Not only is making your own invitations a great way to save money, but wording them correctly can also be a great help down the road. Wedding horror stories about guests inviting their own guests are a dime a dozen. It can very quickly spin out of control with parades of teenager's boyfriends and girlfriends, children, and people you don't know. This obviously results in a much higher head count than expected, paying $120+ a plate for people you don't know, and paying up to $90 a plate for a child that isn't going to eat a quarter of the things on it. You will also have the people that beg for an invitation, make you jump through hoops for them, and then not show up.
There are 3 things you need to remember here:
1. Be firm. Don't let anyone force you into anything you don't want to do. If you allow one child, you'll have to allow everyone elses. Same goes for guests - if you allow your neighbours to bring their extended family, you're going to hear about it from everyone else. Stand your ground. Say no.
2. Spread information by word of mouth. Get your wedding party and family to help out. Everytime the wedding is mentioned, find a way to slip in that there is limited seating, it's getting out of control, it is not child friendly, you're paying for the wedding yourselves, etc... If anyone has a question, they will contact you. Hopefully.3. Be very clear on your invites. Many claim that writing "adult reception" on the rsvp card or invitation is rude; personally, I don't care. There are people out there with 4-6 kids all under the age of 10 and they insist on going everywhere with every single one of them in tow.
If you don't want to use the word "adult" on the invite, have the RSVP card pre-filled out with the number of responses you are expecting. An example: "We are reserving 2 seats in your honor. __ of 2 will be in attendance".
Remember, it's your day and your money. Spend it the way you want.
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