The question is should you allow children at weddings? The short answer is it depends on what you want. Perhaps you feel young kids will disrupt your special day, or they’re so cute everyone will be watching them instead of focusing on you and your man. You do have the right is ask for adults-only attendance at the wedding, but know that it may ruffle some feathers; especially if you have close family members with young children.
You can consider compromising; such as allowing kids to be at the reception but not the ceremony, or they can be at the reception just long enough to be cute, eat, and make merry before they are escorted out.
If kids are going to be present at your wedding, keep in mind the layout of the church or place where you are going to have your ceremony. Does the church have a sound-proof room designed for families with small children? That’s the perfect place for them as your guests can still see and hear the ceremony without you hearing the little ones.
Another idea is to hire a babysitter(s) to babysit the kids during the wedding and reception. If your reception is at a hotel, you can get a room to serve for this purpose. Rent or buy some movies and bring along some toys to keep them entertained in the room. They’ll have a blast playing with each other and with the babysitters, especially if the babysitters are teenagers.
If the reception is at an outside location, scout around for a nearby playground or nice grassy area where you can put some outdoor games and toys for their entertainment. Children at weddings doesn’t mean they have to be underfoot all evening.
For children who attend the wedding itself, put together some “entertainment packages” consisting of coloring books, crayons, snacks, and books. You can include toys too, but make sure they don’t make noise. A small firetruck with a siren would not be appropriate!
Consider the reception seating for families with younger children. Try to seat them together so the kids can entertain each other, and don’t put them near the sound equipment or, shudder, the cake table.
Children at weddings is a tough decision and can certainly cause some of your guests to be unhappy with you. But it’s your decision and one you’ll make after you think it through. If you do decide to have guests of all ages, just remember… anything can happen and you should just take it all in stride.
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