children at my wedding?

Question

I Love the idea of having children at my wedding. The problem is every-one My whole bridal party and parents and feonce' say its a bad idea and we shouldnt have children at the wedding. I am just so confussed because alot of people are comming from out of town and they have kids...what are they supost to do with there kids while at the wedding? plus what about my ring boys and flower girl. there children what iam i supost to do with them afterwords. The hall where i am having my wedding is really awesome because it has three rooms i was planning on getting someone to take the kids into one of the rooms with toys and and they could all play. but no one thinks this is a good idea. what should i do/ do you think kids at a wedding is an okay idea. there is going to be no booze at all.

oh iam also planning on having a a menu just for the kids.......that coloring book idea is great i never thought of that

Answer 1

I think children at a wedding are a must! My daughter is getting married next August and we are having a "Candy Buffet" just for them! As well as a special menu for them to choose from for their dinner, and a coloring book & crayons that will come with it to help keep them occupied while thier parents are eating. Sort of like a happy meal. I say keep the kids, kick the grownups!

Answer 2

Children are a part of families, so of course they should be at weddings! Weddings celebrate the joining of two families, and that includes kids being there to witness the vows, and celebrate with everyone else!
You don't have to plan anything special at all for the kids - and the idea of separating them in a room is just awful. On the whole, parents take totally good care of their kids during a wedding, and the kids get together and just do what kids do!
At my nephew's wedding, kids got a big ziplock bag at the guest book table - it had a small (maybe eight inch) care bear in it, some coloring pages, some crayons, some stickers, activity pages and a pencil, etc. - thought that was a great idea!

Answer 3

This is your day do it the way you like. Well I don't think it's fair for everyone to put this much on you. These guests that are coming from out of town are they friends or relatives? If they are only friends I suggest sending the invitations directly to Mr. & Mrs. don't include and family. This gives them an idea that no kids will be attending your wedding, just keep in mind they may not show up either. But if you really have your heart set on having kids at your wedding explain this to everyone else. For what it worth we hope this will be the first and last marriage you have. These people must not have kids and what is the big issue if there is not alcohol. GOOD LUCK. The color books and other ideas are great.

Answer 4

I agree with you. I think that the decision to bring children should be up to the parents. It's not the kids that cause problems - it's the drunk best man who moons the bridesmaids. most parents know whether their kids can behave properly at a wedding or reception. I also think it's a great idea for you to have someone there to entertain the kids! That way, they won't get bored and they won't get into trouble.

My fiance and I have several friends with young children; we're inviting the whole family in each case. However, we expect many of our friends to hire sitters anyway. As for the out-of-town guests....things will be much easier on them if they can bring the kids. Finding an overnight sitter isn't always easy. I really think that many in-town parents will leave the kids at home, and that you won't have anything to worry about. Toddlers need close supervision (obviously); anyone over 8 should be fine.

Answer 5

I'll give you credit for even wanting children at your wedding. I'm planning my wedding now, and I made the decision long ago that we would have no children. The only main reason is due to cost. We are going on a dinner cruise and I can only have 120 people. If our guests were to bring there kids, that would count for 62 of our guests. This would then in turn mean I would have to cut my guests list. So to solve this I asked for a non child event. How I see it is this gives parents and others to have a very nice romantic evening together before returning to the real world!

But if you and your soon-to-be hubby like the idea of having children, then I think you should go for it. As long as you enjoy your day, do whatever your heart wants! Congrats and have a wonderful time!

Answer 6

You shouldn't give a hoot what the parents and the bridal party think....unless they are the ones paying the tab in which case yeah they have a choice about if they are going to pay for kids.


However you should DEFINATELY care what you fiancee thinks. It's "your wedding" in the sense that it belongs to both of you...not just the bride. Sit and talk with him about why he doesn't want kids there and together reach a decision. Maybe he allows the kids, maybe you compromise and set up another location for them, maybe you don't have them at all. Ultimately that is only something you two can decide together. leave the other people out of it unless they are paying the tab.

I'm sorry honey but despite what previous posters have decided to spew at you this is not an instance where you can ride roughshod over the groom and declare "my way or the highway because I'm the bride!"

Answer 7

Hi and congratulations!

I LOVE FAMILIES! (I come from a big family), so, YES, I like your idea of having and involving kids in your wedding and reception celebration.

You are already on the right track as far as the banquet rooms. Are the rooms connected? Even better.

~ My ideas:
~ Depending on how many kids you think will be there....hire enough babysitters. Call up the local high school to get referrals if you need to.

~ COVER the table with a white PAPER tablecloth (that way if the kids are coloring and it gets on the tablecloth....no big deal!

~ Set out coloring books, and a bucket (or 2?) of crayons.

~ You could possibly have little crafts that the "sitters" could do with the kids.

~ If they are half talented (the sitters), they could even do face painting!

~ Maybe bring in a TV and DVD player.

~ Get some legos or block....all kids love those.

Great idea to involve the kids. I don't know if you are doing "favors" at all for your guests, but maybe you could think of something special for the kids....kids are happy with dollar toys ...and make up their own "favor."

Good luck and I hope you have a beautiful wedding!

Answer 8

I think you and your fiance should sit down and discuss this. Everyone else is inconsequential to the decision making. I used to be very against kids at weddings because they cry and fidget and get bored easily. However, as I've gotten older there are a lot of children that I'm close to and it would feel weird to not have them present. After talking to him, if you decided to invite them just talk to the parents involved. Some of them won't even bring them regardless of the invitation because they want the night out alone. Those that do may want to be with their kids most of the night at the same table so you can make the other room available but be prepared for them to remain with the adults the entire evening.

Answer 9

I didn't allow kids at my wedding during the ceremony or dinner portion. Basically how we did it, kids not in the ceremony went immediately to the babysitting room where we had games, videos, etc. for their entertainment. We also had two babysitters. The kids in the wedding (Flower Girl, etc.) went into the babysitting room immediately after the ceremony. This was nice because the kids were able to eat dinner during the cocktail hour since they are usually hungry earlier, the parents had some good quality adult time, and I didn't have a heard of kids running, screaming, crying, etc. during dinner. Once the dancing started we brought them down to join the party, so they could haver fun too, but this way I thought everyone won.

Answer 10

I think thats a great idea. Kids have a wonderful way of lightening things up. All of my friends and family are invited to bring there children. The hall we are using is only one room but we are still going to have a kids table where they can color and play. I am also going to try a designate someone not in the wedding party or family to sit with them and make sure nobody gets into anything. Do what you want, it is after all your wedding!

Answer 11

You are one of the rare ones it seems. I find nothing wrong with what you're doing especially since you plan on having a separate room for the kids. After the wedding I attended last weekend, I'm almost tempted to come right out and say no kids. They were absolute monsters at the ceremony - although I suppose the parents were as much to blame as anyone since they didn't even take the children out of the room when they wouldn't quiet down.