Weddings and Children

Barely a wedding goes by without a baby crying briefly during a ceremony, or a child talking (again briefly) during the speeches. This is almost always met with smiles and laughter and can be a fondly remembered part of the day. If, however, you feel your reaction would be more one of horror and embarrassment, an adult only ceremony and/or reception might be the appropriate choice for you. Alternatively, hiring a wedding crèche or sitter, and providing ample entertainment and activities for the little ones can be an excellent compromise.

Remember it is your wedding, so if a childfree event is right for you then nobody else can tell you you're wrong. Don't expect everyone to be happy about your decision though. Once you have made your choice, try to be consistent. Allowing some children and not others is sure to cause resentment, which you really don't want on your wedding day. A good way to placate upset parents is by having an adult only ceremony, but allowing children at the reception. This ensures that there will be some of the fun and laughter that children can bring to a wedding day, without any disruptions during your ceremony.

If you consider it a real shame to have a wedding without the small people present, but want to avoid any tantrums, then look into children's entertainment. An entertained child is a happy child. Many of the forms of children's entertainment available for weddings are also pretty fun for the grown-ups too (my personal favourite has to be Giant Jenga!) and will make for some hilarious wedding photographs. This, and similar lawn-games can be bought, or hired from various entertainment companies. A quick internet search should lead you in the right direction. Wedding entertainers can also help to keep the little ones happy. Balloon sculptors and magicians are the most common choice. Caricaturists will delight the kids and amuse the adults too. The budget wedding entertainment option has to be purchasing some bottles of bubble blowing mixture for a few pounds. This never fails to delight, and will look great in the wedding photography.

If, ideally, you would like children present during much of your wedding day, but would like them to be elsewhere and happily entertained during key events such as the ceremony and speeches, then event childcare may be the perfect solution. The provision of wedding crèches seems to be a real growth area within the wedding industry, and there are some very professional organisations out there. If you are thinking of hiring a wedding crèche or event nanny, then make sure you are hiring an organisation with childcare qualifications and current Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checks. An organisation with staff that hold first-aid certificates would be a good thing too.

With a little pre-planning there is no reason that you can't have your dream wedding with or without children present.