Kid-Friendly Wedding

If you finally took the decision to invite the little ones at your wedding, you probably need some help, advice and all the information to make sure you are ready for this.
A kid-friendly wedding doesn’t have to be a total disaster or a really bad horror movie.
On the contrary, if you are fully prepared and have thought about everything in advance, it can add something special, funny and really cute to your wedding.
You just have to read carefully this article, take our advice and you’ll be more than ready for a Kid-friendly Wedding!

When it comes to kids, we all ask ourselves the same questions, wondering if it’s a good idea to invite them, praying that they won’t make a mess and ruin your wedding entrance, scream during the ceremony, and all the horrible images you have now in your head… But I’m telling you you can definitely avoid all of these messy and awkward moments if you follow our kid-friendly wedding guide.

To start the process, you should have an idea of how many kids will attend you wedding and their approximate age. So don’t be embarrassed to call you friends to ask them in advance if their kids will come or not, and make a list of the names and ages of your guest’s children.

When you have this information you can begin to think about how and who you want to include in your wedding. Traditionally, the bride and groom will choose the children who are part of the family, but it’s really up to you and whether you are close to them or not.
For example, if you are very close to your best friend’s son (and he’s really cute), there’s no reason not to include him in your wedding.
There are several roles they can play as a child, and depending of your age and temperament (you won’t ask your hyper active nephew to carry the candles for the procession…)
You have many options here, the flower girl of course, the ring-bearer, the train-bearer, the one who will carry the “here comes the bride” sign, the one who will carry the “turn off your cell phones” sign (this role can be played by your crazy nephew and turns out very funny!).
The only limited role here is the ring-bearer as there are only two rings to bring, but you can have as many flower girls, train-bearer you want (not too many either)
Prefer the older ones, up to 6 years old, for the candles role and prefer the little ones (under 6) to take care of you train or to throw the petals along the aisle.

Another question to ask yourself in advance is their outfit. You will want them to dress nicely and this is completely normal but you have to make it right to avoid any “problems” or long negotiations with the parents. You can’t choose very expensive clothes unless you pay for it of course or if the parents are ok with the price.
What I can advise you to do here is to include the parents into the discussion and the research.
Share with them your ideas, what you’ve found and ask for their opinions; it will definitely go smoothly and easily that way.

When the fashion case is closed, you have to think about the W-day and what you will do with the little guests. Once the ceremony is over, the role they played perfectly will be over and the excitement of it too.
You have to entertain them and the most important rule here is to keep them BUSY.
So to create diversions, you will probably need activities, games and if the venue allow you to do it, create a special “space” for them.

Offer a Kid’s Meal. Rather than paying for 10 other adult menus, the kids will definitely much more appreciate a special kids basket for the dinner than a ”Lobster Bisque with paprika and crawfish”.
And create a kid’s table with a gift for each of them, and put pencils, papers, toys and games.

And to make sure the parents enjoy the wedding as much as everyone else, you should probably hire a Babysitter.
This is not an obligation but almost… a babysitter is not that expensive and it’s totally worth it, for the parents of course, for everyone including you and ensure that everything runs perfectly until the end.
Depending on your venue of course, you can create a “sleeping room” for the kids who will probably be tired of this long day and let the parents have fun as long as they want when their little monsters sleep soundly under the babysitter supervision.

Because your wedding has to run smoothly without stress or catastrophe, you should think about this in advance to make sure each of the guests, all generations included, will have some fun and enjoy this special moment with you.

Kid-friendly Wedding here you come! 😉