Planning a Child-Free Wedding? | Pristine Chapel

Every couple wants their wedding day to be perfect, and some think making the event an adult-only affair is the best way to achieve that goal. While there are numerous benefits to having a child-free wedding, here are three things you should consider before committing to the idea.

Some People Won’t Attend

Arranging for child care isn’t as easy as one might think. Not only do they have to find someone trustworthy to watch the children, but they need to set aside money for associated expenses and arrange for transportation in some cases.

The difficulty level of finding child care increases the longer parents are expected to be away from home. They may have an easy time asking neighbors to watch their kids while they attend an afternoon wedding, but may find it impossible to get anyone to stay with the children for a week while they go to a destination wedding in the Bahamas.

As such, you should expect some of your guests to decline your invitation if they can’t bring their kids, and logistics isn’t the only reason why. Some people may have newborns they can’t leave behind, while others may decline out of offense their little one is not welcomed at the event.

You need to determine who the no-kids rule may exclude from your wedding and whether you’re okay with that. If someone important to you won’t be able to attend, then you may want to consider making exceptions or helping with child care in some way (e.g. offering a babysitting service on site).

Check with your wedding planner as well as your wedding venue to see what arrangements can be made to keep kids occupied during the event.

You Will Receive Backlash

As noted previously, some people will take offense to a no-kid policy. People love their kids and often develop a belief that everyone else loves them too. There may also be cultural elements in play. Being confronted with even the idea that children aren’t wanted can make people feel a variety of negative feelings, such as anger, confusion, or that they’re being judged in some way.

You can prevent a lot of this backlash by communicating with your guests in a respectful and empathetic way. Instead of writing “No Kids Allowed” on the invitations, state that your wedding will be an adult-only affair, for instance. If you have a website for your wedding, write a FAQ gently explaining your decision and list resources parents can use to make arrangements for their children.

Believe or not, this respect extends to your wedding’s venue. You can’t disallow kids and then have your wedding at a zoo, a theme park, or any other child-friendly place. Parents will get upset they couldn’t bring their little one to a place made for them to enjoy, and others may feel your venue choice is hypocritical and disrespectful.

Thus, it’s best to book your wedding at a formal or neutral place, or at least one that’s not specifically geared towards kids. It’ll reinforce your decision and show your guests you appreciate their sacrifice.

You May Need to Make Exceptions

Life happens. People may be perfectly fine with leaving the kids at home, but something happens and the parents must choose between attending or cancelling. This becomes a major issue when the person in the situation is someone you want to have at your wedding, such as a bridesmaid or groomsman.

You need to decide early on if you’ll make exceptions to your rule and in what circumstances. For instance, you can let parents bring newborns or teenagers over a certain age. Whatever you decide, be sure you communicate this early and clearly to prevent misunderstandings that could cause problems later on.

For more tips on planning a wedding or to book our site for your event, give us a call today.