Kids at the wedding

As a mom, I can see being given a set of rules for my kids being very off-putting. I would definitely have some sort of signage at the candy buffet about kids requiring adult attendance. If you can manage a way, try to make it cute with a rhyme or short poem and just have it displayed at the table, so that it's not insulting. If people aren't following this then they will have to be reminded, but this would most likely happen whither they're giving a "rule book" or not.

View quoted message I've actually been trying to figure something out along these lines. My wedding party is completely composed of my teenage children, who will be 19, 18, 14 & 13 at the wedding. As of right now, we are planning on having 4 other children there as well who are MUCH younger (1 1/2 to 9).
We have multiple little table games planned as well as a photo scavenger hunt, so our favours are actually backsacks, with a weaved bracelet & a personalized handwritten thank you card, along with the game sheets & components needed for the games. These games are voluntary and can be played at any time during the reception (for adults & children) as something to help occupy time during transition times, or for people who aren't really into/need a break from dancing.
So because we already have backsacks, I am trying to think of a few extra things to put in them for the kids. I was thinking of some themed colouring sheets & a small pack of crayons, but my kids won't have any interest in those...I was also thinking of maybe including a fidget toy or something.

Hello,


I had about 8 young children attend from ages 0-9. I didn’t make any rules or notes to the parents. I knew that if any cried during the ceremony or were loud during speeches it was no big deal. They are little ones after all. To make sure they stayed happy during the first part of the reception (a lot of sitting) my FH and I made little gift bags for each of them based on interests they had as well as things appropriate for their age — fidgets, water activated colour books, little toys, pop-its, stickers etc. my MIL helped as most of the kids were on her side of the family. I gave the gift bags out near the start of the reception and hand delivered them to each table/child. The families were happy for the surprise and the kids loved the little prizes in their bags. We also had lawn games to play in between times of the ceremony and reception —unfortunately we didn’t have time to take them out for everyone to enjoy. But no one seemed to need them anyways.
Also — a note that my wedding vendor owner did that I was thankful for is if your ceremony is outside and there are very young children, have some seating off to the side of the ceremony site that is strictly in the shade. If you have your wedding on a hot day, families can move there at any time so it’s more comfortable for the little ones. We also had white hand held fans and water bottles for guests at the ceremony area to keep everyone comfortable.
Overall, having kids at the wedding can really only make things more fun. Those little ones tore up the dance floor and it was the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. Everyone had a great time. I hope having the kids at your wedding make it fun as well!

We invited several young children to our wedding but most of them ended up not coming (their parents had them in other activities that allowed the parents to still attend, e.g., Scout camp in 1 case). We did not have any problem with the ones who did come; they all seemed to have a good time. Some even got up on the dance floor with their parents!

View quoted message Okay! Thank you!! I thought it would make the tone rude if I did write a bunch of rules. I mean I will have a sign just that the kids are to not be unattended with the candy bar (since we have glass jars) but I’m also giving the kids some candy in activity bags for them.


Thank you again. I tend to pre-stress some situations and play them in my head so this 100% helped!!

Let's face it, a parent who doesn't watch their kids and let them run wild and create havoc without recourse will not take any pre-emptive message to heart. If you go out with a giant rule book to your guests about their kids, the tone would come off as you automatically assuming their kids are terrible.

Since you're choosing to have these kids present, assume they will behave. And if they don't, you can have your MC/DJ reiterate house rules. I'm sure your venue's management team will also verbally speak up if kids are being disruptive to their operations.