Your wedding day should be about no one else other than you and your spouse. If you and your partner don’t want to have kids attend your wedding festivities and want to have an Adults-Only Wedding, that is perfectly okay. Here’s why it’s okay to have an adults-only wedding:
It’s About You
It goes without saying that your wedding day is about you and your spouse, but others will try to make it about themselves and that can be uncomfortable. But you get to do what you want on your wedding day and if others have issues with it, they simply do not have to attend.
A Break For Your Guests
For parents who are attending your wedding this can also be a gift to them as well. They can treat it as a date night and get to have a fun kid-free night where they don’t have to worry!
Here are some tips on how to make this happen:
Don’t Give In
Some people will tell you that it’s rude or insensitive to not allow kids at your wedding, but this is absolutely not true. If this is what you want for your big day you should be able to get it. Don’t give in to other’s opinions about your festivities, because it is not up to them.
Make It Clear (While Being Polite)
Be sure to make it clear to your guests that you want a kids-free day, but be polite about it. Not allowing kids at your wedding can be a sensitive topic for some people, so try to make your request as light as possible. Don’t just print ADULTS ONLY on invitations because that could be taken offensively by some. When sending invitations address it to only the people invited and maybe even print their names on the RSVP card so it’s clear they are the only invited. Here are a few examples of how to announce an adult only festivities:
“The couple respectfully requests no children at reception”
“We love our little ones, but this is an adult only celebration”
“Due to limited space/budgeting we are not able to accommodate children at our reception”
You can even go as far as to make personalized notes such as “We love Anna and Dylan, but unfortunately we are unable to accommodate them”
Even with these steps some people still may not get the hint so reaching out to people personally may be a good idea as well.
Compromise
A great compromise is allowing kids to come to one of the wedding events instead of both. Maybe allow kids at the ceremony and then have an adults only reception. Or vice versa, have a kids free ceremony and allow them at the reception. Or maybe have a kids friendly activity at the reception so the adults can enjoy it to the fullest! You can also provide professional babysitting services as well.