In June 2024, Valéry Khung married Mélissa, his partner of five years. During preparations for the ceremony, held in Menton on the French Riviera, the couple agreed on the wording of their wedding invitation. At the bottom, they included an unequivocal note: “This is a child-free wedding. Thank you for your understanding.”
These two sentences surprised their guests. But the groom, in his 30s and without children, stood firm: “We wanted to enjoy time with our loved ones and for them to be able to focus on the wedding, without having to look after their children,” he explained. “I also preferred to spend more money on quality food rather than on babysitters.”
All the guests respected the rule, but a friend of the couple − who had become a mother just days before the wedding − was disappointed that no exception was made for her newborn. The couple did not waver: “I told her that if she couldn’t bear to be separated from her child, I would rather she not come at all than have to accept everyone’s children,” Valéry continued. One year later, the 37-year-old designer felt all the more certain of his decision, knowing he was not alone: “A client told me he made the same decision for his wedding. It cost him some friendships, but he has no regrets.”
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