Roles for pre-teens in wedding ceremony?

You could do junior bridesmaids? my sisters had flower girls in their wedding that are now grown- ages 11-13 and i have them as my junior bridesmaids! my FH has his young cousin as a junior groomsman!

How about greeters/ushers? Show the guests to their seats.

That sounds like a lot of child wrangling. They HAVE to be in the wedding? What about them just wearing corsages and a boutonnière to feel special? Only other option I could think of would be for the three of them to walk down together. They don't technically have to be in the BP. More like the family walking down to sit.

I would go with greeters/ushers. Its a good way to add people to the wedding and make them feel like a part of it without adding to the wedding party.

@Brianne ~ If you don't mind my asking, why do they HAVE to be involved? If there's no role for them to fill naturally (ring bearer, junior bridesmaid, reader), it may not be worth it to try to create something and add stress. I know when I was that young, even attending a wedding seemed glamorous and fun ~ are you sure they won't feel the same?

Do they like being the center of attention? You could have them read a sweet poem, as an alternative.

Perhaps they can be "helpers/personal assistants" for you and your groom on the wedding day. Hold your train, hold his phone, run little errands or carry messages.

I'm curious if it's really the kids who want to be involved, or if it's their parents who want their child to be part of the center of attention. You need to figure out what YOU want and hold firm with the kids' parents. I think SwoleMates had the best idea of getting them flowers and having them walk down the aisle together. Maybe let the girls know they can get a coordinating color dress. If you are having a trolley, offer to let them ride with the BP to the ceremony.

They could be usher/greeters, help with passing out bubbles/birdseed/yay flags for your exit, oversee the guest book. They can be helpers without being 'in' the wedding, and you can ask your photographer to make sure they get a pictures of you with them.

I had my two nieces walk our mothers down the isle and seat them and i had my nephews hand out bubbles at the end of the ceremony.

Possibly carry signs down the aisle? "Just wait" "until you see" "the Bride". Or something like that. There are numerous wordings on Etsy for ideas. Then they take a seat with their parents.

Thanks everyone for the ideas! No one is pressuring me into having them in the wedding, not even the girls themselves. But we are close to all the kids, were there when they were born, etc so I want them to be included! My 11-yr old cousin especially - she wouldn't be vocal about it because she isn't a brat, but I know she would be disappointed if she wasn't involved in some way, especially since her younger sister will be a flower girl.