Although some couples may want to exclude children from their wedding, others are happy to welcome children as both members of their wedding party and as guests.
Kids at weddings can pose several problems. Should you leave them to their own devices and hope for the best? Do you organise a separate room with childcare, so they are “present” but not in the way?
If you decide to invite kids to your wedding, you need to take into consideration their age. A baby will obviously have to stay with mum and dad, so having all the children in a single room might not be feasible. But perhaps if you have toddlers, you can organise a separate room for them with supervision and activities available. Set up small tables where they can draw and colour pictures in or maybe have a TV set up with a Disney film for them to watch. It’s unlikely that children will take up your provided activities independently, so it may be best to hire a childcare provider to encourage the kids to get involved.
What if children will be part of the reception? Just provide plenty of paper, colouring books and pencils.
You might decide to have a kids art table. Get a bag of pipe cleaners, and kids can amuse themselves for hours making people and animals. You may consider clay, but if you do, make sure it is a clean-variety that doesn’t leave marks on furniture. Add in a few different colours, and they can create a variety of figures, faces or forms.
Many couples like to plan more formally for their smaller guests. One popular option is to organise a magician or balloon artist to keep them entertained.
Whatever you choose, you should make some plans to keep children entertained, evening if it’s a wedding colouring book and a set of colouring pencils. One option is a “kid-only” dance, which allows only the children on the dance floor. It’s not only sweet to watch but can also be quite entertaining.