toddlers at an evening wedding, any ideas?

scd06f · June 2010

so my soon to be sisters-in-law just had babies and they will be only one year old when the wedding rolls around. they refuse to leave them with grandparents or anybody else and insist on bringing them. i have no idea what to feed them how to sit them at the tables or what to do with them. any ideas?

TheDuckis · June 2010

If they will only be a year old, they'll still be on the tit or eating baby food. You don't need to provide meals for them. Ask your venue if they provide high chairs, if not, they'll be just fine in their carriers.

arbolita · June 2010

My nephew had just turned 1 a couple weeks before my wedding. My sister brought food for him and fed him mashed potatoes and things off her plate. I don't think the parents will expect you to figure out what their kids will eat in this case. He also hung out eitehr in his stroller, or with people on the dance floor. Just make sure you have them at a table with fewer chairs, or an open space near it for the stroller or other type of seating device they'll bring.

DG1 · June 2010

agreed. And a baby that age won't last long into the night. I hope their mothers are planning on leaving early.

A 1yo probably won't still be in a carrier, though. Hopefully the moms will bring strollers or something, and a high chair would be perfectly appropriate (you can usually rent them along with tables/chairs/linens if your venue doesn't provide those things).

We had a kids' activity table at our wedding - coloring books, small crafts, goofy hats and stuff. It went over really well. Not useful for a 12m old, but it was great for preschoolers and early gradeschoolers (and the adults who are children at heart).

baconsmom · June 2010

Wait until it's closer to the wedding - after a year, let's hope they've come to their senses and will leave the children with someone so they can have some adult time and be polite. It's plain rude to bring children to a non-child-friendly event, and an evening wedding is exactly that.

Your SIL sounds like a peach. Good luck with that.

outdoors710 · June 2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_wedding-woes_toddlers-evening-wedding?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:47Discussion:a69303de-a9bb-4c77-a5aa-6f1c507f849aPost:54c4f779-2068-4841-967c-5f386d7e26ea">Re: toddlers at an evening wedding, any ideas?</a>:
[QUOTE]Wait until it's closer to the wedding - after a year, let's hope they've come to their senses and will leave the children with someone so they can have some adult time and be polite. It's plain rude to bring children to a non-child-friendly event, and an evening wedding is exactly that. Your SIL sounds like a peach. Good luck with that.
Posted by baconsmom[/QUOTE]

Im not trying to be mean baconsmom, but I am having an evening wedding and my sister in law is bringing her baby, and I think its great that the family is there, but if you spcifically said that children are not invited then I can see your point. When is the wedding? You should be fine.

JesskaLynnLove · June 2010

If it's a child-free event, you're allowed to keep it that way. As perfect as she may think her darling children are, babies still cry. It's rude to you and to the other guests to have two children screaming their little hearts out during the ceremony or the reception. And guess what?! Someone's going to have to take care of them- that "someone" being your SIL. What if she has to take her kids out of the room just as you're about to say your vows? What if she has to leave during the toasts? As far as I'm concerned, it's dangerous to bring a child under the age of four (and that's pushing it) to such an important event. Not fair to you, and not fair to them.

6fsn · June 2010

I agree with wait until closer to the event. Right now they probably can't imagine leaving the baby to shower, at a year they may want to leave them home. We had our 1 yo at a wedding and he was fine. We brought his stroller and food and even though it was right during naptime it was fine. DH and I were both in the wedding so he was even left with random people.

It's okay to not want children at the wedding for whatever reason, just understand that some people may not like it. That goes with a lot of decisions throughout the wedding planning process. A potential compromise is a sitter at the reception location- that they pay for.

quotequeen · June 2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_wedding-woes_toddlers-evening-wedding?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:47Discussion:a69303de-a9bb-4c77-a5aa-6f1c507f849aPost:54c4f779-2068-4841-967c-5f386d7e26ea">Re: toddlers at an evening wedding, any ideas?</a>:
[QUOTE]Wait until it's closer to the wedding - after a year, let's hope they've come to their senses and will leave the children with someone so they can have some adult time and be polite. <strong>It's plain rude to bring children to a non-child-friendly event, and an evening wedding is exactly that.</strong> Your SIL sounds like a peach. Good luck with that.
Posted by baconsmom[/QUOTE]

My evening wedding will be extremely child friendly and I *hope* my friends and family choose to bring their young children. I went to plenty of evening weddings as a child and there were plenty of other young children there as well, and everything was great. There is no inherent reason an evening wedding cannot be child friendly.

Heffalump · June 2010

I think some of the responses are confusing "young children" and "one year olds." The OP specifically said that the kids will be one year old. IMO (having an 11 mo. old), an evening wedding is NOT a child-friendly event at that age. My kid is in bed by 8:00 (in her crib with lights out), and from what I've read on 9-12, that's toward the later end of the spectrum. A lot of kids are asleep for the night much earlier at that age, more like 7:00/7:30. As for food, I don't think they need a separate plate. Kids that age are usually past baby food, but don't eat a ton of table food and are usually fed off of a parent's plate.

That said, I have to agree with BMom--you don't know any of this early on. Give it some time and they'll probably realize on their own that this isn't a great idea. By the time they're one, the parents will feel more comfortable leaving them with a sitter and will probably look forward to having a night out.

quotequeen · June 2010

I think some of the responses are confusing "young children" and "one year olds."

If you're referring to me, I am definitely *not* confusing them.

cassietaylor · June 2010

Im having an evening child friendly reception (i have a 6, and 8 yr old), were renting a bounce house, and some other contraption for the kiddos OUTside, to free the parents somewhat (thank god our venue ok'd it!). ....With that being said, I don't think any children under 5 will even be there. Everybody else with younger kids are looking eager to a NIGHT OUT without their kids

toddlers at an evening wedding, any ideas?

Re: toddlers at an evening wedding, any ideas?

Choose Another Board

Search Boards