Infant as Flower Girl / Ring Bearer?

Strawberry7

I'm sure this is asked all the time, but how would one pull off having an infant for the flower girl or ring bearer?

I just found out that my sister is going to be having a baby (SO excited!!). Depending on when the wedding actually takes place, the baby will be between 4 months - 8 months old. She has already proposed having the baby carted down the aisle in a wagon. I've seen this (in pictures) and don't like it.

I am thinking of just having the baby dressed in a baby tux or baby flower girl dress, to match the older flower girl / ring bearer. (FI has a niece and nephew who will each be 7 years old, plus my step-sister has 2 little boys, who will be 6 years old and 4 years old, respectively, on the big day). Haven't actually picked official flower girl / ring bearer yet. Are 7-year-olds too old for that sort of thing?

Am mostly just wondering if anyone has had an infant involved, and how they did it.

quotequeen

Personally, I think it looks pretty ridiculous when people try to turn infants into WP members.  You can get the kid a matching outfit and take cute pictures without having him/her rolled down the aisle in a wagon or whatever it is people do.

banana468

Ditto QQ.

stina93446

Don't have the infant in the BP. It will be too young.

stina93446

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_wedding-party_infant-flower-girl-ring-bearer?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:37Discussion:1eeb39ad-d10c-4c72-a485-b51c84450608Post:eab41c67-ffb2-474f-adb9-2af0b7769985">Infant as Flower Girl / Ring Bearer?</a>:
[QUOTE]I'm sure this is asked all the time, but how would one pull off having an infant for the flower girl or ring bearer? I just found out that my sister is going to be having a baby :) (SO excited!!). Depending on when the wedding actually takes place, the baby will be between 4 months - 8 months old. She has already proposed having the baby carted down the aisle in a wagon. I've seen this (in pictures) and don't like it. I am thinking of just having the baby dressed in a baby tux or baby flower girl dress, to match the older flower girl / ring bearer. (FI has a niece and nephew who will each be 7 years old, plus my step-sister has 2 little boys, who will be 6 years old and 4 years old, respectively, on the big day). Haven't actually picked official flower girl / ring bearer yet. Are 7-year-olds too old for that sort of thing? Am mostly just wondering if anyone has had an infant involved, and how they did it.
Posted by Strawberry7[/QUOTE]

girl2bewed

Agreed.. no go.

[Deleted User]

way too young

stina93446

Also, I think you're trying to include everyone. While it's nice that you're wanting to put every niece and nephew in the big day, you may want to pull back a little. It can become a mad house/circus with that many children no matter how well behaved they are. We had 3 children at ours and even 2 of them was a handful and all were extremely well behaved. 

Also, you have NO IDEA whether or not this infant is going to behave on the wedding day. Babies cry. Sometimes, they have to be taken out of the room and cradled until they fall asleep. Some babies are real "azzholes" lol and some are sweet and don't cry at all. You really don't know what you're going to get. 

Also, your wedding is in October 2011. Wait until at least a year out before you even think about which kids you want to ask.

luckyme502

You don't pull off have an infant do anything at a wedding.  You don't really pull off an infant doing much of anything but eating, sleeping and pooping. 

tidetravel

Every baby has his or her own personality.  It's impossible to predict how the baby will react to an event such as a wedding. 

As far as the wagon - that's a no go with an infant that young.  At 4 months, the baby won't even be sitting up yet, and even at 8 months, he/she may only be able to sit for a few minutes at a time before toppling over - and that's without a bumpy, moving wagon underneath.

Like PPs said, the best way to "include" the baby would be to dress him/her up and have pictures taken after the ceremony.  If you REALLY want the baby to participate, you could have your sister walking the baby down the aisle, and then reserve a seat for her up front, with easy access to an exit, incase she has to excuse herself to attend to the baby in private (change,feed, etc).   

mbcdefg

Wait until you actually set a wedding date, and the baby is actually born, to worry about this. You're putting the cart before the horse right now.

I personally don't see a problem with dressing an infant in a cute outfit (although I think a giant frilly dress/a full baby tuxedo are a bit much) and having someone carry them down the aisle is an awful thing. Obviously don't expect anything from the infant other than to sleep or cry all the way down the aisle ... and if it'll bother you if the infant isn't wide awake and cooing and smiling down the aisle, then scrap the idea entirely.

It might also be wise to have a non-family member (maybe a paid sitter) look after the baby during the ceremony, because you don't want one of your siblings or parents to have to carry a crying baby out of the ceremony venue and miss your vows or something.

I think a wagon almost always is a bad idea, ESPECIALLY when a tiny baby's in it. If you don't like that idea, then don't agree to it.

trix1223

I'm always of the opinion that unless a person can get down the aisle by himself/herself, AND can use words to tell you why they're in the wedding party and what their role is, they're too young to be a member of any WP.

Wow, that was a really long sentence. 

But, long sentence aside, what exactly IS the point?  The baby can't really DO anything for your wedding, other than be in a picture.  So take the picture.  Take one before the ceremony.  Take one after the ceremony.  Take one at the reception.  Take 400 pictures.

But there's no need for the infant to be IN the WP to take pictures with him/her.

Baby FG or RB?  I vote a resounding no.

kelllimarie86

I disagree. I feel that it is YOUR wedding, and if you want to have an infant involved that is up to you. People love babies and your audience is not going to judge you for doing something a little outside the box and different. I think it's a great idea, it would make your wedding different. It would make for some cute pictures as well!

katiedidthat

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_wedding-party_infant-flower-girl-ring-bearer?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:37Discussion:1eeb39ad-d10c-4c72-a485-b51c84450608Post:2007936b-40bc-4927-a3a7-28be2fa0340c">Re: Infant as Flower Girl / Ring Bearer?</a>:
[QUOTE]I disagree. I feel that it is YOUR wedding, and if you want to have an infant involved that is up to you. People love babies and your audience is not going to judge you for doing something a little outside the box and different. I think it's a great idea, it would make your wedding different. It would make for some cute pictures as well!
Posted by kelllimarie86[/QUOTE]


I'm pretty sure OP has picked her WP by now considering this post is nearly a year old.    Also, a baby in the WP is not different or outside the box. 

kelllimarie86

....Well although that bride has definitely solved that dillema by now, brides who are struggling with this scenario may find more opinions useful. That is what this message board is for, opinions. I found this thread because I was curious to know some other view points on the subject. No need to be negative. Don't make fact out of someone else's opinion, I happen to think that is different, but I guess you're the expert.