Do you invite children to your wedding?

This is a question many couples are faced with and it can cause a lot of tension within the family. You just have to remember that it is your wedding and the ultimate decision about who you want to invite to your wedding is up to you. If you are adopting a “no children policy’, then stick to it and don’t let others persuade you otherwise.

If you are wondering whether you should or shouldn’t invite children to your wedding here are a few things you need to consider:

Cost
There is an extra cost of inviting children to the wedding. The cost is usually considerably lower (than for an adult), but it does add to the overall cost of the wedding.

Behavior
Some children can be so well behaved and are a delight to see at a wedding, but there are others who will run amok and will end up destroying your whole day. If the parents cannot control their children, and you'll know this before you work out your guest list, you must not invite them.

Entertainment
If you do decide on inviting children, make sure that you have planned some entertainment for them, whether it is as simple as providing colour in books and puzzles at the table or employing a specialist wedding crèche to come in and entertain the kids. Either way, chat to the various parents and put a plan in place to ensure that the children are entertained and looked after rather than left to their own devices.

What do you put on a wedding invitation, if you have decided not to invite children? Here are some options:

“Kindly note that children are welcome at the ceremony, but not the reception”. This way parents can choose to bring children to the ceremony but make plans for them to be looked after during the reception – it is my experience that most parents opt for not bringing them to either in this case.

“With Respect, no children please”. You can’t be any more clear with this one!

You may have some people not being very happy with your decision, but the bottom line is that it is your day and you get to choose who can celebrate your day with you.

There are always exceptions when it comes to inviting children. For instance, if some of your guests were nursing mothers, of course they'd have to bring their babies with them. Maybe you can arrange an area within your wedding reception venue where they will be able to feed their babies in private and somewhere quiet. There is no reason not to invite someone just because they have a baby.