. 

And speaking of those nieces and nephews that aren’t going to be at our wedding …They get a special day of their own that they will enjoy much more than being forced to sit still in uncomfortable clothes during our wedding.  Stay tuned to our wedsite for some pictures of our Flower Maids and Best Boys.