Are you planning on inviting children to your wedding or are you thinking about having children in your wedding party? If so, here are some tips I've gathered over the past few years.
In the wedding party:
1. Don't have them ready 3 hrs before the ceremony for pictures, take some pictures with them right after the ceremony. This way they stay clean, and you don't need to have an older bridal party member be a babysitter.
2. Have their parents practice with them. If they know what's coming, they'll be better prepared. The best Flower Girls and Ring Bearers are the ones that have practiced walking down an aisle, or practiced throwing petals.
3. Don't give them their petals or pillow until the very last minute. If they're told to hold onto it, it will get lost, dropped all over the place, or could even be broken.
4. Don't give them the real rings. In some cases the ring bearer might be older and reesponsible but if you tie the ring to the pillow, when you go to untie it, and it drops, rings are round- they'll roll.
On the Guest List:
1. Give them something to do. It's great if you provide them with small baskets with coloring books, crayons, puzzle books, and even disposable cameras.
2. Ask the parents if they would like the child to sit with them, or if they think it would be better for all of the kids to be together at a table. This is great because then you can put tons of fun stuff on that table. Only do this if they're old enough.
3. Be prepared for dancing! Usually the kids are the first ones on the dance floor. They love being invited to the big kid's party, and they're sure to get the party started.
If you're not inviting kids or having them in the wedding party, that's totally cool too. There are some weddings where it's just not their place to be. Just make sure that if they are invited, they've got something to do, this allows their parents time to enjoy the wedding!
