Wording library
Adults-only wording
that doesn't offend.
Lines you can lift straight onto a details card, arranged by formality — with a note on where each one belongs and what it will be read as.
How do you word an adults-only invitation?
Address the invitation to the named adults, then add one line to the details card — "We respectfully request an adults-only occasion" for a formal event, or "We have chosen an adults-only evening" for a modern one. State it as your choice, never as a prohibition, and give no reason.
01
Formal.
For black-tie and traditional weddings. These read as house style rather than as a rule aimed at anyone.
We respectfully requestthat this be an adults-only occasion.
The most widely recognised phrasing. Belongs on the details card, set small and centred beneath the timings.
We have reserved ____ seats in your honour.
Goes on the reply card. It quietly closes the loophole where a household adds two names to a card that asked for none — and it does so without mentioning children at all.
Children are warmly welcome at the ceremony.The dinner and evening are adults-only.
Only workable with times printed alongside. A parent must be able to see exactly where their day changes shape.
02
Modern and warm.
These work best in practice, because they frame the evening as something parents are being given rather than something they are being denied.
We love your little ones dearly,but we have chosen an adults-only eveningso that every parent can enjoy the night off.
The most effective wording we know of. Almost nobody argues with it, because it is on their side.
An adults-only celebration —we hope you can let your hair down with us.
Good for informal and destination events. Reads as a tone, not a policy.
An adults-only celebration.
Four words. Completely neutral, impossible to misread, and it sits well on a minimal details card where a longer line would crowd the layout.
03
When some children are invited.
The hardest case, and the one that causes most upset when it is fudged. Shift the rule from ages to names.
We are delighted to welcomethe children named on your invitation.
Makes the envelope the authority. Applies itself consistently and needs no explaining.
Aside from our nieces and nephews,we have kept the day adults-only.
Names the exception openly, which is what stops it reading as favouritism. If you cannot say the exception out loud on the card, do not make it.
Babes in arms are of course welcome.
The one exception nearly everyone accepts without complaint. Worth stating explicitly rather than leaving parents to ask.
04
What to avoid, and why.
| Avoid | Because |
|---|---|
| "No children" | A prohibition rather than a choice. It is the phrasing guests most often describe as cold. |
| "No children allowed" | "Allowed" belongs on a sign, not on an invitation to a wedding. |
| "Due to venue restrictions…" | Invites a guest to check with the venue, and one of them will. |
| "Adults only please!" | The exclamation mark reads as nervous, which invites negotiation. |
| Putting it on the invitation card | The card is the formal announcement. A policy line unbalances it — use the details card. |
| Only saying it on the website | A guest who never opens the website is entitled to assume nothing was said. |
05
Common questions
Where exactly should the wording go?
Should I explain why?
Can I put it in the envelope addressing instead?
Put this wording on a design that suits it.
Wording sits differently on a formal engraved card than on a modern one. Evorrah designs the suite around your event, then sets your wording into it — invitation, details card and reply card as one piece of writing.
See how a suite is designed