children at the wedding

afshanlak

We are having a adult wedding ceremony and reception, but both of us have nieces ages between 4-8 and we really want to have them at the wedding. Can we exclude other kids when they are going to be there??

palrmt

I think a lot of people will tell you no, but I am doing it.  There are certain kids that I want at my wedding but as for a general rule we are not inviting kids from everyone we know.  There will be the 3 kids in my BP and then 2 others that I have made "exceptions" for.  Chances are people will notice and some may even say something.  However we have our reasons and I am firm on this.  These 2 children are invited. Period.  If I am approached about it I will simply say that we are very close and it was important to me to have them there. It's the truth. 

How many kid are you talking about.  If its a large number it's likely to be more of a problem. 

banana468

I think it's fine to make a cutoff.  If you say, "We only invited the children of our siblings," it's a rather clear way to say that you're making it a cutoff by even family lines.

BeeBee22

Nieces/nephews, breast feeding infants and children in the bridal party are normal exemptions from a 'no kids' wedding. No one will get bent out of shape. 

If you have other nieces/nephews you're not planning to invite, though, then it's trickier. If you invite some nieces/nephews, you have to invite all of them (same family tier). The only way around it would be to put your nieces in the BP, in which case you only have to invite them and their siblings. 

PS - It's not wise to use your email address as your screen name - best to change it now, since you've just started posting.

lyndausvi

That's what we did and it was not an issue.  Most people understand that  nieces/nephews are more important that other people kids.

JThompson2187

How do you let people know that you don't want children at the wedding? We are not having alcohol or anything, but we only have a limited amount of people we can invite and I only want the kids that are in the wedding there, but I don't know how to phrase in on the invitation. Please help

heyimbren

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_children-wedding-8?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:9Discussion:d1397f5e-ada0-4ad2-a3b7-bd7cb70af422Post:c1548db2-421e-4518-bbf3-91fa9b3bb874">Re: children at the wedding</a>:
[QUOTE]How do you let people know that you don't want children at the wedding? We are not having alcohol or anything, but we only have a limited amount of people we can invite and I only want the kids that are in the wedding there, but I don't know how to phrase in on the invitation. Please help
Posted by JThompson2187[/QUOTE]

You really should lurk a little more on these boards to find the answer to your question.

You don't put it on the invitation. Address the invitation to only the people you are inviting. If someone tries to invite their children, you will need to contact them and explain that you have a limited guest list.

palrmt

Definitely not a good idea to put it on the invitation at all.  I am simply addressing the inner envelope to the people in the house that are invited and hopefully everyone will understand.  However I am prepared to deal with a few people who will probably just assume their kids are invited and go ahead and RSVP for them.  At which point I am prepared to make the call and let them know that budget and space limitations prevent me from extending their child an invite.