Wording Regarding Children on RSVP

Tisha. · March 2010

We are requesting that there are no young children at our wedding & reception. We don't have any children that we are especially close to, it's a Friday evening wedding, the location really isn't a place I'd feel comfortable to have little ones running around (it's a loft in a barn, the stairs are pretty steep, and there are open air windows... meaing no glass or screen on them... that just seem like an accident waiting to happen, for little ones.) So, I was trying to find the right wording for this. I've decided it might be ok to put somethig at the bottom of the RSVP cards and also on our website. Anyway, IS it ok to put on the RSVP cards? And if so, does this wording seem ok?

Due to location limitations, we ask that no children under 12 years of age attend. Thank you for understanding.

Thanks in advance for your help!

banana468 · March 2010

There is no appropriate wording to indicate anywhere on the invitation or in the contents of it whom you intend to exclude.

BUT

You have options:

1) Be specific with your invitations. Address them specifically to the adults of the household. Don't write 'family' anywhere on either the outer or inner envelope.

2) Write out the response cards specifically with the guests' names on them so all the guest needs to do is check next to __accepts or __declines.

3) If a guest responds that s/he is bringing a child, just say that you apologize for any miscommunication but the invitation was for X and Y but not Z.

squirrly · March 2010

No, it is not acceptable on an invitation to indicate who is not invited. It would be like sending out a birthday party invitation to a 5th grade class and making a note that says "except for Suzie."

Instead, address the invitation to only those that are invited. Your RSVP card can be personalized with names, can have the number of seats reserved for that party, etc. to help with it. And if they reply with too many people - you call and let them know that unfortunately the invitation was intended for Mr. and Mrs. only. You understand if they won't be able to attend due to child care issues, but you'd love to have them there, and would be happy to get together with them and Jimmy at another time.

aerinpegadrak · March 2010

A friend of mine did "Seats have been reserved for the following guests" instead of the "x number of seats" thing. You should also get word-of-mouth working for you that the location isn't safe for small children.

SunFlwr324 · March 2010

I personalized my RSVP cards so that instead of having M____________ for my guests to fill in their names, I printed who was invited directly on them and I had no substitutions or children.

rlg510 · March 2010

I received an inviation that stated "Adults Only Reception...."
I like that wording.

banana468 · March 2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_invites-paper_wording-regarding-children-rsvp?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:cd062f89-8272-496a-b0ab-225e1f87acecDiscussion:bc5a66a6-42d4-4b4e-b8a0-b600771516fePost:e134cd50-484d-470d-b78d-ed7c96edbce9">Re: Wording Regarding Children on RSVP</a>:
[QUOTE]I received an inviation that stated "Adults Only Reception...." I like that wording.
Posted by rlg510[/QUOTE]

It's fine that you liked the wording.

However the wording itself was completely inappropriate.

Tisha. · March 2010

Thanks for all the tips, everyone!

ally117 · March 2010

I'm going to say something like, "Due to limited seating, we respectfully ask that only children of the bride and groom's families be in attendance. Thank you for your understanding!" because if even when you address the envelopes, (inner & outer) with the names of the invitees, some people still think it's okay to add extra... I'm hoping this will eliminate a lot of awkward phone calls. Good luck!

MyNameIsNot · March 2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_invites-paper_wording-regarding-children-rsvp?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:cd062f89-8272-496a-b0ab-225e1f87acecDiscussion:bc5a66a6-42d4-4b4e-b8a0-b600771516fePost:26eee373-3c07-4a26-8f81-ce4aeba1f287">Re: Wording Regarding Children on RSVP</a>:
[QUOTE]I'm going to say something like, "Due to limited seating, we respectfully ask that only children of the bride and groom's families be in attendance. Thank you for your understanding!" because if even when you address the envelopes, (inner & outer) with the names of the invitees, some people still think it's okay to add extra... I'm hoping this will eliminate a lot of awkward phone calls. Good luck!
Posted by ally117[/QUOTE]

<div>Please don't do this. It's rude. </div><div>
</div><div>Put the names of those invited on the RSVP and put checks for whether each individual is coming or not. </div>

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