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Planning

Is It Okay To Leave Kids Off The Guest List?

  |  By Jen O'Brien
Is It Okay To Leave Kids Off The Guest List?

Photo courtesy iStockphoto

Concerned about other people's little ones disrupting your ceremony but wondering if it's rude to leave kids off the guest list? We took this oft-debated question to our loyal Facebook and Twitter followers to see what the general consensus is. Here's what they had to say:

We're leaving kids off the guest list. We'd have a 25% kid ratio if we didn't and we just can't afford that. - Aubri Poon via Facebook

We're leaving them off too. I know some of our guests will be offended, but why pay for guests who would probably prefer to be at home with a babysitter anyway? - Melissa Kosowanvia Facebook

If the parents are child free they can let their hair down & have fun. Invites arrive with loads of time to bag a sitter. - @KittyandDulcie via Twitter

To each their own I guess. I'm of the mindset that it is a family event, and family includes children. Now babies or infants screaming in the church or during the ceremony would be the only time I personally would have considered not having them present. But each wedding is personal to the couple of course, and every family is different, so it may be ideal for some folks. - Simon Hammond via Facebook

I had this issue already, I do have a few kids coming (nieces and nephews and of course my own) but I left my friends kids out...it's a hard decision to make as I love their children like my own...but it's an added expense I did not budget for. - Shannon Black via Facebook

I think it's a great idea. The only kids coming to mine are my nieces and they are IN the wedding. - @meliswilliams14 via Twitter

I tried. Babysitter cancelled last minute so we got them anyway. One of the guests had to take them to a back room since they were screaming and crying during the ceremony so she missed it. During the reception, however, they were cute and had a lot of fun. So plan for at least someone to watch them from afar during the ceremony and you should be fine ;) - Kat Khatibi via Facebook

If you like kids: invite them. If you don't, it's kinder to everyone to leave them off. You've gotta roll with the punches with kids. Personally, one of my favourite moments of my wedding was walking down the aisle and hearing "Why does Lana have a scarf on her head?" from one of the little ones. Totally broke my tension! - Allana Robinson via Facebook

I am a huge fan of this. I know it sounds bad, but many times kids will dominate the show. - @BridalVogue via Twitter

We kind of left it up to the parents to decide. If they want to bring them then that's fine and if they wanted to leave them at home with a babysitter that was fine too. - Twylla Teitsma via Facebook

They weren't invited to our wedding, however, it resulted in losing one good friend who was a single mum and believed her child should be counted as her partner (very strange) and quite a few women leaving their husbands at home to babysit, some didn't even give us notice so we could account for their non-attendance in our place settings. Were we surprised and a little hurt, yes? Do we regret not inviting kids? Not at all. Children come to every other event in our lives, one day to enjoy celebrating with our friends isn't too much to hope for. - Lauren Hankinson via Facebook

Weddings are a time to celebrate two ADULTS coming together. It's an adult time. I don't think children should attend our upcoming wedding. I would not want a baby crying while me and my husband were exchanging our vows.... at expense to us at a time that's supposed to be the most memorable moment of our lives. How could I have a lasting memory of our vows if I couldn't even hear his or vice versa? - Davaline Forsythe Lavigne via Facebook

The only kids that are invited to attend our wedding next summer are our nieces and nephews (youngest is 4 yrs old). Some friends are not happy with our decision, but it's OUR day and budget! - Jenny Caron via Facebook

I think it's a great idea. Give the parents the day/night off! - @ShutterBrugs via Twitter

To join in this discussion and others follow us at facebook.com/weddingbellsmag or twitter.com/weddingbellsmag.

This article was originally published on Aug 24, 2011
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