If kids were invited, would you leave yours at home?

Diffledee

So we have a son who will be 3 By the time of the wedding. We love the idea of having kids at the wedding and are going out of our way to make it child friendly. It will be semi formal..we are Having it at the zoo, we are keeping the ceremony really short and planning entertainment for the kids like animal visits and loot bags. We have ensured the food is child friendly as well.

So far..all the feedback we have gotten is that no one actually wants to bring their kids. They just want to get drunk. I feel kind of hurt because I was really excited about all the details...but if my son is the only kid..it feels like a waste and how bored is he gonna e if he's the only one there?

Would you leave your kids at home if they were invited?

ElleB87

If the bride and groom were going out of there way to provide child friendly entertainment and all that jazz than I would definitely bring my child(ren) (if I had any).

kmmssg

Yeah, if I knew the B&G were doing all of that, I would take my kids.  Can you serve hard liquor at the zoo?  I looked into the facility at the zoo in Lansing as a possible venue for my DD's wedding 8 years ago and we could only serve wine and beer.

Diffledee

Yep the zoo in toronto is licensed. They don't normally serve hard liquor, but if we give them a list of what we want...their caterer will get it. As long as it doesn't affect the animals..they have been really accommodating.

DG1

Depends. Daytime wedding/reception? Nighttime?

If it was a casual acquaintance's wedding where I wouldn't know too many people, I'd probably bring them and leave early. But if I'd have a bunch of good friends there, I'd want to stay late and have fun, and, honestly, I can't really have fun if my kids (ages 3 and 4) are there. If I dont' want them destroying the venue, I'd have to be paying attention to them constantly. And they would be having meltdowns left and right by 8:30. 

We also made kids welcome at our wedding, and I was surprised when a lot of people got babysitters instead. It was nice for OOT people, though, and SIL wouldn't have been able to get a babysitter for Niece (then 15m) even if we'd asked her to, because MIL and FIL are her babysitters, and they were of course at the wedding. 

I will say if everyone is specifically saying they want to get drunk, you might want to start looking into some way to make sure no one drives drunk. Most people don't live within walking distance of the typical zoo.

Sspencer89

.i am guessing its an early afternoon wedding?  i would definately bring my kids if i had any. especially at the toronto zoo theres so much to do. my fi and i go there at least once a year because we love seeing the animals and some of the kids reactions that are there are so cute

GBCK

To many factors.
I love taking my kid to the zoo but, like DG, my child turns into a pumpkin by 8:30 pm.  I don't care how awesome the plan is, if I can't have her in bed by 8:30, she ain't goin' because it's setting us up for failure.

And even when she's being 'good', there's a completely different 'feel'--I'm not 'enjoying' grown-up time at a wedding when I"m trying to make it look like my 2 YO don'esnt have horrendous table manners and trying get her  to actually swallow food (more of a challenge than it should be).  It's a nice family thing to do, but if there was a chance I'd not want to head home by 8 pm, yeah, I'd leave her w/ grandma for the day.

ZeroOrchestra

I would not want to be chasing my 2 1/2 year old around a zoo in semiformal clothing no matter the time of day. It's a sweet idea, zoos are great for family outings, but I would want to leave the kiddo at home and enjoy some time out with H.

Heffalump

I've brought my daughter to three weddings so far, so hell yeah I'd bring her.  But weddings are more family events in both of our families, Date Night is for grown-up time with the H.