Do you count babies as guests?

MaryEllenTucker · October 2010

Ok, So we're kinda of having a debate here (MOB, Fiance, and myself) when it comes to babies/young kids do you count them as a quest, what I consider a guest is someone that is going to sit in a chair. At what age are they a guest? There are quite a few children on our guest list and we just want to make sure we have everything done correctly.

squirrly · October 2010

Well, I think you should provide a high chair for every baby - their parents shouldn't have to hold them endlessly. But, the caterer probably won't count them if they don't need to fix a plate for them. So, in terms of space/chairs, yes. Food - not until they're eating solid food.

tortis · October 2010

I think it depends on your venue. If they are trying to allot space at tables, then yeah, you would need to have a seat. Food wise, I think it depends. We had a kids buffet and counted toddlers and up as eating there.

So I pretty much agree with squirrly.

jeanna85 · October 2010

I wouldnt in the catering number, but if your venue has a max capacity for fire code reasons they need to be counted in that number.

lyndausvi · October 2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_count-babies-guests?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:bcdcd51c-fc8c-4e1e-97b4-8b27bc1c42aePost:ffdc20c3-9e58-4f9b-981b-0677edcf8cbb">Re: Do you count babies as guests?</a>:
[QUOTE]I wouldnt in the catering number, but if your venue has a max capacity for fire code reasons they need to be counted in that number.
Posted by jeanna85[/QUOTE]

This ^.

On the boat we do not charge guests 3 and under, but our passenger limit is 49 people. The Coast Guard does not care if they are 1 day old or 100 years old. A person is a person.

apple_green · October 2010

I gave our final count to the venue like so:

60 adults
6 kids
1 baby

So they knew how much to charge for regular and kids meals, and that they would need one high chair.

Gismo123 · October 2010

It depends on your venue....for example our venue doesn't charge for kids under 2, and kids 3-12 are half price. So basically just find out what they're policy is.

TurtlesAllTheWayDown · October 2010

We told our venue how many adult meals we needed, then we said we had 2 small children who didn't need full meals (ate from parents' plates). We let them know because we needed room at the table for the kids and possible high chairs.

blankslate25 · October 2010

This is such a great question. At what age do you allow a child to have a chair of his/her own? I'm doing the reception at a beach house, so it's not up to the venue, it's up to to me to determine the numbers. The oldest one that might be at my wedding will not be quite 3 y/o yet...I know nothing about babies, but i would guess a 3 y/o needs a seat right? What about a 2 y/o? 1 y/o? TIA to those of your who have baby knowledge!

soprano19 · October 2010

Every venue has a different policy on kids. Find out what age range constitutes a "kid" (for example, at our venue it's ages 3-10 and kids under age 3 are free) and how "kids" differ from "adults" (for example, whether they get smaller or different meals). Your venue probably has their standard way of handling the issue of kids, so finding that out is at least a good place to start.

Do you count babies as guests?

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