Wedding Behavior (But wrong age last time!)?

Question

I'm taking my 20(almost 21) month old and my 3 year old niece that lives with me to a small wedding (they were invited, it's their cousin's wedding) and the reception after (It'll be for only 3 hours. Ceremony: 11:00 AM, Reception:12:30 PM)

I was wondering how I should perpare them for behavior. They'll be wearing their best dresses and a lot of people will be cooing over them and I want them to behave. Help!

I'd also like for them to be entertained, but QUIET durring the reception. People will coo over them and then they'll get bored and want to play.

We do attend church, but they have Children's Church for the kids

Answer 1

Feed them lunch BEFORE the wedding. A good, healthy lunch with protein to "stick to their ribs."

Dress them at the church after you get there so they aren't wrinkly from the car seat straps. You can put tights & shoes on them at home with playclothes & then slip off the playclothes & put on the dresses in the ladies room. If you are worried about scuff marks on their shoes during the carride, cover the shoes with socks (yours, perhaps).

Bring soft toys made out of fabric with no bells or anything inside for them to play with at church. Fabric books are okay, too.

After the wedding, let them run around the church hall before buckling them in for the journey to the reception hall, if it's somewhere else. You may want to slip them out of their dresses again.

Don't count on the reception providing all the right foods. You should stash cups of applesauce, cheerios, cheese cubes, etc., whatever they like to eat in a bag. There's always big tables at wedding receptions -- plenty of room to hide it if you don't need it. Don't forget the SIPPY CUPS! It's mandatory for keeping spills off those dresses!

Also bring some favorite toys/books, or toys/books that you've hidden for a week or two before the wedding so they seem new to the kids. This will help keep them occupied. If they like playing "pass the baby" with all the relatives, that will help a ton.

Practice being quite ahead of time. If you don't normally go to church, find a local church of the same sort of denomination and take them every Sunday until the wedding so that they get used to churchy surroundings. Help your 3-yr-old practice saying hello politely, but if she "shuts down" at the wedding, don't push her on it. If Great-Aunt Sally is upset that your daughter didn't say hello properly, you can just say, "Oh, she's so little and she's just not used to all this excitement. But I'm very glad to see you -- what's new with you?"

You might also want to dress your kids in other dresses and practice sitting/walking/etc. like a princess, and then when you put their dresses on for the wedding, they'll know what you mean when you say, "Time to be my princess girls!" That always works on my two daughters, who are 3.5 & 5 yrs old now.

Answer 2

Usually there will be a side room at the church (assuming it's at a church) for kids/babies...take them there for the ceremony...then for the reception, find an area for them to play, and hang out there if they start getting antsy.

You can't expect a 20 month old and a 3 year old to sit prim and proper for 4 hours. It's just unrealistic. :)

Answer 3

You the two would desire to invite each and all of the toddlers, alongside with those 3 little bratty-sounding youngsters, or no youngsters in any respect- in case you invite another toddler you already know to boot those 3, you would be beginning international warfare 3 with your fiance's sister. i ask your self whether perhaps you will desire to hire a babysitter to visual demonstrate unit each and all of the toddlers in yet another component to your reception venue, faraway from the grownups, and faraway from the optimal social gathering. That way, in the event that they act like the detrimental little monsters they're, the wear would be restricted to a minimum of one section basically. you will desire to perhaps grant some toddler-friendly entertainment like a exciting action picture, cupcakes, and candy, and in step with probability even look into hiring an entertainer mutually with a magician or balloon animal guy. That way you do no longer would desire to handle the toddlers, yet they nevertheless sense lined on your particular celebration (and their mom will feelthat way too and leave you on my own!!) basically confirm you tip that babysitter lots, if those youngsters are as undesirable as you're saying. shame on their mom for allowing them to run wild like that!

Answer 4

Explain to them the importance of being VERY queit during the ceremony.