This week I have met with two different couples who had two very different views on whether children should be invited to weddings. One couple were having an adult only day, where the guests could pack their small people off, so that they could all enjoy themselves, which makes a lot of sense, but the other couple were inviting lots of children to their wedding, and couldn’t decide whether to sit families with small children on the same table, or whether to have a big kid’s table where they could all sit together.
Now, when I got married, I had a one year old son and a two year old daughter, and all of my family were present so my children needed to be there; but even if I had a sitter, I wouldn’t have dreamed of not inviting them! My son was quite clingy in general, but by some miracle he actually sat on my brother’s lap during the whole ceremony and my daughter just toddled around the church, before deciding to use the back of my dress as a slide whilst I was kneeling down! Some of my favourite photos of the day are of my husband and tiny son walking hand in hand wearing matching suits, and my daughter playing in the dirt under a tree…totally ruining her dress but having a smashing time all the same! My sister in law was amazing and I didn’t actually look after my own children very much at all, and my friend’s lovely mum came to babysit for us in our hotel suite at night, so that we could enjoy ourselves downstairs.
I think, in general, people who already have children will be much more likely to invite and cater for other people’s children, and this is in no way a bad thing. In my experience, tables seating just children are fine for those aged perhaps 7 or 8 and older, but any younger than this and the parents are constantly seeing to them anyway….so they may as well be sat next to their own! Jugs of juice on the table are a terrible idea, and bread rolls with seeds are more often used as ammunition, rather than food! Colouring books and activities on the table are great, but most children have a tablet or gaming device now and these can be a life saver….particularly during the ceremony and the speeches, and especially if they have some child friendly headphones with them! 😉 For those who choose not to invite children to their weddings, I also completely understand that, and if I was invited to a wedding I would love to send my children off to their grandparents for the day and night, so that I could enjoy myself and have a lovely time with my husband and my friends, although as my children are older now, it was also fab at a friend’s wedding last year to see the kids on the dancefloor, busting a move and having fun with their buddies. Just remember, it’s your day, and if you don’t want to invite children then there is nothing at all wrong with that; it really is quite a popular thing to do nowadays, but if you do, then just remind the parents to remember their chargers! 😉