Kids at a wedding

We have two kids (they will be 5 and 6) and a few friends/family with similar aged kids. We definitely plan on having a kids area with coloring books, bubbles, board games, etc to keep them entertained. I think kids can be a lot of fun at weddings, and we will have special dances for the kids.
We’re invited to a friend’s wedding later this year that is kid-free, which we are totally fine with. Even if it wasn’t specifically kid-free, I know the couple and the vibe they want so I wouldn’t bring my kids. People close to you know you. Happy planning!

Hey Kelly!

This really is a great idea! Your friends and family will love that they can bring their kids and know that there will be plenty of games for them to play!

Are you children involved in your wedding, as ring bearers or flower girls?

We will have children attending ours as well. One thing I thought would be fun and will definitely need adult supervision, is to make an art piece from the hands of the children that come to the wedding. Canvas with different colors and their names. It could be our wedding colors, or fall colors, and I even thought about doing this with all the guests lol, but my venue is pretty small. Thank you for everything you do, without teachers we would be lost!

The smaller kids will enjoy that...what will the older kids (10 to 12) do..?

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Most all of the kids are smaller. There may be one who is 9.

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Awh That is a sweet idea. I may look into it. I was thinking of actually hiring a couple college girls (my neighbors) to be the "babysitters."

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Yes! That is part of the reason I wanted a kids corner. We are going to have 4 flower girls- All my bridesmaids have girls and they are all close friends (all the same age as well). Then we have a couple boys who will be ring security and only one to bring the rings down- the rest will be around him "securing" the rings. We have two boys who are a little older- I think I'm going to have them be ushers.

Oh ok then..lets just hope it keeps the kids attention..

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Yeah I thought about kid-free but I can't expect pretty much all my guests to find babysitters for the night. I am excited to finally get the ball rolling on this planning.

Our wedding will be small but there's still a handful of younger kids that will be there! Its outdoors and there's a nice green area next to the reception space so we're planning on having some bubbles, hula hoops, jump ropes, and maybe a ball or two for kids entertainment. Also some coloring pages to keep them a little more occupied during dinner and toasts. We're so excited about having our nieces and nephews there, this is one of my favorite parts to plan so far.

View Quoted Comment I've mulled a few things over. One idea was having them in charge of special group pictures (so they feel like they're contributing but are also occupied) and designating certain times for them to take pictures of guests with special props or signs ect. Another was to find some form of easy gift to give guests personalized by the kids. Then there's the kid carnival idea. Set up different stations of games

Sorry, it posted it without being finished. Set up different stations with games that will make them have to think outside the box and use dexterity. At the end offer prizes for all the kids. This will take up most of their attention and (bonus) tire them out 😁. Rotate the picture taking, gift making, and playing groups so that everyone has something to do and you get some really great moments captured on video!

We opted for a child-free wedding outside of those in the party; 1 FG and 2 RBs. We're putting together goodie bags for them and our bridal suite has a TV and big couches so I told the moms they're allowed to crash there if needed.

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I thought about a kid-free wedding but it would put a lot of my guests out. But that's a good idea!

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Oh I like this idea! I am also hoping the parents understand their children shouldn't just run freely. Since I'm a teacher I always feel like I need to help with kids, but this is my day. If they bring their children they are still responsible for them.

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I just worry that I would have to have someone in charge of all of that. Seems like the kids would have fun though. Ugh such a difficult topic.

View Quoted Comment It doesn't have to be a guest, you can always hire someone to corral the kiddos. It is your day and you are worth it! Having a good plan makes it a lot easier.
You can even break it into age groups. Young ones go into a large play pen area together with toys, and so on and so forth.

I chose to only invite my families kids because if we extended it outside of that we would be screwed on our budget. Originally I was not going to invite our families children but I found out my cousin from Texas his wife and baby bought plane tickets for our wedding before we could even say anything. I wasn’t going to bring it up as I never see them and it was a good surprise that they were coming plus I’ll get to meet the baby. So we drew the child limit to just family. The only other kids coming is the ring bearer and flower girl and my niece. I like the idea of them doing coloring books if they get bored. It’s an outside wedding that will have some games so they could do that too :-)