Things to consider when Inviting Children to a Wedding

When you are planning your wedding to the person of your dreams, you will have to make a decision whether to invite children or not. This is especially true when almost everybody in your circle of family and friends have children they may want to bring along to your wedding. Plus, there's also the matter of children being part of the wedding entourage as flower girls, Bible bearer and ring bearer. If you do decide to invite children as guests to your wedding, here are a few helpful tips to keep them occupied and, hence, charming additions to the party. Just in case you need to be reminded, children can be charming angels on one hand and annoying devils on the other hand. You do know which category you want your children-cum-guests to be, don't you now? During the Wedding Ceremony You also want the wedding ceremony to proceed as smoothly as it was planned and rehearsed. The children can often disrupt the flow and distract the guests so it is best to keep the away from the venue of the wedding ceremony. Of course, not too far away as to make the parents worry about their safety and go after their kids instead of being witnesses to your beautiful wedding. The best way to achieve this purpose is to set aside a separate room for the children to stay in while their parents are attending the ceremony. Usually, churches have a small room where Sunday school sessions are held. You can ask adults or teenagers to look after the kids, hand out small boxes containing puzzles, colouring books and crayons, and then supervise quite play activities in this room until the ceremony is finished. During the Wedding Reception At the wedding reception venue, you can recreate the playful atmosphere in the small room described above. Your wedding planner can designate a small area where children can be served their meals by their caretakers, nannies and waiters. In this way, the adults can enjoy their foods and drinks without worrying about children getting in the way while the kids can just be kids. After the meals, the dining area can be transformed into a play area. A large table can be filled with art materials like crayons, markers, pens and pencils, paper and colouring books, clay dough and bubble makers. The children can then be kept occupied with their artwork while the adults enjoy the party. You may also add games supervised by an adult. Musical chairs, paper dances and bring-me games are great ideas. The play area can also contain a video game console, a small television and a few beanbags so that the kids can play games. Think of it as making the children happy with their own kid-friendly activities so that they are less inclined to bother the adults. Of course, you must assign at least one or two responsible adults to oversee the safety and welfare of the kids. The play area must be well-secured so that the children can be kept safely inside instead of running away. Ultimately, you should hear the sound of laughter and see the sight of happy tears even when children are around during your wedding.