Of course you adore them. It’s just that you have a vision for your wedding weekend that includes yoga by the serenity pool and boozy dinners under the stars. So how to tell people they’ll have to leave the tykes at home? You could schedule the wedding for the first day of kindergarten or find an adults-only resort. But if you care as much about your relationships as you do about your wedding, the only acceptable approach is to have a conversation. Call whichever parent you’re closer to and explain that while you love, love, LOVE little Timmy, you have this zany moonlight-and-martinis fantasy in which children do not figure. Be prepared for pouting, for tears, for the stamping of feet. (And we’re not even going to get into Timmy’s reaction.) Once everyone gets used to the idea, you may find that some parents even thank you—sometimes it takes a wedding to inspire a second honeymoon.


2 Comments

Chanize · October 13, 2012 at 10:12 am

I made a compromise for our destination vow renewal I put all of our guests with kids at a family-friendly all-inclusive (and left my own kids there with grandpa!) and the husband and I stayed at the adults-only resort down the beach.

And I believe if you have an evening wedding it’s even easier to say “no children, thank you”..who wants kids conking out underneath the table at 8:30pm just as Justin Timberlake is about to come on?

    Sally Kilbridge · October 13, 2012 at 10:34 am

    Smart to have two hotels; no guilt and everyone gets the vacation they want.

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