Kids Come Too!
You may be at the time of your life where some of your friends or family now have small children of their own and the question is do you invite them to your special day?
Having children at weddings can be so difficult, we’ve all been to them where you can’t hear the the service for screams, the speeches for screams, the disco becomes a dodgem rink and the parents are beyond stressed out. But what is the alternative? You don’t invite them and then the parents that you do want there either don’t come, insulted you won’t have their children, only one comes because there isn’t a babysitter or they do come alone, but don’t enjoy it for feeling guilty or leave early to relieve the babysitter.
But it really doesn’t have to be like this, having children at a wedding can be done, it just needs a bit of careful planning about what they do when they are there. Have you ever heard a parent say ‘I wouldn’t normally go on a holiday like this, but the kids so enjoyed it, we really relaxed?’ Well it’s the same approach with weddings, keep the kids amused and you’re on to a winner!
Here are my top tips for a (relatively) stress free, kid friendly wedding!
- First of all, lower your expectations, if you do invite children, expect their normal behaviour, unfortunately despite the best planning, children do cry, they get bored easily, they like to run around and they also throw things!
- During your ceremony try to organise somewhere for the parents to go if the children become upset, make it easy to go to and reassure them that this is ok. If there is space maybe an area with some toys so that if their child becomes unsettled they can be quickly distracted. Maybe consider providing a video link so that they can still enjoy the ceremony too.
- If you are having a sit down reception make sure that there is the right kind of seating for the children, a high chair or booster (often best to ask the parents what they need), make sure that cutlery and glasses are no where in range either!
- Ask the parents what the children eat ~ child friendly food goes a long way during a reception and keeps them nice and quiet too!
- Organise some party bags for the speeches with items that will occupy them quietly, ask the parents for advice but often some colouring in will give you about 15 minutes of peace so one or two different things can be more effective.
- At the reception think about having a quiet area that children can go to. Children do get tired quickly and often some time out somewhere quiet with some appropriate toys (that parents could bring) can recharge their batteries and help avoid them them getting upset.
- Consider hiring a children’s entertainer. This can often occupy the children beautifully and allow the parents some much needed time to enjoy your Wedding. Parents relax almost immediately when they know their children are happy, relaxed and being entertained!
