Still stuck on what to do for our reception!

I don’t think that will be too long of a day for kids that age, depending on the type of reception you are having. Are you having just the same people at the ceremony for the reception, because in that case a nice dinner would suffice. If you are having a bigger reception and it will be a while after the ceremony (ex ceremony 11 am, reception at 5) then maybe get the kids a nap in there.

View Quoted Comment Yes, we were thinking about the ceremony in the afternoon and the recpetion in the evening around 5 or 6. I have also thought maybe get married at the courthouse a different day and have photos taken, and then send out announcements and invite them to a "celebration of marriage." If I wear a more casual dress to the courthouse, would it be appropriate to wear it to our celebration as well?

I would say it’s doable to do it in one day with the kids not being cranky if you can fit a nap in there or have ceremony like an hour or two before the reception, but you know your kids best. As for the dress, I would say wear whatever you want because it’s your day. If you wanna wear a ball gown to the courthouse, go for it. If you wanna wear more casual for one and fancy for the other, do that. I’d go with whatever you are most comfortable in. That was one of my big requirements when dress shopping. I wanted to be comfortable, so for me that meant no strapless dresses or anything like a mermaid or something that’s fitted to at least the knees. I wanted to be able to move around and actually sit in my dress lol

Girl we have 4 kids (Ages: 12, 10, 5, and 2). We are having a full blown wedding day: getting ready, pictures, ceremony, and reception. I think your kids will be fine if you have the reception the same day. For me, it'd feel weird to have the reception on a separate day.

If we decided to do it on separate days, I would still want to dress up like I did for the ceremony so I wanted to make sure that wasn't weird lol we also wouldn't call it a recpetion more like a "celebration of marriage"

I would do the ceremony and pictures in the afternoon and then just take everyone attending out to dinner. Have the times line up with your children’s regular meal time. That’s not too long of a day for children that age. That’ll be less time than most day trips (zoo, aquarium, amusement parks, etc).

I agree with PPs! Have your reception the same day - your kids should do fine

if you end up having a reception right after you could always cut it down shorter in time as well.