When we first got engaged the only two children on the guest list were my niece and nephew and I don’t really count them as children. Since then though:
At the end of September my friend had a baby boy. She was the first of our peers to have a baby. Her son will be 10 months old by our wedding and running around causing chaos. I can’t wait to see him in his little suit and he happens to have the cutest smile I’ve ever seen.
At the end of January our new nephew arrived. He will be hitting the six month mark by the wedding. I might be biased but he is stunning.
Last Friday one of O’s friends had a baby girl, she was born a week early but at 7lbs11 I’m sure her Mum is grateful. This is the first baby amongst O’s friends and I think he is freaking out slightly that one of his friends is a Dad.
That is it for the day guests of our evening guests there are two more babies due before the wedding. One due in the next couple of weeks and another at the beginning of June. Oh and my makeup artist (good friend) has just had her 12 week scan, they are having an alien apparently either that or the scan wasn't very clear.
I’m looking forward to having lots of little ones at the wedding it just seems to be the stage of life our friends are at and it is wonderful to share that with them*. Our venue almost had a heart attack when we told them there could potentially be 5 babies at the wedding they only have 3 high-chairs, I’m not sure if they were horrified or relieved that most of them will be too small for high chairs.
So lovely readers I’m looking for any tips/advice you might have about how we can make the day easier for all the little families that will be in attendance?
*if you are not having children at your wedding that is your decision, we just made a different one.
I love your political (bride to be) correctness at the bottom..
ReplyDeleteI'm always shocked about how funny people are about kids at weddings.. I think if people have babies it's only during the ceremony that they need to watch out for crying.. but there again I'm sure most mothers with common sense would be considerate of that.. I haven't counted how many children we've got coming yet.. a lot of babies that are to little to be away from their mommies a 5 year old brother and a 4 year old god daughter and a lot of others in between. the only thing we're not doing is officially catering for them.. asking a few aunts to bring along some sandwiches and party food.. sooo tempted by a bouncy castle.. but mainly for me not for them!
my personal thought is weddings are a celebration of life, love and commitment and children are involved in that so why leave them out of the celebration..
again this is my own view and i stand by the belief that we are all different and can make up our own minds and have who and what we want x x x
Ooh, I do love children at weddings - all dressed up in cute wee clothes and looking adorable.
ReplyDeleteWe're obviously having the bouncy castle, but I'm also going to put together individual goodie bags for all the children - wedding themed crosswords, wordsearches and disposable cameras (with Martha-style photo lists) for the older ones. Colouring in pictures, bubbles and crayons for the younger ones.
Not sure about anything for the babies. Maybe little stuffed toys? Was also thinking of making pin-wheels and wands to give the smaller children at the church to keep them occupied during all the waiting around.
None of these things are to keep the children "well-behaved" but because I want our small guests to have as much fun as our big ones.
P.S Great disclaimer, the children/no children debate seems to be a real hornet's nest.
It's very sweet of you to think of the little ones and their parents!
ReplyDeleteAs you have so many teeny ones, perhaps you could discuss arranging a small private room for breastfeeding (if any of them are breastfed) and just a little general chillaxing. Big parties with screaming, overbearing and overexcited big people can be pretty overwhelming for little ones sometimes. It's not that they're being antisocial - indeed people ought to visit the chillers - it can just be a bit much. And no-one likes getting their baps out in public, still less breastfeeding in the loos. Sorry to be graphic but these are the practicalities! Also make sure there's somewhere to change nappies.
As for toys and ents... we're doing bubbles, toddler croquet, quoits, boules and badminton (well there's a quite lot of outdoor space). Simple is usually best, balls and crayons and the like, and there are lots of party supplies websites with cool ideas. Otherwise they're a lot like the older people - just make sure they're fed and watered and they'll be fine. If you're worried they'll be hungry at any stage, pick up some boxes of raisins and baby biscuits from the supermarket to include in a party bag (for the ones +6months only, generally. Look at the packets and ask the parents)
Lastly, obviously, don't be too surprised or disappointed if they and their parents have to bow out early.
Phew! All that advice dispensing has left me in need of a cuppa...
I wish I could offer sage advice but you seem to have it covered!
ReplyDeleteWe had 4 babies then 3 older kids at the wedding. My nephew was so cute in his tarten trousers!
ReplyDeleteWe didn't do anything specific for them apart from arranging high chairs, meals & the choc eggs. The babies were either too small or their mums brought colouring books with them or they were just kept amused eating then dancing.
OMG just 11 weeks to go! Yippee!
I'd never thought about saying no to kids, and our venue made it clear that they actively encourage people to allow kids (they take any that are staying on the farm to feed the animals the morning after the wedding). But I could also do with some tips on how to make it easy! I'm thinking games and treats. Most of the kids will be 5-7 years old, so perhaps a dressing up box, or some means of making a den? I'm quite keen on the idea that they be allowed to run around a lot. Nothing harder than restless kids on a hot day forced to sit still!
ReplyDeleteHi R, just had to respond from a guest point of view. We've got 6, yes 6! weddings to go to this summer and Florence will be 6 months at the first. You know what, just being happy to have the babies there will mean so much to the parents. Being relaxed and not instilling the fear of God into parents that the world will crumble if the baby cries during the service also will help. I agree with everything Catherine says too, especially having somewhere for mums to go to feed the babies. We had children at our wedding but to be honest I didn't even realise that the 3 year olds were running up and down the church during the service, but loved it afterwards as they were obviously enjoying themselves too. xx
ReplyDeleteA hot topic indeed, I only had my 10 month old nephew at the wedding and he was adorable. But my sister-in-law had no kids at hers because she knew one of the kids was a terror and that his mum wouldn't control him. She knew that would stress her out too much and could potentially cause havoc. So she went for the no kids route. Makes sense in her situation and made me think that the kids debate is like many other wedding debates, it's up to the people getting married to decide what they want, not for others to tell them what they think is right...
ReplyDeleteWas just at my cousin's wedding at the weekend and there were a lot of little ones (my cousin's two girls included). One of the people we spoke to who had a baby said next wedding they weren't bringing her as it was too unrelaxing for them – which I hadn't ever thought of. But on the whole the kids were just really funny throughout the day – my little cousins insisted on trying on everyone's shoes!
ReplyDeleteIf you have any insight, I'll be stealing it as two of my best friends will have had their babies by the time we get married!
I love children at weddings, as they just add something extra to the day. Plus, it's a good talking point for people who don't know each other. We had older children at ours so they had their own table with dress up bits, colouring books, giant crackers. I think the breast-feeding area is a brilliant one, and to be honest, seeing as they are so small I'd expect them to sleep most of the time! And as an added bonus, when they are awake, everything will entertain them, nothing child specific needed!
ReplyDeleteSounds like it's going to be so much fun x