Planning A Wedding With Small Children

More To Consider

Today’s marriage atmosphere involves many couples who come to the matrimonial table from previous marriages. There are sometimes a lot of children in the mix, and that can get complicated. Children have a lot of energy, they don’t understand much of life, they’re interested in playing, they’re interested in exploring, and they’re clumsy.

You can expect whatever clothes you put on your little ring bearer or flower girl to be terribly stained, ripped, and otherwise maligned by the end of the event. You can also expect the tykes to be a bit uncomfortable, and can you blame them? There’s a reason corporate offices have “casual Friday”. Generally, people don’t find dressing in formal clothes comfortable.

Wardrobe Strategy

When it comes to the young ones involved in your wedding party, you want to find clothes specifically designed with children in mind. These will have an increased durability to them, and they will additionally likely feature some adjustable component. You can find options that won’t be uncomfortable for your little ones, and will diminish their restlessness.

For flower girl dresses, these have shown to be of high quality, and there’s a high level of affordability as well. You’re likely going to have to buy whatever dress or tuxedo you give your young one. There are rental options, but if they make a mess of them, you’ll foot the bill anyway. So you might as well lean into it, and buy a suit you can pass down generationally.

Entertainment Options

Entertainment is a good idea. Most wedding ceremonies don’t actually last longer than about an hour; maybe two at the outside. Often they’re done inside a half-hour. The reception is where long speeches, dances, and socialization occurs. This is supposed to be a fun time, so make it fun for everyone!

You might want to invest in a clown, a musical entertainer, or a bouncy castle of some sort for the little ones. You could give them some candy in the form of a candy buffet. Everyone can get behind that, and it will give the young ones something to look forward to.

It also makes sense to give the young ones an area of both the ceremony and reception. Young ones feel more comfortable around other young ones; they’ve got commonality. New friends can be made, and you can contain the inevitable mess. There are a few weddings that don’t have at least a handful of kids.

Advance Planning

Next, plan all these things out as far in advance as you possibly can. A year is ideal. If you do that, you’ll be able to cut down your ultimate cost in terms of things like catering, entertainment, invitations, wedding videos, venues, officiants, or what-have-you. The closer you book them, the costlier a decent option is going to be.

Especially when children are involved, you want to contain their unpredictable nature as much as you can with contingency cushions like candy, clowns, bouncy castles, toys, movies, snacks, or whatever works. They should have fun; giving them a fond memory of a wedding will make them more likely to look forward to matrimony in the future.

Look Through Their Eyes

There are a lot of things to take into account, but don’t worry too much. Give your young ones some credit. They will see how important your wedding is to you, and they’ll understand at a certain level how to behave.

Whether or not they follow that understanding can’t be determined beforehand, but the truth is, a wedding is good for them to see, and it can be a win-win situation for everyone. Just plan in advance, and try to put yourself in their shoes if only slightly, even though the event is really about you and your future spouse.