My family has tons of kids. I am in a situation where if I put a cut off age for inviting kids to the wedding, there will be one kind in a lot of the families that won't be able to come, when everyone else will get to go (because I was originally thinking having kids 8 and older come). I don't mind having kids at the wedding though and I think I can work out with my cateror to have a kids buffet that will serve food that kids would like better and it would be a cheaper price. Everyone else is having plated meals but I thought maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea to invite all the kids if I can get a better price on food and make it more worth it to invite them. What do you think? Should I invite all the kids or just screw the whole idea of a kids buffet and just serve the older kids plated dinners too?
2007-02-11 08:12:59 · 20 answers · asked by Beffy 2 in Family & Relationships ➔ Weddings
Well, whether to invite the kids is entirely up to you and your fiance, but if your family has tons of kids, you need to consider their parents here. It may be completely impractical to NOT invite the children, at least of immediate family, because of babysitting issues. If you have the children, I would DEFINITELY provide kid friendly food, if you can swing the cost, because they probably won't eat what you're serving the rest of your guests, and you don't want their parents having to deal with cranky, hungry kids at your reception. Something my brother is doing (there are alot of kids in our family as well) is he and his bride to be are setting up a kids room where they're having the reception. They'll be a tv/dvd player in there, along with video games, books, crayons, coloring books, etc., etc. The older kids are going to take care of the younger ones--since we have 12 kids on my side of the family ranging in age from a 6 month old, to 18 years old. You also don't have to invite everyone's children, you can limit it to children of immediate family, that will contain your costs somewhat. But it would be a wonderful gesture if you did that, and I know (as a parent) your siblings and their spouses would be VERY grateful if you did that. You might even be able to get them to help with the expense--trust me--I offered with my brother's wedding (and he took me up on it too!) :-) Congrats and best of luck to you!
2007-02-11 10:09:57 · answer #1 · answered by basketcase88 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
With kids, it is all or nothing. Some families have kids older and younger than 8 -- obviously you can't have one sibling and not the other. Besides, with an age cut off you can get into the "well, they will be 8 in a month..." and then where do you draw the line?
It is tacky to invite some and not others.
You can very easily say no kids, and most parents will take it as a great night off and a mini-vacation. You can have kids and hire a babysitter for the young ones.
What I don't think you need is a seperate meal and buffet. Honestly, I have rarely seen a seperate buffet or plate for children. What a huge added expense. Polite children will know how to pick through a buffet or plated dinner, and in the end, they only want the cake. They'll be fine.
Again...pick one or the other, and skip the seperate meal.
2007-02-11 12:31:45 · answer #2 · answered by Sweet Susie 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
You're going to have to either invite all the kids(no age limit)or not invite any. Have you already discussed the "Kids Price" with your caterer? Mine didn't include 12 and under in their prices, but we had plenty of food. You may want to just ask their policy on that if you haven't already. A kid's buffet is a really thoughtful way to go and if it saves you money then do it for sure! Also, you may want to do a "Nursery" for kids during the ceremony. I did this at my wedding and had a few church members(who work the children's classes) run it. The parents really liked it b/c they dropped their kid off and could enjoy the ceremony without worrying about crying or squirming kiddos. Just an idea, it wasn't very much more expensive at my church to do that so you may just want to look into it. Good luck!
2007-02-11 09:11:11 · answer #3 · answered by emrobs 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Weddings are just not the same without kids! You can't really do a cut-off age either, that just doesn't work. You have to go by the families you will be inviting.
As for food, caterers are usually VERY good about compensating for kids eating even the regular food. They know that two kids are probably the equivalent of one meal, and they usually don't charge at all for kids under a certain age, knowing that they will eat just some off their parents' plates.
2007-02-11 09:19:11 · answer #4 · answered by Lydia 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Yes you should invite kids. Some family members might be offended if you don't. Plus kids are fuuny. Then can add a lot of character to your wedding memories. My son who was 1 1/2 pressed the fire alarm during my ceremony. Never will forget that. Serve the buffet kids are picky eaters.
2007-02-11 08:23:38 · answer #5 · answered by noneya10000 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
hi we are getting married early next year and we have come to the conclusion that only family kids are coming and also we approached the venue that told us that it was half price for the kids we were ok with that but it still added up we then went back to the reception venue and asked if we coulkd supply fish and chips for the kids and they serve it they agreed and are now charging $10 per child and no wasted food as i really dont think half the kids would eat whats on the menu! the $10 was for serving the meal and cooking of course but also include the dessert for the meal so we are really happy with this, hopefully that adults can contain them selves from stealing the kids chips though !!!!! approach the reception and see if you can come to a deal like that .
2007-02-11 16:25:25 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
What a tricky question. Kids will certainly add $$$ to your budget. When we got married we didn't invite kids for that reason. Adults can find sitters and they enjoy an evening out for themselves. Kids add alot of money to the catering bill and can get unruly. MY daughter, on the otherhand, hired several sitters and we had tons of things for them to do and the kids stayed in a different room all evening. They were served chicken fingers, pizza and other snacks all evening. Although we had prepaid the sitters each parent chose to give them more money for their efforts and for the comvenience. They made a pretty good haul that night.
2007-02-11 08:22:44 · answer #7 · answered by mimegamy 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
If you don't think that a lof of the people are going to come then provide a few baby sitter's for their kid's so that way it can be an all adult wedding at the reception. And provide a kid menu for the kids and an adult menu for the adults. Otherwise you will have a very small wedding if you do not allow the kids to come.
2007-02-11 10:44:51 · answer #8 · answered by jrealitytv 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
If you don't quite have the courage to bluntly say "No kids" on the wedding invitation, then how about this: Have a separate room in the church and at the reception with a number of babysitters hired for the occasion, and some foods and games that the kids will enjoy.
This way, your wedding and reception will have a nice, peaceful, adult atmosphere; it will be easier for parents to attend your wedding because they won't have to worry about taking care of their kids; and the kids will have fun and not get bored with the more grown-up atmosphere that they aren't ready for.
2007-02-11 08:22:16 · answer #9 · answered by catrionn 6 · 0⤊ 2⤋
You should either have an adults only reception or allow all children regardless of age. This is the only fair way to go and will go over more smoothly with the family.
If you choose yes on the kids, you could try to hire a babysitter to keep an eye on them & the parents would be very appreciative of this gesture.
2007-02-11 08:21:55 · answer #10 · answered by ~M~ 3 · 2⤊ 1⤋