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Mrs. French Bulldog, Orange County Age and Occupation: 28, Administrative Assistant & Interior Design Student Fiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Purchasing Analyst Engagement Date: November 8, 2008 Wedding Date: August 2009 Venue: Bernardo Winery About Me: I've lived in Atlanta, Dallas and Laguna Niguel; although I've lived in Orange County, CA most my life, I'm a Southerner at heart. I work full time for a Commercial General Contractor (aka my father) and I go to school for Interior Design at night. I love modern design, music, wine, crafting, DMailing, my family, my Westies, and of course, Mr Frenchie! Mr Frenchie and I met 3 years ago on Match.com and have been best friends ever since. I love his "old soul" and how he laughs with his whole body, among many other things. We are planning our summer wedding at the winery near his hometown, just 45 minutes south of Orange County.
About Mrs. French Bulldog

We Love Kids, But…

July 21st, 2009 @ 11:20 am by Mrs. French Bulldog

The topic of children at a wedding is a controversial one. Some people believe strongly that children should be part of the day, while other believe they should stay at home. We’ve been to weddings where we couldn’t imagine what it would have been like not seeing the adorable flower girl forget to line the aisle with petals, or the ring bearer swinging the pillow around by the ribbon tied tightly around the rings. However, we’ve also been to weddings where an uncomfortable baby has cried in the middle the vows, or a bored toddler talked loudly throughout the ceremony.

Every couple decides what is best for their wedding based on their venue, their guests, the time of day, etc. Mr Frenchie and I made the unpopular decision, early on, that we are not going to have children in our wedding and we were not going to invite children under a certain age. As you know, our wedding will take place at a winery, and will take place completely outside. In our opinion, our venue does not lend itself to young children.

We have a few friends with babies (whom we absolutely adore) that have shared with us how excited they are to have a night/weekend for just the two of them. However, we also have a few friends who really want to bring their children along.

We understand that finding a sitter cannot always be easy, as we’ve spent many nights hanging out with friends at their houses, instead of going out, so they didn’t have to hire a sitter. We also understand that, for some, that means they will not be able to attend our wedding. But, if we bend our rule for one couple, we have to do it for everyone, so we’re standing our ground.

To get “the word” out we decided to approach any opposition on a case by case basis. We made sure to put the names of all the invited parties on the invitations and decided that if someone RSVPed for more, we would just explain to them “our policy”. A couple guests have emailed us, before RSVPing, to ask, and we’ve responded to each as diplomatically as possible. One couple has been less understanding than the others, but again, we are standing our ground.

Have you decided not to invite children to your wedding? How did you get the word out?

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66 Responses to “We Love Kids, But…”

1.
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Member
ASDJD (message)  178 posts, Blushing bee

no kids for us. unfortunately most of our nieces and nephews are horribly behaved. one constantly whines. there is no diplomatic way to not invite kids based upon behavior so it is all, or in this case none. and like you said, maybe some will appreciate an adult night out.

 
2.
Jessie516
Hostess
Jessie516 (message)  4,028 posts, Honey bee

We didn’t invite anyone under the age of 16. It just made the most sense for us for lots of reasons. We let parents know ahead of time, through word-of-mouth and email, so that they could make plans. Luckily, no one had a real issue with it, so it worked for everyone.

 
3.
Ms. Guava-Tini
Member
Ms. Guava-Tini (message)  519 posts, Busy bee

Our rule is no one under 16 - however, my two flower girls ( which are my entire bridal party aside from the best man) are attending. They are my sister’s daughters & I know they are well behaved and will be entertained by having all there aunties there, etc.

BUT NO we are not allowing any other children - not even my cousin’s children who would probably be the only one. I attended a wedding (actually a vow renewal) and I was just freaking out the entire time because all the kids were surrounding the cake and daring to touch it & almost made the place catch on fire by playing with candles on the tables - I could not take that at my wedding. I want an adult wedding and I want the adult’s to enjoy themselves.

You can have the best of both worlds by having only the children in your bridal party attend - however, only because they are children you know are well behaved - at least that’s the route we are going.

Just to put in my 2C’s!

 
4.
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Guest
twizzler

None of our friends have kids yet so it’s not really an issue. The couple of relatives that do know not to bring the kids. I’ve never been to a wedding with kids, so I sort of feel like people just assume kids aren’t invited to ours either.

 
5.
AbbyM
Member
AbbyM (message)  248 posts, Helper bee

We are inviting out of state kids, but no in-state kids. It is much easier to get a sitter for a few hours instead of an entire weekend. This has created a little drama, but oh well. Plus, as weird as it is, I am much closer to all out of state kids than I am to in-state kids. And all people that live in-state, live in the same town they were born and raised in - so finding a sitter is easy for them i.e. your mother-in-law. We don’t have enough room for in-state kids…at all. :(

 
6.
Gator
Member
Gator (message)  493 posts, Helper bee

I feel that unless close relatives of the bride or groom are young, it is perfectly alright to not allow children under a certain age. This is your wedding and you two are allowed to choose who will be there supporting you. I am a huge fan of no children at weddings and I am glad to hear that you two are sticking to your guns!

 
7.
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Member
KimberlyBee (message)  35 posts, Newbee

We had tons of kids at our wedding and I really regret putting “Mr. Smith plus family” on the invites. We did that out of kindness b/c we didn’t want to disappoint anyone but we blindly thought that people knew not to bring kids at weddings unless they were family or relatives. I just thought that was an unspoken rule that everyone knew about. Big mistake. We didn’t have enough seats for the adults b/c people didn’t RSVP properly so we ended up having to set up extra tables.

 
8.
Laurlyn
Member
Laurlyn (message)  65 posts, Worker bee

We started out with no kids but it was a huge area of contention with my FMIL, who wanted her sisters teenage sons to be invited. We went back and forth and I eventually gave in. The only kids invited were those three teens and my niece and nephew… Everyone else is being told we don’t have room. (a little white lie…) Also our reception doesn’t start till 730 so I can’t imagine people would want to bring their young children… But I guess we will see what happens when the invites go out next week!

 
9.
krissybee
Member
krissybee (message)  1,037 posts, Bumble bee

right now we are leaning towards no kids under 16. i can already tell that there is going to be some opposition from my FI’s family. In their family the kids are ALWAYS invited to any family function.. ..so i know i’ll will be breaking that tradition.

 
10.
LovestheBear
Member
LovestheBear (message)  875 posts, Busy bee

No kids in the wedding because it seems like it would put uneccessary pressure on the parents. We decided early on that kids will definately be invited to our wedding. We haven’t worked out the logistics yet but the event will be casual enough that parents that want to bring their children should feel comfortable enough to do so.

 
11.
kjpugs
Member
kjpugs (message)  856 posts, Busy bee

Most of our guests are coming from out of town, and 95% of guests with small children are family. Therefore, they wouldn’t have anyone to watch their kids in this city since they only know family! While we HATE the crying/rambling kid during the celebration, we’d rather have the family there with kids than not there at all. It might be a cringe-worthy moment or two but we weren’t willing to inconvenience family. There aren’t too many kids though, and I COMPLETELY understand/respect your choice… and kind of really wish we could do that too.

 
12.
cgruse
Member
cgruse (message)  20 posts, Newbee

Miss Frenchie I love that you are standing your ground. We are also not inviting any children to our wedding because we only have a few friends who have children and those that do are very young still. One of my worst wedding day fears is a baby crying at the church during our vows. We have yet to send out our invitations but we will also be specifically naming the invitees and any problems… well I’ll let my mom handle that! Best of luck with your touchy situation.

 
13.
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Guest
Andrea

I didn’t want kids at our wedding but my fiance does. It’s still a very sticky subject for us. We are having kids now because he’s so adamant about it. If any of them cry or are running around wild I think I will be very upset. My fiance says the kid’s parents will watch them, but I’ve been to his family events and see how the kids run around and make noise. It just better not happen at our Art museum venue. I don’t think it is a venue that is friendly for kids either!

 
14.
moderndaisy
Member
moderndaisy (message)  858 posts, Busy bee

I’ve posted about this before and got extreme answers on both sides. I do not want children at my wedding due to the number of kids in our families (10 under 10, 1 on the way) and the fact that they are mostly very badly behaved. It is going to be impossible for us to ’stick to our guns’ because there are parents who will not travel without their children and those parents are in our wedding party.

What we’re doing is not having a children’s table at the reception and telling all the adults way ahead of time so they can decide if they want to have an overnight babysitter or not come at all. I know it’s unfortunate that some people would choose not to come, but we are being very understanding and hope everyone will do the same for us.

 
15.
Tsrfrust
Member
Tsrfrust (message)  11 posts, Newbee

We both decided that we too didn’t want kids at the wedding. It was a very hard subject but I think we made a good choice. However, the only kids I did allow to come were my brothers son and sisters son. Other than them, that was it!
On my invites in the left hand corner we put
“Adult Affair”
I thought saying Adults only was some what tacky… I think it sounds more formal to put Adult Affair.
Good luck with the situation. I too hope it doesn’t hurt anybody’s feelings but again at the same time you have to step back and look and know that this day is all about your fiance and you! =)

 
16.
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Member
danielle318 (message)  35 posts, Newbee

I have come to learn that this is a really “touchy” subject. We have made the decision to have no one under the age of 21. We are having an open bar for the entire evening. I learned the hard way that once you say “no children”, it means “no children, not even your own nieces and nephews. It becomes an issue of why can your kids go and not mine. It’s best to make your decision and stick with it.

 
17.
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Guest
fashionjewels

I am hiring a babysitter for the entire day of the wedding. If a child is getting out of hand during the ceremony the parent can take the child to the sitter in the church. At the reception the sitter will have a room (ours is at a hotel) and so when the kids get tired or cranky you can drop your kids off at the “kids room” and go back to the party and enjoy yourself! I just didnt want any guests to feel like any members of their family were not welcome but I also wanted them to not be burdened by hiring a babysitter on my behalf.

 
18.
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Bee
Miss Bruschetta (message)  5,553 posts, Bee Keeper

We had to put a SECURITY DEPOSIT down for our site, and if it’s messed up in any way that can’t easily be fixed, we won’t get that money back. Even though we were already trending toward not kids, that definitely tipped the balance to make it grown-ups only.

Our invites were addressed to the only people per family invited. Simple as that!

 
19.
Miss French Bulldog
Bee
Miss French Bulldog (message)  6,067 posts, Bee Keeper

I’m so relieved to read that a lot of you are also not having kids at your wedding AND I’m not the only one w/ the fear of a baby crying in the middle of our vows :)
Thanks for all the support!

 
20.
KellyV
Member
KellyV (message)  1,299 posts, Bumble bee

We are having kids there, but are hiring a babysitter and they have their own kids room with activities, beanbags, movies, food buffet, etc. I think you are VERY SMART to stand your ground. Too often people bully the bride and groom into making an exception “just for them” which ends up being a slippery slope or an awkward situation at the wedding when one family asks “how come their child was allowed?” Stay strong!

 
21.
llc2011
Member
llc2011 (message)  462 posts, Helper bee

We are lucky becuase the majoirty of our list (like 97%) do not have young kids. We’ll be inviting my one cousin who is 16 and then the only “kid” really would be the 3 year old flower girl who is FI’s niece. Since it is a later wedding, it’s totally up to her parents if they want her there, or not. Other then that, no kids at our wedding.

 
22.
Miss French Bulldog
Bee
Miss French Bulldog (message)  6,067 posts, Bee Keeper

@Miss Bruschetta: That sounds like a good reason to me :)

 
23.
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Member
BnR09 (message)  87 posts, Worker bee

We decided no kids under 16. We knew we wouldn’t run into too much drama because our families are small and there are 4 kids on my FI’s side and two on mine. And on my FI’s side his cousin with two young boys got married ten years ago and had a ‘no children’ wedding and is totally supportive of that choice. Our choice was made because all the children amongst our families are at the stage of needing constant interaction and if they are forced to sit they need a video game or something in their hands. We’re paying for the wedding ourselves and having a buffet so it’s also not like we’d get a discount on a child’s meal. On our RSVP card we put “Adult Affair.” Since my invite set was one I could run through my printer I also made it very clear who was invited on the RSVP card and left no option for filling in extras. For our guests that are single, there was a single line beneath their name that simply said ‘guest.’ So far there hasn’t been any issues.

 
24.
Thao
Member
Thao (message)  165 posts, Blushing bee

Good for you for standing your ground! I think you’re approaching this in the best way possible. I also think it’s adorable when kids are at the wedding, but I am in favor of an adults-only affair personally. I’m bending the rule with my fiance’s nieces and nephews, since it means a lot to him to have them there, but I’d like to keep the children at a minimum. I hope when I have children, I’ll be understanding about where I can and can’t take them!

 
25.
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Bee
Miss Trail Mix (message)  1,082 posts, Bumble bee

No kids for us either, under the age of 12…Which will hopefully put a stop to all those out-of-town relatives on FH’s side who I don’t even know from coming! I’m still going to hire a babysitter or two so that parents can attend without having to worry…

 
26.
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Bee
Miss Star (message)  1,280 posts, Bumble bee

Actually, we’ve made the rather controversial decision to have no one under the age of 21, minus our actual siblings (Mr. Star has two brothers who are in their late teens and I have my two baby sisters who have a babysitter already coming just to watch them!). It’s caused a small bit of drama, but mostly our in-laws have been dealing with their family members who don’t agree. Stay strong!

 
27.
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Member
sarsk624 (message)  346 posts, Helper bee

It is a tough one. I haven’t heard anything personally but I know some of my FILs side of the family aren’t pleased because several of them have infants. But I just can’t allow them since I can’t afford them/fit them in the venue. We’d have 25 kids bumping us out of our budget and our space constraints, 6 of them under a year. We are having no kids except for my flower girls and ring bearer. Stand your ground. i just really believe most weddings aren’t a place for children and I find it really rude when people try to bring their kids.

 
28.
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Guest
meg

we aren’t having anyone under 21 either, with the exception of our flower girl whom we already know is exceptionally behaved. As well as only addressing the invites to the parties we’d like to attend, I included an insert with information on baby sitting services available in the area that I had already checked out. Most of our guests are from out of town, so if they still want to travel with their kids for the weekend, they can then get a sitter at the hotel while they are at the wedding. We’ve had one response from a couple that was not happy with our plans, but we’re just staying strong.

 
29.
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Guest
Lolo7835

For my cousin’s wedding it was no children other than family. (which were the people she was most concerned about anyways) This still included her brother’s 5 girls, our aunt’s 2 and half year old twins, her sister’s baby (who was still breastfeeding), and 3 of her husband’s young cousin’s. All 13 of them were very very well behaved, but it did still feel like a romp a room at times.

Because she had such a large number inside family, it made it much much easier to tell other guests no kids. Most of them were pretty understanding, and those that weren’t well….they left early anyway. :)

 
30.
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Bee
Miss Labrador (message)  1,325 posts, Bumble bee

Miss Frenchie, I could have written this post myself. I hear ya girl!

 
31.
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Guest
mslinh210

well we are inviting everyone and their kids but during the ceremony we are making a room where all the kids should stay until the ceremony is over…the fathers or moms whoever wants to willl stay in the room with them…im planning on getting some toys and legos which will keep them occupied for half hour…:)

 
32.
spraguebride
Member
spraguebride (message)  352 posts, Helper bee

We are not inviting kids to the wedding except for the 4 that are the flower girls and ring bearers. They will be in the wedding and cane come to the reception for dinner…but will leave at 8pm
It has been a big issue. One person was really upset and her child on under 2!! Are you serious?! Why people think a kid THAT YOUNG should be at a wedding is beyond me. IT has been really hard..but I am just sticking to my guns. I dont think I am being unreasonable..

 
33.
Soon2BeMrsCLW3
Member
Soon2BeMrsCLW3 (message)  192 posts, Blushing bee

ugh….my BF has 17 (or 21 I lost count) nieces and nephews on his side….which im SURE he is going to want them all in attendance at the wedding….ughhhh….maybe i should stain proof my wedding dress now. i just had this horrible thought of one of them throwing red kool-aid down my dress “for fun.”
uughhhhhhhhhhh

 
34.
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Bee
Miss Stiletto (message)  761 posts, Busy bee

We opted for no kids. My parents were NOT comfortable with the idea, but it really boiled down to a few of my cousins who have kids that were causing the strife, but they finally told the family it was adult-only, and then our invitations say “adult only reception.” I’ve read that it can be poor etiquette to call it out like that, but our invites are pretty informal so I was okay with breakin’ the rule!

I think people with kids are used to receptions going both ways…and sometimes it’s nice for them to just have a date night out!

 
35.
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Member
oawbride (message)  24 posts, Newbee

I hear you, Miss FB! We’re not having any kids, except one - my FI’s daughter, who will be the only one standing up with us during the ceremony. She’s 5, so she’ll probably make it to the end of dinner and then leave to go to bed. We are having an evening semi-destination wedding, so we’re hoping most guests treat it as a nice night away from the kids. I have two close friends that will have babies less than 3 months old at the time of our wedding. They are both excited to leave them with their grandparents and have a night away with adults. We are having a small wedding (50 or so guests), if we had included kids it would have added significantly to our numbers. We are hoping that having an evening wedding helps alleviate some of the kid issues. I am sure we will encounter a few problems, but I think everyone has a few guest issues no matter what they decide.

 
36.
Miss Chicken
Member
Miss Chicken (message)  225 posts, Helper bee

Thanks for doing this post! I was feeling like a bit of an ogre. Because I have a HUGE family and the Mr. does not…we decided that nobody under 20 would be invited…but that doesnt mean everyone over twenty would be invited either (I’m a woman on a budget here!)…I thought everything would be fine, that would be my golden rule…until I realized I am inviting cousins from out of province that have babies. I can’t exactly ask them to leave their babies at home for days or a week with someone.

So I find myself slightly torn. I feel excited about young ones being there, but at the same time I am terrified of a toddler talking/crying during the ceremony (especially since the ceremony will be like 10-15 minutes MAX). And, because these two children are there, how many other people will want to show up with kids! Moreover, we are having maximum 80 people (ourselves included), I hope toddler heads don’t contribute to the head count! Gah…so frusturating.

 
37.
ms.pascua
Member
ms.pascua (message)  197 posts, Blushing bee

@Miss French Bulldog: I think it’s awesome that you’re standing your ground…I’m going to channel some of your strength in order to stand my ground on different invite issue - no unmarried/unengaged significant others. Sadly, our budget just won’t fit these extra guests, some of whom are asked just to have a date (not honor a long term relationship). Happily, we have only three single friends & I have three single relatives, none of whom are in a long-term relationship at the moment, so hopefully they will understand.

@LovestheBear: We, also have decided to have children at the wedding & reception. In fact, because it was so important to us to honor the families (most of our friends & relatives already have kids, so to not include kids would have made for a sparse wedding), we planned for a family-focused event - daytime wedding, lunch reception, kid-inclusive activities. Hopefully both our weddings go well!

 
38.
BeachyBride2010
Member
BeachyBride2010 (message)  314 posts, Helper bee

NO kids for us, including OUR OWN!
We each have a teenager, and our solution was an adults-only all-inclusive resort. Problem solved.
We’ll have a kid-family friendly event back at home next summer!

 
39.
mskalinin
Member
mskalinin (message)  580 posts, Busy bee

I guess I am on the other side of the fence here, as I can not imagine having no kids at our wedding. Children, especially members of my extended family, kind of represent the next stage for us to me. I think its nice to hear the sound of a baby fussing when everything is quiet, and I love seeing my young cousins running around and interacting with all the adults.

All the weddings I have been to have had children there. If a toddler starts screaming, the parent gets up and walk out with him/her. I have family who are opting not to bring their children because they don’t want to be taken away from viewing things, but I wouldn’t prohibit them from bringing their kids. They’re part of my family, too!

To each their own, as they say! Luckily, my fiance and I are of the same mind on this one!

 
40.
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Guest
rhodeygirl

we are only having the ringbearer and flower girl plus two newborns who can’t leave their mommies. we also offered a babysitter on site for any kids whose parents might not be able to find a sitter, but no one took us up on it (we had rented a room for that specific purpose). i think if ur not having kids it might be a nice offer to hire a babysitter for all the kids?

 
41.
creme_de_violet
Member
creme_de_violet (message)  301 posts, Helper bee

We will have a few kids at our wedding under the age of 12… say 20-ish. Yea… 20 kids at the wedding! My mom kept telling me it’s rude in Chinese culture to not invite kids so I guess they are coming.

 
42.
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West Coast Bride (message)  672 posts, Busy bee

I hear ya! Parents have varying levels of comfort and resources available to them so you’re bound to elicit a variety of reactions on any issue that affects them as parents (some people have no trustworthy babysitting resources for example, while others just won’t leave their kids with a babysitter). I’m not an insensitive person, and I will often spend time at the home of friends who are parents as opposed to going out (like you mentioned) but I don’t particularly cater to the wishes of friends with kids. I’m not a parent so I don’t really see that as my responsibility to take on. Stay strong!

 
43.
Miss Poodle
Bee
Miss Poodle (message)  3,020 posts, Sugar bee

I’m right there with you Miss Frenchie, we also decided not to have kids at the wedding. I’m hoping we can stay strong on that one ;)

 
44.
Jenniphyr
Member
Jenniphyr (message)  1,397 posts, Bumble bee

We haven’t decided yet…I don’t want kids there, at all (like, no one under 18), but my fiance wants a couple of his cousins to come…however, because of their age, we wouldn’t be able to draw an age limit, and it would allow another one of his aunts to bring her un-disciplined children with her. And yet…this aunt is the one who would absolutely EXPLODE if we set a no-kids rule. Ugh!

 
45.
Champagne Wishes
Member
Champagne Wishes (message)  486 posts, Helper bee

I WISH we could have an adult reception only. But with 5 flower girls, 2 ring barriers and out of town guest with children, I just don’t know how we can do adult only without hiring babysitters… which is out of the financial question!

 
46.
MsHymanRoth
Member
MsHymanRoth (message)  2,431 posts, Buzzing bee

I knew right when we were engaged that fiances nephew would be our ringboy, but I also knew that I did not want any other children to attend our wedding. Now I have a flower girl and ringboy (2 1/2 and 5)!

Both of the parents have said they do not want to watch the children and want them to go home right after the ceremony, which is fine and what I actually prefer.

So there will be no children!

 
47.
mklove
Member
mklove (message)  355 posts, Helper bee

We had children in the wedding party, but opted not to have children at our reception. We hired a babysitter for the children in the wedding. We let our guest know by word of mouth and on our invitations. We worded the reception as Adult Only. I had no complaints or requests. Good luck!

 
48.
ladybuglove
Member
ladybuglove (message)  707 posts, Busy bee

i am not having kids because as much as i love them, i want an adult party. i am making an exception and i think it’s a fair one. i will allow the 6 kids in my wedding (8-12 y.o. girls) to attend. i don’t feel it’s fair to have them in the ceremony and not invite them to the reception. they are all very well behaved. most importantly, my venue has limitations as to guest count, so i would much rather have my adult friends and family there than kids i am not close to. i don’t understand how some people can go so far as to bring their kids after being specifically told not to, or question you about your decision to bring kids when it is not their party. and they think you are the rude ones, to top it off!

 
49.
caserulzall
Member
caserulzall (message)  22 posts, Newbee

I remember going to a wedding as a kid and loving it and it shaped my wedding and I think its a experience that one should partake in. Didn’t you as a kid get to a go to a wedding and don’t you remember how wonderful it was. All these Adult only things are crazy, in order to be an adult you had to be a kid.

 
50.
Amber1279
Member
Amber1279 (message)  316 posts, Helper bee

@mskalinin:
I am right there with you … I can’t imagine my wedding day without kids around.

I have 2 kids of my own (7 & 5) I think it would be heart breaking to not have them there.

In addition, at this stage in my life many friends have kids (that are friends of my kids).

 
51.
Amber1279
Member
Amber1279 (message)  316 posts, Helper bee

@caserulzall:
I agree … I think people forget those memories and get wrapped up in the “perfection” of the day.

 
52.
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Guest
Reba

As we are very limited by space, I do not even get to invite my adult cousins, let alone kids. I am setting a 10 year old age limit, and adding a note in the invites to those with kids who are out of state.

 
53.
Miss French Bulldog
Bee
Miss French Bulldog (message)  6,067 posts, Bee Keeper

@caserulzall: I can see where you are coming from and respect that, but I did not attend any weddings when I was a kid, so I cannot relate to those memories.
I have been to weddings where I cannot imagine what it would have been like w/o the kids that attended but I have also been to weddings where it wasn’t appropriate to have kids and someone brought them anyway. I don’t think it is crazy for someone to want an adults only wedding, just like I don’t think it is crazy for someone to choose to have children at their wedding. I think it should be the bride and grooms decision of how they want their wedding day to be and the guests should respect that or simply not attend.

@Amber1279: I think anyone could understand that it is a different situation for everyone, especially those that already have children. Different brides (and grooms) have an idea of how they want their wedding to be. We all know things will go wrong and it wont be perfect. In my case there are some things I can control ahead of time and this is one of them.

 
54.
ColorCoated
Member
ColorCoated (message)  951 posts, Busy bee

The FI and I got really lucky with the whole kids thing :). At the time of our wedding, the youngest person in my family will be a cousin a 21, and the youngest in FI’s family will be 13. None of our friends have kids yet, so we’ll have one 13 year old at the wedding, and no one else under 21.
We just got lucky - the ‘no kids’ doesn’t have to be an issue for us :).

 
55.
Lillindy
Hostess
Lillindy (message)  4,266 posts, Honey bee

I couldn’t have imagined my wedding without kids, so they were in attendance. BUT, good for you on making a decision and sticking to it! Sorry some people are giving you a hard time, but hey it’s your day, so it’s your way!

 
56.
KatieBug3017
Member
KatieBug3017 (message)  1,434 posts, Bumble bee

Thankfully, we are fortunate that none of our family/friends have young children, aside from my FI’s brother, who has 3 young children, and 2 of them will be serving as flower girl and ring bearer. I honestly don’t know what I’d do if I had to make that kind of announcement/decision…I’m with you on being wary of a baby/toddler making noise and interrupting the ceremony, etc! Eeeek.

 
57.
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Member
YSAP2M (message)  209 posts, Helper bee

The last wedding i was at there were 4 kids running around the wedding party table. Nobody could hear the speeches. One of the kids had a stinky diaper and was running amok during dinner time. It was unfortunate because the bride and groom spent a lot of money on this beautiful event and it was like a playground. Sad..

Stick to your guns Frenchie! Your wedding, your choice!

 
58.
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Member
LittleWit (message)  51 posts, Worker bee

Our basic policy for the wedding is if you are driving to get here please find a sitter but if you are flying to get here by all means bring your children! Basically our families are scattered and I would never request that our Seattle cousins leave their kids at home because I may as well just ask them not to come. We are still looking into finding some fun stuff for the few kids that will be there to do. :)

 
59.
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Guest
Samuel

When you marry someone with children you are in fact “marrying” them. You are going to have a relationship of some sort with them.

 
60.
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Guest
qnsdaily

I just cant understand why people want or think its ok to bring their kids to a wedding. Im hispanic and so is my FI… so yeah about 30 kids between the two families, and both sides are notorious for not RSVPing. So I decided to make two sets of invitation wording. One in english and the other in spanish. On the RSVP it states each person invited and under the names I put how many seats will be reserved. We both are sticking to our decision on this, but it has been tiring at times.

 
61.
mandalynn17
Member
mandalynn17 (message)  1,071 posts, Bumble bee

We’ve also decided to go no children under 10 except for the ring bearer & flower girl and junior bridesmaid. We haven’t decided if they’ll stay for the reception, or we’ll send them home after the ceremony.

We are planning on going the “we have reserved ___ seats in your honor” and addressing the envelopes to only the parents. Hopefully that will get the message across. I gets tricky though when parents have one kid who meets the age limit and one who doesn’t!

 
62.
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Guest
Watercooler » Weddingbee » The Wedding Blog

[...] We Love Kids, But… by Miss French Bulldog [...]

 
63.
acloyd1227
Member
acloyd1227 (message)  42 posts, Newbee

We’re hiring a sitter, much like fashionjewels. The kids are having pizza instead of the more expensive sit down dinner and are watching a movie in a seperate room of the country club instead of hanging out with the adults. I’m in the business of children so it would be hard to imagine our ceremony and reception without kids. Whining children simply don’t bother me, but I can understand why they would annoy others.

 
64.
D.Marie
Member
D.Marie (message)  1,374 posts, Bumble bee

I’m in the middle with this!! I just wrote a post on my blog about reasons to have kids “in” your wedding!! Those cute little faces all dressed up…little boys in tux and suits are so cute!! And little flower girls make me smile! But when you know a child or children misbehave and dont listen to their parents or their parents really wont be paying attention to them then you know where to draw the line. The only child under 13 is our flower girl…who is the cutest little girl and also my MOH’s daughter who is 2! My stepdaughters to be will be 13 and 15 and our my bridesmaids and the best man’s son will be there…he will be 13. Other than that no other kids…I think no one under 16 may be a little high number…maybe no one under 12 or 13.

 
65.
Guest Icon
Guest
K.Marie

Oh my goodness! This is day two of the worst fight my fiance and I have ever had. He wants to invite small children, and I think it’s a terrible idea, since our wedding is on a Saturday night in February. He thinks I am being horrible, because I do not want children under the age of ten. He has two small half-brothers (1 and 3) and two nieces (4 and 5), one of whom is badly behaved and an attention-grabbing drama queeen. While my fiance is very laid-back, I am not so much so and will most likely flip out if one of these kids causes a disruption at the ceremony.

In addition, my fiance’s brother will be thre Best Man and he is the one who doesn’t have common sense enough to have his two young girls stay home. He’ll be too involved in his Best Man duties (aka partying) to actually watch his own children, so they will either be extremely bored and irritable OR one of his aunts or his own mother will have to watch them, which totally ruins their ability to relax and enjoy our wedding.

I tried to compromise with my fiance by offering the babysitting at the reception, however, I then also came to the conclusion that my fiance’s brother will be the ONLY person who would think that it is perfectly acceptable to bring his young children to an event that starts at 7pm where he will be unable to supervise them. For that reason, I thought it was ridiculous to hire a babysitter for ONLY his children.

HELP! THERE IS NOOOO COMPROMISE!!!

 
66.
Miss French Bulldog
Bee
Miss French Bulldog (message)  6,067 posts, Bee Keeper

@K.Marie: Wow, that is tough :-/ I didn’t want to hire a babysitter either b/c I would only have had one couple using the sitter and I didn’t see why I should have to hire a sitter for them. They’re adults and have children, they should know how to hire a sitter, right? Fortunately for me, Mr Frenchie agreed so I (we) were able to stick to our guns… unfortunately for you, your FH doesn’t agree. Are you hiring a DOC? (I highly recommend one, and not just for this reason) I would let the DOC know about the problem. If the children start to misbehave, put the DOC in charge of asking the parents to remove the child. You’re right your husbands Aunt or your FMIL should not have to worry about that.

 


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Mrs. French Bulldog
Mrs. French Bulldog Mrs. French Bulldog, Orange County Age and Occupation: 28, Administrative Assistant & Interior Design Student Fiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Purchasing Analyst Engagement Date: November 8, 2008 Wedding Date: August 2009 Venue: Bernardo Winery About Me: I've lived in Atlanta, Dallas and Laguna Niguel; although I've lived in Orange County, CA most my life, I'm a Southerner at heart. I work full time for a Commercial General Contractor (aka my father) and I go to school for Interior Design at night. I love modern design, music, wine, crafting, DMailing, my family, my Westies, and of course, Mr Frenchie! Mr Frenchie and I met 3 years ago on Match.com and have been best friends ever since. I love his "old soul" and how he laughs with his whole body, among many other things. We are planning our summer wedding at the winery near his hometown, just 45 minutes south of Orange County.
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