Deciding whether to invite children to your wedding is one of the most difficult guest list questions! You’ve most likely spent hours agonising of the guest list and choosing who you want to be part of your special day. Here are a few tips and recommendations for making your guests clear on who’s invited, as well as some suggestions on ways to word ‘adults only’.

Including Guest Names - Name Bands

The best solution to addressing your Invitations clearly is to use a Name Band. Name bands are paper wraps that are digitally printed with your guest names and wrapped around your pieces to keep everything together. They not only look great (and are the perfect way to add more colour to your suite) they also allow you the space to list the names of each invited guest. This can be a great way of avoiding any ‘plus ones’ and allows you to list the names of children (if invited). Read more about our Name bands on our ‘Design Changes’ page.

‘Adults Only’ Wording

If Name Bands are outside your budget, the next best option is to include a little note on your Invitations, Response cards or Information cards. Simple wording such as ‘Adults only Reception’ or ‘Children over 16 years of age only’ are great starting points for this, and can be inserted at the bottom of the Invitation or Response Card (or just under the guest names lines). If you have room, adding a bit more detail on your Information Card can be a lovely touch and might help to put your guests' minds at ease.

Short Wording Suggestions

These shorter examples are perfect for including on your Invitation or Response Card.

“Please join us for an adult reception at six o’clock”

“Please note this will be an adults-only celebration”

“Adult (18 and older) reception to follow”

“We respectfully request no children under 16 at the reception”

“Adults only Reception”

“Children over 16 years of Age Only”

Long Wording Suggestions

These examples are suitable for messages included on Information cards, and the longer explanations can soften the wording helping to clarify to your preferences. If your wedding is out of town, include information about babysitting (where possible) to help your guests make arrangements.

“Although we love your little ones, this is an adult only affair”

“The bride and groom request that this be an adults-only reception”

“Please celebrate with us at an adults-only reception immediately following the ceremony”

“Due to limited venue space, adults only please”

“Due to budget/space limitations, we are unable to extend the invitation to children”

“Although we love your children, we regretfully cannot accommodate them at the venue due to restricted numbers”

“Although we adore your children, due to budget/space constraints we ask that only adults attend.”

“Regrettably our chosen venue is unable to accommodate children. Professional babysitting will be provided at the hotel”

“To allow all wedding guests, including parents, a night of relaxation, we respectfully ask that no children attend the reception”

“To give all our guests the opportunity to celebrate without having to worry about little eyes and ears, we politely request no children”

“We hope you will understand our decision to make the wedding children-free, and take the opportunity to let your hair down and celebrate”

“To allow all guests to relax and enjoy themselves, we have chosen to make our special day adults only. We thank you for your understanding”

“We wish we could include all children, but are unfortunately only able to invite immediate family”

“Due to necessity rather than choice, it is children of immediate family only”

“Unfortunately due to space limitations, we are having an adults-only reception. The only children attending are those who are part of our wedding party. If anyone needs help with making arrangements for child care, please let us know and we will do our best to assist”

While there will always be guests that may find this rude or tacky, the convenience & clarity of making sure that guests know who’s invited generally far outweighs any concern of offending a handful of guests. Find more examples of our Name bands on our Design changes pages, or check out our Instagram or Facebook pages for more examples of our work.

Looking for more wording suggestions? Be sure to read our other articles on wording:

Save the Date Wording
Wording 'Adults Only' Wedding Invitations
Addressing your Wedding Invitations
Gift Card Wording
Thank You Card Wording