Wedding Planner Q&A – No Children at the Wedding
Thursday, October 22nd, 2009
Posted in Planning Advice , Wedding Planner Q&A
In our weekly Wedding Planner Q&A we look at how to deal with common anxieties, questions and problems that often crop up when you’re planning a wedding. Today I’m offering advice on how to tell your guests that children aren’t invited to the wedding.
Lots of our friends and relatives have young children, but we don’t want lots of children running around at our wedding. How can we tell them children aren’t invited without causing offence?
Lots of couples don’t want children at their wedding for many different reasons, and you’re within your rights to stipulate that they aren’t invited. Explain your reasons to your guests so that they don’t think you’re just being awkward, and make sure they are aware of the situation well in advance so they have time to arrange childcare. You can tell them in person, or put a short sentence in your invitations along the lines of:
“Due to the restriction of numbers at our venue we are, unfortunately, unable to accommodate children. We hope you understand and look forward to seeing you at our wedding.”
Most people will understand and won’t be offended if you explain why children are not invited. The most important thing is to be consistent and apply the rule of ‘no children’ to everyone. Don’t make exceptions as this will definitely cause resentment amongst your guests.
If you have a question you’d like to share, drop me an e-mail at with “ Wedding Planner Q&A ” as the title, and I’ll be sure to feature it here on the blog.