We were just discussing a question we have heard a lot lately – is it okay to put “Adult Reception only” on our wedding invitation? Well . . . that depends who you ask. While adult-only receptions are not a new trend, it can still be difficult to ask your guests to leave the little loved ones at home.
Traditionally, the names written on the inner envelope indicate who is invited to the the wedding and reception. For instance, want to invite Aunt Jane and Uncle Arthur, but not your three little cousins (age 2 – 9)? Simply leave their names off the inner envelope. Have you heard stories from your friends that this little trick didn’t work for members of their family, and want to do something more proactive? Something we encourage our brides to do is to use the phrase,
‘Number of adults attending ___’
on the rsvp card. This way, you do not give guests an option to rsvp for children, and it is a much more subtle way than printing ‘Adults Only’ on your wedding invitation.
Unfortunately, for those small number of invitees who probably would ignore your request even if you wrote in giant letters, “Please do not bring Rick, Jr. to the wedding!”, there may not be much more you can do!
