5 ways to include children in your wedding ceremony
Here are 5 ways to include and keep children happy, calm and entertained during your wedding ceremony.
There’s nothing quite as cute as watching flower girls and paige boys giggle and smile as they proudly walk down the ceremony aisle, is there?
They melt wedding guests’ hearts in their adorable little suits and beautiful white dresses.
While some couples prefer to have a “child-free” wedding ceremony for a stress free wedding day, a lot of couples are choosing to include children in their ceremony for a truly family orientated occasion.
Couples may already have children of their own, or they may wish to invite their nieces, nephews or friend’s children to play a part in their wedding ceremony.
If you’ve chosen to include children in your wedding ceremony, here are five fun ways to involve them while you calmly say "I do."
Make them feel extra special, like VIP.
For around $5 at Bunnings, you can buy cute little coloured chairs for each child to sit and relax on at your ceremony. I suggest you place these in front of the first row so they feel quite special. Being at the very front of the wedding guests gives them a sense of importance and we all know how much (most) children love to be the centre of attention. As soon as your Sunshine Coast Celebrant starts speaking on the microphone, the school aged children will sit to attention to listen attentively. Pre-school aged children will love being in the front and the family members in the “adult” front row can also keep an eye on them for you.
Offer them an important role.
You have two wedding rings so maybe you could ask two responsible children to be your ring bearers? This role is traditionally held for the Best Man, however there is a growing trend for parents who are getting married to ask their children to present their wedding rings or for the couple to ask their nieces / nephews to be their ring bearers. In my experience, children with this role couldn’t be more proud of their great responsibility of holding the precious wedding rings and take this task very seriously. Very young children, aged 4 and under could be escorted by an older sibling or cousin (also known as “Wedding Ring Security”, complete with dark sunglasses and a suit - super cute!).
Ask them to read a poem.
Everyone’s hearts will melt as they read a super cute poem during your ceremony! This is especially adorable for blended families, when each party to the marriage have children from their previous relationships and the child(ren) wish to express their happiness of welcoming a new parent into their lives. It is important to ensure they are confident enough to read a poem, and to choose a short, sweet poem that is age appropriate. Here are some adorable and funny examples of poems to choose from.
Invite them to be a part of your bridal party.
You may wish to expand your bridal party and ask them to be your flowergirls, paigeboys or junior bridesmaids and junior groomsmen. They'll take the pressure off you and break the ice as they walk down the aisle in front of you. All your guests will melt as they elevate the celebrations with their cuteness walking down the aisle! Most little girls dream of being a fairy princess so they’ll revel in getting all dressed up, having their hair done and carrying a pretty bouquet.
Make sure they attend your wedding rehearsal.
Bring children along to your wedding rehearsal so they can have fun practising walking down the aisle with you. Once they’ve done this a couple of times, they’ll feel much more comfortable with their exciting role in your Sunshine Coast ceremony.
Do your best to keep them calm throughout the day in the lead up to your ceremony as they can easily get over excited and then crash with emotional burnout pretty quickly. There’s nothing quite as stressful as a child having a tantrum in the middle of a wedding ceremony!
Here are 4 tips to preparing children for your ceremony:
Ensure they get a good night sleep the night before. Early to bed, and let them wake naturally, when they are ready to do so.
Make them a healthy breakfast to stablise energy, excitement and mood.
Let them be entertained as they would love to be, such as watching their favourite movie or TV show. If they love puzzles, let them put one together. If they love to colour, buy them a new colouring book and special colouring pencils / textas. If they love to read, let them choose a new book just for the day so they can sit quietly on the sofa and relax while you prepare for your big moment.
You may wish to hire a babysitter to assist with their entertainment and then help to get them ready for your ceremony. Cherie at Nurturing Little Minds is a fabulous qualified babysitter on the Sunshine Coast, offering child care at your accommodation. That’s one less task you need to worry about.
Super cute kids will add a little extra sparkle to your wedding day! With some preparation, patience and an open mind, their adorable faces, proud smiles and cute giggles will add a special element to your ceremony, one that only the innocence of children can add!
For more ideas and advice on planning a Sunshine Coast wedding ceremony which includes children, reach out and arrange a quick call with me via Zoom or over a coffee by clicking here.
