As I mentioned last week, we placed an order for our invitations! Among sorting out all of the wording for the invitation, envelopes, etc. there was also a problem with the RSVP cards. Most people who read this blog know by now that we aren't inviting children to our wedding for various reasons (it's something that adults enjoy & appreciate more than kids, we're on a budget & every extra person is a lot more expensive than you'd think, & most importantly we're on an extremely EXTREMELY tight capacity of 150 people maximum for the ceremony). It was a bit of a struggle for me not to choose the "Adults Only Reception" option for the RSVP cards, but my mom informed me that usually denotes "open bar," which definitely is not the case for our wedding. I have thought a lot about how exactly to maneuver this awkward situation (because really, even if it does step on toes, this is our wedding & we have very good, very specific reasons for not inviting children & I don't think it should be hard to understand). I just thought it was ironic that I received an email today from The Knot about "19 Wedding Problems Every Bride Deals With." The very last one was this exact problem! And here's how they answered............
No Kids Allowed
Q. Is it okay to have an adults-only (18 and up) guest list? If so, how do we spread the news?
A. It's completely legitimate to want an adults-only reception, especially for an evening affair. And most parents of young children will jump at the chance for a night out without the kids. Even so, this is a sensitive topic, and putting "adult reception" on your invites is a little too in-your-face, so take a more subtle tack. First, tell your parents, wedding party and other close relatives and friends, so they can spread the word if any guests ask them. Second, the people whose names are on your invitations are the only people invited to the wedding ("Mr. and Mrs. John Doe" means just the couple; "The Doe Family" means little Suzie can come too). Most guests will take note of this and RSVP for just themselves. If they RSVP for kids too, call them and explain that because of "budget constraints" (always the best excuse, even if it's not true), you decided to invite only adults. Try to understand that some may be genuinely surprised or hurt, and be understanding, but don't give in -- if you say yes once, the requests will start pouring in.
Just thought I'd share! Happy Monday everyone :)
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