Are you going to invite children to your wedding? People have different ideas about whether or not this is a good idea, but if you are going to include them you need to cater for them properly as well. Otherwise things could go downhill and become very stressful very quickly – and that could ruin your whole wedding day .

Luckily there are plenty of things you can do to make sure the kids enjoy themselves as much as the adults do. Remember that they will have been required to sit still and be quiet during the wedding service (assuming you are allowing them to attend the actual wedding). So by the time the reception rolls around you will want to make sure they have plenty to catch their attention.

If the wedding is taking place in good weather you can make good use of outdoor space if it is available to you. Think about providing outdoor activities such as giant garden games – these are equally as popular with adults too. A children’s entertainer of some kind can work well also, as they are trained to keep kids occupied.

The trick to keeping the kids amused for the duration of the reception is to think about their needs separately from those of the adults. For example, a three course traditional wedding breakfast may not interest a child of four, who would rather tuck into a burger or fish fingers. So consider having a separate menu planned for the children.

Another good idea is to have an area they can call their own. You aren’t segregating them completely from the rest of the wedding party; you’re just giving them the opportunity to be kids and to enjoy themselves without running around and disturbing everyone else. Tripping over young and hyperactive children is not what most people want at their wedding! If you opt for this make sure someone will be available to watch them as well.

An integral part of many weddings is the tradition of having wedding favours for everyone who attends. This is a nice way of thanking people for attending, and you can extend the same idea to cater for the children in attendance as well.

Instead of providing wedding favours, select some party bags and fill them with toys that the kids can play with them then and there. Another good item to provide them with is a bottle of bubbles. They can use it in place of confetti as well as using it in general, and it doesn’t annoy people or make any noise either. And since these bottles only cost a few pennies each, they are a cheap and easy way to keep the kids entertained. Incidentally, some people have provided these instead of confetti in general anyway. It could be worth considering at your own wedding.

So as you can see it is possible to invite children of all ages to your wedding without them taking over and causing too much noise. You just have to make sure you are properly prepared for them.

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