2 year old

knottie93f96a98e60cf4f2

Has anyone had in their wedding/see at a wedding a 2 year old flower girl with experiences to share? Does it ever go well?

I should have thought of this before, but recently saw a lot of people advising against this. I mean, one of my earliest memories is crying at my Papas wedding because when everyone turned to see the bride coming down the aisle, and saw me- 3yr old flower girl i panicked. Oops.

Anywho.. my daughter will be the flower girl in my friends wedding in 2 months. (And my flower girl in about a year). She just turned 2- but she speaks in complete sentences and typically takes directions really well. I didn't think she might be too young until i saw it here.

Some factors i think might help our situation.
-every Sunday she walks up and down the aisle of the church that my FMIL attends for their children's "mission march" collecting money for saint jude's. It's the same church this wedding will be in. ---oh except i hope she doesn't try to get money from people hahaha
-i will be MOH and my FI is BM so mommy and daddy will be standing up there when it's her time to walk.
-I've talked to my friend and she will totally not care if my daughter does something crazy or messes up. *phew*

What do you all think? Got any 2 year old in the wedding party stories? Anyone know of a two year old NOT wreaking havoc during a wedding? Lol

[Deleted User]

I attended one where the 2 year old did great. I think she may have forgotten to throw the flowers. She walked down the isle and went and sat with grandma who kept her entertained and quiet during the ceremony. My recommendation for your friends wedding since you & FI are in the wedding party, if you don't have someone attending as a guest that she knows, that she can sit with during the wedding. Ask the bride if FMIL or someone else your daughter is familiar with, can come to just the ceremony to have her sit with them to keep her quiet and occupied. During the reception you and FI will have no problems doing that yourselves. And the great thing is for your friends wedding if she freezes up, you can always go and get her and walk or carry her down the isle. This is also where having someone to watch her during the ceremony could come in handy in case she has a total melt down. They can stay with her while you go do your MOH stuff & FI does BM stuff.

TrixieJess

treehugginbride said:

Has anyone had in their wedding/see at a wedding a 2 year old flower girl with experiences to share? Does it ever go well? I should have thought of this before, but recently saw a lot of people advising against this. I mean, one of my earliest memories is crying at my Papas wedding because when everyone turned to see the bride coming down the aisle, and saw me- 3yr old flower girl i panicked. Oops. Anywho.. my daughter will be the flower girl in my friends wedding in 2 months. (And my flower girl in about a year). She just turned 2- but she speaks in complete sentences and typically takes directions really well. I didn't think she might be too young until i saw it here. Some factors i think might help our situation. -every Sunday she walks up and down the aisle of the church that my FMIL attends for their children's "mission march" collecting money for saint jude's. It's the same church this wedding will be in. ---oh except i hope she doesn't try to get money from people hahaha -i will be MOH and my FI is BM so mommy and daddy will be standing up there when it's her time to walk. -I've talked to my friend and she will totally not care if my daughter does something crazy or messes up. *phew* What do you all think? Got any 2 year old in the wedding party stories? Anyone know of a two year old NOT wreaking havoc during a wedding? Lol

I have a two and a half year old. I would not recommend using a two year old, it's an unpredictable age for temperament. My son has tantrums at the drop of a hat and then is fine. Or he'll see something shiny and off he goes to explore. That's the age. I would not want to give the responsibility of "doing" something to a child that young. 

Your child is not a prop, if she cannot make it down the aisle completely unassisted, then the answer is no, she should not be in the wedding.

knottie93f96a98e60cf4f2

@Erikan73 well my FI and her FI are cousins so my FMIL (LOs grandma) will be there near the front so she will sit with her and MOG. And I'm glad to hear its not always a disaster lol

And @TrixieJess my daughter is actually pretty pedictable. She will have a meltdown if you tell her "no" and about anything if she misses naptime. Lol. So as long as we get her nap in on the regular time that day and bring a book to keep her happy til go time, I am confident in her ability to do it by herself- i figure we'll give it a go in the rehearsal dinner. If it turns out that she has zero interest then she'll just sit with her Mimi instead. The bride said it would be alright no matter how it works out.

She is on the complete opposite side of the spectrum as a bridezilla. I dont know she can be so chill and nonchalant about pretty much everything. Lol.

Eta:stuff

AddieCake

I think anything under 3 is too young. Of course, anything can happen. Our RB was 7 and had a meltdown during rehearsal.

[Deleted User]

Then with FMIL being there I think you'll have things covered. Since the bride realizes that something could happen last minute, like a melt down and scared by the attention, that would prevent your daughter from walking down the isle and she's ok with that, then why not go for it.

knottie93f96a98e60cf4f2

@AddieCake oh my. did you still have him in your wedding? If so did he do okay the day of?

AddieCake

I could just tell you he was fine, but let me tell you the story b/c it's a bit of an "LOL/well doesn't that figure/lesson not to overthink things."

Plan was for him to carry a toy he would like and that be his gift. At the time, he was into stuffed animals and Legos. Stuffed dog it was b/c ZOMG I CANT HAVE A NOISY BOX OF LEGOS GOING DOWN THE AISLE! But I also got him the Legos as a gift just the same.

At the rehearsal, he freaked out b/c all eyes were on him. We discovered he was fine if he could carry his mom's phone and video what was going on as he walked down. Unusual, but ok, cool. So we switched the plan to carrying the phone and recording to his heart's content. Day of, he had no interest in the phone and walked down with nothing. So basically we had a 7-year-old kid walking for no apparent reason. Haha! 

knottie93f96a98e60cf4f2

Lol. Well that is funny. We're just going to go with the flow, as it seems you did as well. Lol

southernbelle0915

I agree with Addie, I would not recommend a kid under 3. Too unpredictable.

Jen4948

I also believe that a kid under 3 is too young.  Aside from the fact that they're unpredictable, they can't really understand what is being asked of them or why, nor will they remember it later.

If you really want to "involve" a kid under 3 in your wedding, just have them in photos.  They'll be cute and "involved" at a level they can handle-assuming you can handle any meltdowns or other not exactly desirable behavior.

mrscomposer

The only thing I would say would be to have alternate plans.  My sister had her husband's niece and our cousin's son as FG/RB.  RB started to cry when he saw his mom go down the aisle without him, so he just walked with her (it ended up being really cute - he was told beforehand 'go give the rings to J!' so when they got to the front, he climbed up the steps and handed the box to the groom).  As long as he was walking with his mom, he was absolutely fine.

FG was carried down the aisle by my brother (which was the original plan - for both of them to walk with bro).  She was a little nervous to be walking, but was just fine with K carrying her.  FG then sat with her grandparents (sister's FIL/MIL), and RB sat with his dad.

Pupatella

I was recently at a wedding with a 2 year old ring bearer. His Dad was in the wedding party, and when it was his turn to go he ran as fast as he could towards his Dad. It was adorable.

VicTim328

This is really a case by case scenario. It really does depend on the child.  Since the bride knows that it could not happen, plan as if it will, and see what your daughter does the day of the wedding.  It doesn't sound like she will have too much of a problem, especially with so many people waiting for her.  Have a contingency plan ready, and use the rehearsal as an indicator of how the day will go.

I've seen it work out great where the youngsters listen.  I've seen them run down the aisle to someone.  I've seen one shout out to the bride mid-ceremony "Sarah, why are you crying?" I've seen a FG drag the RB down the aisle in a walker and neither had problems.

Just remember to not pressure her to walk, and try to be flexible if she isn't feeling it.

knottie93f96a98e60cf4f2

Knottie1437418780 said:

This is really a case by case scenario. It really does depend on the child.  Since the bride knows that it could not happen, plan as if it will, and see what your daughter does the day of the wedding.  It doesn't sound like she will have too much of a problem, especially with so many people waiting for her.  Have a contingency plan ready, and use the rehearsal as an indicator of how the day will go.

I've seen it work out great where the youngsters listen.  I've seen them run down the aisle to someone.  I've seen one shout out to the bride mid-ceremony "Sarah, why are you crying?" I've seen a FG drag the RB down the aisle in a walker and neither had problems.

Just remember to not pressure her to walk, and try to be flexible if she isn't feeling it.

Thanks for all the feedback ladies.

This is kindof what we were thinking. If she doesnt wanna go by herself she'll likely just stay with her Mimi instead. No biggie.