Whether you are planning on having your family/friends bring their children, or you have children of your own that you want there on your wedding day, there are definitely some extra things to consider to ensure that the kids are able to enjoy the wedding day with you. It is already a large decision whether or not you want children at your wedding, so it’s important to consider how they will have a good experience and be a bit entertained throughout your wedding day. Here are some of the things that you can do to make sure the children of your wedding day feel included.

Giving them a Job in the Ceremony

If the children are very close family or friends, this is a great way to include them in your day. Common ways to include them are making them a flower girl, ring bearer, have them hand out programs, or to do a reading depending on their age.

2. Providing Activity Bags

If the kiddos are young, they would definitely love something to keep them entertained throughout your wedding day. If you make an activity bag with coloring pages, puzzles, a noiseless toy or two, and other things you think will be interesting to them, they will definitely be able to keep themselves busy during both the ceremony and the reception.

3. Providing Gifts

Along those same lines, providing the children in your life with some gifts to commemorate the day will definitely go a long way. If the kids are older, this can be things like jewelry or accessories, as well as other items like a thank you letter. If they are younger, this can be a toy that they would enjoy.

4. Providing Games

Games are definitely a huge hit for children of all ages at weddings. You can keep it simple with some jumbo games like Connect 4 or Jenga, and you can do some other ones like Uno at their tables as well. This way they won’t feel bored if they aren’t on the dance floor and gives them something that can break up their evening.

5. Doing a First Look or First Dance

If your own kids are joining you for your wedding day, or you have nieces and nephews that play a big role in your life, you can do a first look or a first dance with them to really involve them more than just being there for your day. These special additions to your wedding day will really help them feel included and will be able to look back on your wedding day fondly.

6. Playing Music they can Dance to

Many of the songs that play at weddings may not be very familiar for kids, so if you want to make sure that they enjoy a dance or two you can always play a silly song that you know they love. Honestly, kids are willing to dance as long as they have some company to basically any song that isn’t slow, so I wouldn’t worry about changing your vibe too much.

7. Providing Disposable Cameras

The disposable cameras are a huge hit for kids because they really will run with this task and it can be fun to see the wedding from their perspective. Make sure you have your expectations lowered for the quality though, as some of their photos may not turn out with great quality.

8. Keeping the Ceremony Short and Sweet

The attention span for kids at wedding days usually is the toughest to manage during the ceremony and during the speeches for your wedding day. If you want to make sure they don’t get too noisy or fidgety during your wedding day, I would recommend trying to keep the speeches to a minimum and keeping the ceremony short and sweet so they don’t have to sit still and quietly for too long.

9. Providing them Food, Drinks, and Desserts they Like

While you definitely don’t want to change your entire menu to appease the kids at your wedding day, it is always nice when they are able to eat and drink things that you yourselves are providing and not have to stick with their parents’ snacks. If you can have some desserts that are kid friendly along with some drinks that are a little more fun than soda or water, this will definitely be something that those kids will appreciate. Providing kid’s meals, bite-sized desserts, or signature mocktails are definitely some ways to really consider them on your wedding day.

While your wedding likely isn’t solely focused on the children that will be attending your wedding, it is always good to consider them to really ensure that they and their parents can enjoy themselves for the wedding day. Including the kids into your wedding planning will ensure you have less screaming, less tantrums, and less stressed family and friends as a whole. If you need help figuring out the logistics of including kids on your wedding day, you can reach out to me here and we can talk over more of ways to include them.