Children Allowed?

Krausie

I am finding myself in a dilemma!

I dont want any children at my wedding but I recently gained a new baby sister. She is obvously family and I dont want to offend anyone by having her there and not any other children. Another thing is that this is obviously the bride and grooms day not the day for babies to be admired.....any thoughts?

Mattsbride10

I think it depends on the age of the baby-sitter. If shes 15/16 yrs old then make that your cut off age. No one younger then her can attend. Or keep  the ages 18 and up and make her the one exception.

And btw screw what everyone else thinks.

I

Mrs.LuraT

I didn't want children at my wedding but i made a couple of exceptions for those coming from OOT.  It worked out fine.  Since this is your baby sister, I say have her come to the wedding.  You could make her the flower girl and someone could pull her down the aisle in a little pink wagon filled with flowers or soemthings.  People should understand.

miguelhilary2010

I guess the dilemma for you is, if the sister stays home, will one of your family members have to stay home/leave the reception to care for her or will they have a babysitter?  If not allowing children will result in one of your parents having to leave then I say allow her to be there (make an exception and forget everyone else).  If they plan to get a babysitter and don't at all mind, then I say leave the baby at home.  Besides it being your and FI day,  and not a baby shower, I don't think a loud, busy, possibly alcohol fueled reception is the place for a baby or small child.

Ms.BriarRose

I think that since it is your sister, you need to have her there.  This isn't just some random cousin's baby.

For us, we did it this way- family directly related to the bride and groom, children in the wedding party, and siblings of those in the wedding party are allowed to attend.  This gives us our Ringbearer and his sister (2 total), the flower girl (who is also my niece) and the mother of the bride escort (who is also my nephew) and their 3 sisters (5 total), and my young cousin (whose sister was supposed to be in the wedding so we told him he could come, even though she's not in the wedding anymore- I already promised him and I don't break promises).  That gives us 8 kids total.

Guests understand that your sister is there and other children aren't; like I said, it's not some random cousin's child, but your sister.  I also don't think you will have issues if you don't make one- talk it over with your dad/mom, and let them know that the day's emphasis is on you and FI, not on your sister (but in nicer terms).

Those are my thoughts, anyway.  If I were you, I would not want to look back on my wedding photos and not see my sister.  Even worse, I wouldn't want to explain down the road to said sister why she isn't in any pictures or wasn't there.

miguelhilary2010

Or, you could have her there for the ceremony and some pics, then have a babysitter or someone pick her up for the rest of the evening?  A friend of mine did this with her RB and FG because they were both under 2yrs old at the time.  They stayed through the ceremony and pics, and were absent from the reception.

Mrs.LuraT

The previous post suggestion is a good one. 

RogueQueen

We are having a no children wedding as well, actually no one under the age of eighteen, period. People who want to be there have found babysitters and made alternate arrangements. Anyone who hasn't and has had well over six months notice to figure out a situation where there child can be taken care of obviously doesnt view our day as important enough to be there. And remember the general rule applies, if oyu invite one you HAVE to invite them all. Otherwise people will view it as rude, insensitive, they will get offended and possibly cause drama, all of which you do not need. You can't pick and choose, it's like telling people who you want them t bring as a date. Trust me, getting a babysitter for your baby sister is the best option.

Also remember you wont have to worry about screaming during the ceremony or toasts, someone having to not drink or keep an eye on her all night. And to be totally honest new babies can hijack the attention, and that day is all about you and your fiance.

dibsontop

We are inviting ALL family children.  All cousins, nieces and nephews.  They range in age from 2-18 and there are about 30 of them.  I couldn't even imagine not having them all there.

Unfortunately, some of their parents are mad that children are invited.  They don't want to bring their kids but they don't want to be the ones to tell them they can't come.  They wanted us to be the bad guys and say no kids!

greenbean951

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_delaware_children-allowed?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:77Discussion:5f9fcc82-a8aa-424e-97b8-96ba4ff61fabPost:ac70969c-a02b-438a-a646-79095d9731f6">Re: Children Allowed?</a>:
[QUOTE]We are inviting ALL family children.  All cousins, nieces and nephews.  They range in age from 2-18 and there are about 30 of them.  I couldn't even imagine not having them all there. Posted by dibsontop[/QUOTE]

SAME! We are having a designated kids play room with babysitters though because I have seen what happens when all the kids get together and it isn't pretty.

dibsontop

Luckily, we don't have to worry about this.  There are enough teenaged kids that do really well supervising the younger kids at family events that they'll all be fine dancing and hangining out together during the reception.

I'm so excited to have a real "kids" table.  Well, several of them, haha.  And the kids all can't wait.  Several of the nieces have already been bugging their moms about when they can go buy dresses to wear.

LadyJ10

I'm with miguelhilary on this one -- have her there for the ceremony/pictures, then have a babysitter come get her before the reception. That way your parents will be able to focus on the fun of the reception and won't feel obligated to leave early, etc. I don't think anyone would mistake your wedding for a baby shower, and she is your new sister!

The only under 18 year-old invited to our wedding is FI's 13 yo brother. We have a small venue so including children would have excluded our friends. We're not even having a flower girl or ring bearer!