How do you address no kids allowed at the reception?

s_hazeleyes · April 2012

My FI & I (well mostly me) do not want to have kids at the reception, besides the flower girls and ring bearer.

What do I say on the invitations? Is this ok to do?

Carebear62584 · April 2012

It's okay to do, just DO NOT say adults only. Address your invitations to only the people you plan to invite and they should get the picture. There are also some things you could do on the response card to indicate this:

* Prior to sending out invites, write the people invited on their response card so they don't do it (also solves the problem of people forgetting to fill in the name line).
* Put ___ seats have been reserved for you and write the number of guests in the blank.
* Have the appropriate number of lines for the guest and have them write in their name and check the meal choice (if plated dinner).

Hope that helps!

cdbishop · April 2012

I know it may not be proper etiquette, but on the reception card we said, please join us for an adult only reception (or something along that lines can't even remember now haha). In my family, friends circle no one takes saying that badly. In addition we addressed invites to those invited and the RSVP cards had the individuals invited listed, not just spaces to fill in the names.

Melissa603 · April 2012

We've mentioned in passing to people prior to sending out invitations when they asked about the guest list ad venue, etc.

Make sure the invite is addressed to Mr. and Mrs. John Smith (NOT the Smith Family)

Some people will also mention adult only reception on the FAQ section of their web sites.

cmac3504 · April 2012

IMO, "adults only" verbiage is OK to use if you're not having any kids in the wedding (FG or RB). We knew that if we invited a few of my husband's nieces or nephews to be in the wedding, we would have had to invite the rest.... so we opted for no kids at all. (Would the kids in the wedding have been cute? Yes. But 100% happy we chose no kids.)

crnflkgirl75 · April 2012

Please do not put "adults only" on your invites. Just address them to only the people invited-- don't say "and family" or "and guest." then do as PP suggested and write in the number of seats reserved for them on the response card.

MoonlightSilver · April 2012

Like PPs said, just address the invites to those you want to be there. If anyone RSVPs with extra people or kids, just call them up and say "Sorry for the misunderstanding, but the invitation was only for Uncle Jim and Aunt Sue. We wont be able to accomodate little Billy and Sally. We hope you can still make it!"

Christine9866 · April 2012

Agree with pp's. Just put on the invite those who you want to be there. They will get the picture when they just see their names on there and not "and family".

akulaji · April 2012

<div align="left">In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_connecticut_how-do-you-address-no-kids-allowed-at-the-reception?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:65Discussion:96baac5c-8f3b-4560-a991-7933f24d2dacPost:fc244210-1548-4e92-820a-23e45c140a54">Re: How do you address no kids allowed at the reception?</a>:
[QUOTE]It's okay to do, just DO NOT say adults only. Address your invitations to only the people you plan to invite and they should get the picture. There are also some things you could do on the response card to indicate this: * Prior to sending out invites, write the people invited on their response card so they don't do it (also solves the problem of people forgetting to fill in the name line). * Put ___ seats have been reserved for you and write the number of guests in the blank. * Have the appropriate number of lines for the guest and have them write in their name and check the meal choice (if plated dinner). Hope that helps!
Posted by Carebear62584[/QUOTE]
I get what people are saying about 'guests should get it when only their names are on the response card', but I've seen it happen way way way too many times that for some reason people often don't think their kids apply to that rule. I don't know if it's the 'kids eat free' mentality or what, but there often seems to be someone that gets an invite for themselves and their spouse and they respond that little Timmy, Tommy, Jenny and Mikey are coming too.

We did what Carebear suggested and included a line that said "___ seats have been reserved in your honor" and filled that in with the # of seats. We also included the line on the to RSVP with the names of who would be attending. There was absolutely no way people could misunderstand then. Worked out perfectly.
</div>

s_hazeleyes · April 2012

I think that all makes sense! I was really worried about being offensive. I will have FG's (my neices) and a ring bearer (my FI's son). That's about it for children. I just hope ppl dont get upset that those kids will be there an no other kids were invited!

Thank you!

mrsrutkowski · April 2012

I'm having the same thing (no kids only RB and FG) and I've started spreading the word informally now long before invites go out. I have some younger cousins and family friends that may feel bad, but at least if they know now there won't be surprises when the invites come out.

How do you address no kids allowed at the reception?

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