~ 30+ kids at our wedding? How seat or not seat kids with having a seperate kids area?

jasheaha

Hey brides, I am wondering if anyone has suggestions for how to set this situation up: We are having an outdoor wedding at a rustic lakeside resort in the mountains. We can have max 160 guests. So in our estimated count of who is likely to come, we would have ~ 120 adults and 30 or so kids that are under 12.  We are planning to have set aside chaperoned kids areas, one on the beach and one inside a cabin.  We are getting a lot of pressure from family (who are graciously helping with wedding costs, but also want kids there. . ) to invite more family friends and we would also like to invite more of our own friends. 

If we have seperate kids areas (where they eat too), can we exclude kids from the count? 
I am not a parent, but imagine, a few kids wanting to stay by their folks and if we didn't have a chair at the table, this would get really akward.  And if we had a chair for each kid at the tables, if the just stay in the play areas, then it will look really empty. . .

Please share your suggestions and/or other ideas to have kids at our wedding. . .
Jamie in Central Oregon

AddieCake

Every guest needs to have a seat. If I were a parent, I would not want my children eating off somewhere else; they would sit with me. 

Simply Fated

I would just seat the kids with their parents for the meal. 

You can have a seperate supervised play area, but usually the parents end up staying with their kids or vice versa, especially depending on the age.

Avion22

I agree that kids should be seated with their parents.   Especially if they are under 12.  For older kids (like 13+) I would say it's probably okay to sit them with other kids they know (like if they are all cousins).    Otherwise, kids should be with their parents for the meal.

I'm confused about what you mean by "do you have to count them."   

Is 160 the max dictated by your budget?  Or is it the max your venue will hold?  Is it the max dictated by fire code?

A lot of venues will give a discounted per-head charge for kids under 12, so that might help yor budget.  If the 160 is dictated by the fire code, then I think you will have to "count" them.   Ask your venue to be sure.

But yeah, at least plan on seating the kids with their parents for the meal.  

libby2483

I would plan on sitting kids with their parents.  We had about 160 people at our wedding, including about 20 kids under the age of 12, and they all just sat with their families.  I don't really know what you mean about having to count them.  If your venue has a certain capacity, I would think that children would still count towards it.

jasheaha

Thanks all so much for your helpful and consistent advice!  I had seem some other recommendations out on the net where people had a seperate kids room with food or seperate tables and it felt wierd to me too to seperate them from their parents. 

The 160 max is not a budget limit. Its a the vendor's limit based on space and their staff capacity. Its an outdoor wedding and there is definitely room to expand. We are just getting a lot of pressure to add more people to the list and there are some we want to add some more too. For this reason it had been suggested by some future in-laws of mine that if we just had the kids in a seperate area at the resort then we would not have to include them in the 160 count. Most of the kids are under 6 years old. The only older kids there will not really know the little ones, so they probably wont' be looking after them too much.

But I like what I am hearing from you all and think we will follow your suggestions.

Angelface225

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_reception-ideas_30-kids-at-our-wedding-how-seat-or-not-seat-kids-with-having-a-seperate-kids-area?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:5Discussion:66d685f4-945b-436d-aa5e-93a174bff66dPost:029ccaaa-a77d-4dae-8b4c-7246bb2b334e">Re: ~ 30+ kids at our wedding? How seat or not seat kids with having a seperate kids area?</a>:
[QUOTE]Thanks all so much for your helpful and consistent advice!  I had seem some other recommendations out on the net where people had a seperate kids room with food or seperate tables and it felt wierd to me too to seperate them from their parents.  The 160 max is not a budget limit. Its a the vendor's limit based on space and their staff capacity. Its an outdoor wedding and there is definitely room to expand. We are just getting a lot of pressure to add more people to the list and there are some we want to add some more too. For this reason it had been suggested by some future in-laws of mine that if we just had the kids in a seperate area at the resort then we would not have to include them in the 160 count. Most of the kids are under 6 years old. The only older kids there will not really know the little ones, so they probably wont' be looking after them too much. But I like what I am hearing from you all and think we will follow your suggestions.
Posted by jasheaha[/QUOTE]

Also keep in mind insurance requirements. My venue has ponds and the reception is in a tent, so children are actually required to be supervised by their parents. They consider the water to be a possible drowning hazard, and a liability issue. It was part of my contract.