Really it's not a great debate in this house, but I know this is a touchy subject with a lot of folks. So here it is...Children or No Children at the wedding/reception?
We have thought about this for some time now, but have not made a decision. We see the pros and cons for the parents, but we also see the cons for our wedding (I know a little bridezilla, but darn it, it is my one day after all).
What we like about the "No Kids" rule:
Parents get to enjoy a child free night
No strange noises durig the ceremony
No barrage of children hijacking the candy bar (yes, we are having a candy bar)
People can drink, swear and dance the night away as they so desire
What we don't like about the "No Kids" rule:
We might offend someone
Someone might not be able to find child care
See that list it shorter...lol.
We have thought about hiring someone and putting them up in a hotel room (or someone's home)to be the official "nanny" for the night. Drop your kids off and pick them up after the wedding and tip the nice nanny. We'll pre-stock with snacks and drinks.
Of course some of our out of towners might take this as an opportunity to have a mommy/daddy only vacation, in which case child care wouldn't be an issue.
Married folks...please feel free to share your thoughts. :-)
We had kids only because I wanted the special kids in our life there. However, we are attending 4 weddings this year, 3 of which Nathan was not invited to. I'm not offended at all. It expensive for the couple and even at my own I asked for young kids to sit on the aisle to ensure no disruption of the ceremony. You can't care too much about offending people... At the end of the day its your day and your money. They can choose to not come!
ReplyDeleteI offered to hire a nanny for my friend's wedding. I like the no children rule. Some friends of mine sent out their invitations to their "adult-only affair."
ReplyDeleteAnother con, some photographers get carried away snapping shots of the "cute things" children do, bombarding the wedding album with baby pictures.
Amanda - thanks for the feedback, I appreciate your honesty. It's nice to hear from someone who not only was recently married, but also has a child. We too want the special children present (the ones in the wedding party) but are not so sure about the rest.
ReplyDeletePatty - great point about the wedding album! I'll be sure to keep that on my radar and to have a very candid conversation with the photographer that we select.
In conversation with my mom yesterday she pointed out a very good etiquette rule. Outer envelope is addressed to Mr. & Mrs. Inner envelope is addressed by name. So if you don't include children's names on the inner envelope it's politely implied that the children are not invited. Then you just handle the response cards as they arrive.