how do you say "no kids"

firstm

Hi Ladies!!  We are interested in having an "adults only" reception and I'm trying to find the nicest way to say it on the invitations.  I've seen "Adult Reception To Follow", but I'm wondering if that sounds really obnoxious.  I want to make sure it's clear that kids are not invited without being a b-tch.  Any ideas or suggestions?  Keep in mind that this will be a fairly formal affair at an upscale venue.

hcorr34

I would recommend making sure that you clearly specify how many people are invited when you send invitations.  If the invite and (if applicable) inner envelope are only addressed to the adults in the family, that should begin to clear up any confusion.  We are going to be putting the names of the people invited on the RSVP cards as well so that there is no way to confuse who is and is not invited. 

John Smith ___will attend    ____ will not attend   ___chicken   ___vegetarian
Jane Smith ___will attend    ____will not attend   ___chicken   ___vegetarian

I have also seen the suggestion that you can fill in the number of people invited if you are having your RSVP cards mass produced and can't personalize each one:

M______________________________    __/2 Will attend    __/2 Will not attend
You can fill in the /2 part with what ever number you are inviting from that household.  It does not need to be printed directly on the RSVP.
 

I've read that putting "adults only" can be considered tacky, so I think this might be the best way to do it. 

ivyrose13

Exactly what the PP said

Not only is it considered tacky, it's considered poor etiquette to say that someone is not invited on an invitation. 

jpickering8

I love that suggestion!! That is fabulous! I'll definitely be using one of those! Thanks!

hcorr34

I had asked a similar question on the E board, but for the purpose of excluding kids.  FMIL fears that one of her brothers will show up with not only his wife, but his children and grandchildren.  Since I'm going to be printing all of my own invitations, I am going to use the personalized RSVP option and print each guest's name on their RSVP card.

firstm

Thank you guys for your feedback.  I love the personalized response card idea.

eilyak

on the inside envelopes we wrote the names of those who were invited.  i was worried that people would not read that but also wanted to not be rude and write no kids. we also told our close family that the only children who were going were those in the bridal party.  they helped to spread the word as conversations came up.

MiniMin20

We read all the etiquette too, and wrote just the adults' names on the inner envelope and told our close family no kids, so they could spread it around. We also put it on the website.

Didn't matter -- we got so many people writing in their kids' names. Some people were pretty upset about it too. Even people who heard no kids assumed THEIR kid could come for some reason or another (first cousin, infant, etc.). It would have saved us a lot of time and drama. Because we did letter-press RSVP cards, it was too hard to specify a number or specific people's names on it.

Even though it's considered tacky, I really wish we had put it somewhere on the RSVP card that it was adults only. If you don't, I seriously suggest calling every person with a kid up as soon as the invites go out (or even the save the dates) and telling them that there are no kids invited. I think a lot of people will not understand otherwise (how many people are well-versed in wedding etiquette?), or choose not to understand it and then act oblivious -- it's sad, but true.