For Brides who had Adults Only Receptions...

[DaDivatude]

How did you word it to your guests and what did you do with the kids? Having a hard time wrapping head around it. Thanks in advance!

 

[lurkyloo]

Hmm... well we just didn't invite any kids to the wedding, but I think your problem is that they're invited to the ceremony but not the reception?

The classy, spendy way you could do it is to have a room where people can drop off their kids and there's a sitter and activities and stuff...

Or, I guess if the invite has a separate card for the reception, it could say "Adults only, please" and include info about Disney's various kids clubs and the price of in-room sitting.

 

[DaDivatude]

Hmm... well we just didn't invite any kids to the wedding, but I think your problem is that they're invited to the ceremony but not the reception?

The classy, spendy way you could do it is to have a room where people can drop off their kids and there's a sitter and activities and stuff...

Or, I guess if the invite has a separate card for the reception, it could say "Adults only, please" and include info about Disney's various kids clubs and the price of in-room sitting.

I can go either way. I think it would be easier to not invite kids. How did your guests take it?

 

[lurkyloo]

We lucked out b/c none of the people we invited had children at the time... now I feel all sheepish that I am presuming to dispense advice on the subject! So I'll just fall back on my fave piece of advice we received from many different people: This is your wedding and you should do it the way you want to. If that means adults only, go for it and don't let anyone make you feel guilty!

 

[ElleBren]

Well if you are simply not inviting kids at all you can just address the invite to Mr. & Mrs. Blah blah.

I am having my wedding with kids at the ceremony and not at the reception. For the people who had kids I called them and let them know we were having a kid party in a room by the wedding so people with small kids could feel comfortable. We did +family for those but it was really for kids that still lived with them.

I agree with lurkyloo, if you dont want kids just let them know. Its your wedding and you should be happy.

 

[twiu]

I had some problems with DF's extended family freaking out that I didn't invited kids. My reception starts at 8:30 pm.. like seriously? C'mon! That's late. It ends at 1:30 am for crying out loud! Anyway, I addressed everything like "Mr. & Mrs... " but people still rsvp'd with kids. I had to call them and let them know. If I had known this would've happened, I would've put "adults only" on the reception card.

 

[sandysplayhouse]

My DD also decided she did not want children at her wedding and this was something that did not go over well with some people, but it was her day and her decision.
We rented a room for the day, hired 2 CPR/First Aid trained girls to care for the children... (sisters of one of the bridesmaids. I paid them $100 each for the day/evening plus gave them the use of the room after the children left)
Our invitations were addressed specifically ONLY to all invited persons.
Our RSVP cards explained that this was an ADULT ONLY celebration but that complementary childcare would be provided.
A few people called to see if they could bring their kids to the ceremony but leave them in childcare for the reception... answer: sorry, but no... . My sister, would not leave her children,... she wanted my daughter to make an exception for her children...sorry, but no was our answer... she did not come to the wedding. This was HER decision. 5 years later, she is sorry she missed the wedding, but again, that was her decision. Just know what you want and stick to it... if you make an exception for one, you must do so for all.

Here is our RSVP card.

 

[Kashmir104]

Our ceremony and reception are both "adults only." It was suggested by DFTW and our invitation company (Alpine Creative Group) that the proper way to handle this was to just specifically address the Save-the-Dates and Invitations to "Mr. & Mrs._______" or "Ms. _______ and guest." We did invite my little sister (my maid of honor) and my future niece and nephew (our flower girl & ring bearer) so those invitations read "Mr. & Mrs. M______ and Miss Kaitlyn M______" and "Mr. & Mrs. Gary M_______ and Mr. Jacob and Miss Lili M______"

Our invitation is going to include a card with a reminder about accommodations and will say "For reservations and child care information, please call _______."

Hope that helps!

 

[Kate and Pete]

We didn't invite kids to ours either. We addressed everything to "Mr and Mrs" and let the "no kids" spread word of mouth. My aunts and uncles on my dad's side, who have NEVER traveled from their homes to visit us (and we hadn't lived near them in 15 years when I got married) suddenly WERE going to come to the wedding, but since I wasn't inviting children, the "couldn't come." (And they were so ticked that they never even sent gifts...or even a card saying, "congrats!").

But, it is YOUR wedding - we were willing to live with the "consequences," so we did what WE wanted! (And it was lovely!)

Good luck!

 

[Promomx2]

Okay, I have delimma for all of you. DD currently works part-time at a daycare, has become friends with some of the parents and babysits for them afterwork, so she is planning on inviting several of them. But she doesn't want lots of little kids at the ceremony and reception. Would it be rude to invite these daycare parents and then put "no children" on the invitation. Plue we have 3 cousins, who are well-behaved and will be allowing them to come. Luckily the wedding isn't until Jan 2010 so we have a while to iron this all out.

 

[sandysplayhouse]

Okay, I have delimma for all of you. DD currently works part-time at a daycare, has become friends with some of the parents and babysits for them afterwork, so she is planning on inviting several of them. But she doesn't want lots of little kids at the ceremony and reception. Would it be rude to invite these daycare parents and then put "no children" on the invitation. Plue we have 3 cousins, who are well-behaved and will be allowing them to come. Luckily the wedding isn't until Jan 2010 so we have a while to iron this all out.

This was also our delima....
My daughter and I both run daycares and at the time had 22 children between the two of us. We invited all the parents as they have all become our friends and we wanted to share this day with them but also knew that as their childcare providers, they would not have alternative daycare for the kids which is why we chose to provide this for them.

 

[NJtoATL]

On the reception card it stated "Adult Reception". Very Simple. At the time, my husband had 5 nieces and nephews. To me, receptions are for adults. I had no intentions of paying $85.00 for their plates as well. Not happening. Good Luck.

 

[Promomx2]

Sandysplayhouse,
The reception place my dd is looking at does not have anywhere that we can provide care for the children and do you think they parents will be mad if they see children of our immediate family there?

 

[sandysplayhouse]

Sandysplayhouse,
The reception place my dd is looking at does not have anywhere that we can provide care for the children and do you think they parents will be mad if they see children of our immediate family there?

I see your problem...
and the answer to your question is YES, they will be angry...
we had 2 children at our wedding.. the 2 "glitter" girls.. (flower girls) age 8 and 6 and one junior bridesmaid age 12... my sister, the one that wanted us to make an exception for HER children (age 2 and 4) was VERY angry when she saw wedding pictures with these children at the wedding and reception. Of course, again, it was her decision not to attend, it was our decision not to invite children.
End of story, you can't please everyone and in the end, it is YOUR wedding.