When Kids are Invited to the Wedding

Always a big decision when deciding on the guest list… ‘do we invite the kids too?’ Many couples set rules when it comes to inviting kids, like: ‘only immediate family’, or ‘only kids over the age of 10′. Most of your invitees will understand why limits have to be set, so don’t worry too much about offending anyone. And when it comes down to it, just remember — it’s your party, you can invite who you want to.

But today we wanted to talk a bit about what to do when you’ve decided to invite the kiddies to the party. First, let’s start with the invites. It’s always a good idea to be as clear as possible about exactly who in the household is invited to your shindig — so we’d advise adding each child’s name, as opposed to putting something more general like ‘and children’ or ‘and family’. It will also make the kids feel special to see their name printed on your invite — and help make sure everyone is looking forward to your event!

When it’s time to review the menu with your caterer, make sure to let them know how many children will be attending (an estimate will be fine if you don’t have a firm number yet). You can talk through the options with him or her for a children’s menu. Some caterers suggest half portions while others are willing to prepare a meal especially for the kids. Personally I would go with the kids-only menu so you can pick something that would be fun for them like chicken fingers and mac and cheese, or mini burgers and fries (I mean really, how many kids will get excited about a half-sized prime rib?).

And for the final touch — a goody bag filled with fun stuff to keep them occupied during the reception! This will be fun for them and keep the stress level low for both you and the parents. Some ideas for the bags: crayons and coloring books, simple toys like yo-yo’s, a slinky, or a mini etch-a-sketch. And maybe buy a few extra bottles of celebration bubbles and throw them in. Sure, your guests will likely be dancing around floating bubbles all night — but doesn’t that sound like fun?

If you’d like to go the extra mile, you can even involve the kids in the festivities. If you have a group of kids, you can ask them to perform a skit or dance number for the guests (which is sure to be a blast for everyone!).  Or maybe they could recite a poem, or make their own little toast. Some brides even coordinate a teddy bear toss for the kids to keep them occupied during the garter and bouquet toss.

If you think enough of these little ones to include them in your big day, you should make sure they have a great time — because then there’s a good chance everyone else will too!

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