Including kids in ceremony

Re: Including kids in ceremony

• Jen4948 member

  

  January 2013

  Don't.
  
  At 9 months old she's too young to appreciate it.  Just take some pictures with her and let it go at that.

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• itzMS member

  

  January 2013

  Your best bet is to have the kids sit in the front row with grandma & grandpa (or another trusted adult). Buy them fancy dress up clothes and take lots of pictures.
  
  At those ages, anything is possible. They might be tired, hot, hungry, fussy, etc. You should be focusing on marrying your FI, and let the kids be taken care of during the ceremony by a trusted adult.

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• AddieCake member

  

  January 2013

  Ditto everyone above. I am just not a fan of babies actually IN ceremonies. My feeling is, if they are not old enough to know what's going on and get themselves down the aisle, they become a prop and don't belong in the ceremony. 

  What did you think would happen if you walked up to a group of internet strangers and told them to get shoehorned by their lady doc?~StageManager14

  

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• Peavy member

  

  January 2013

  Ditto everyone else, and let me add that a two year old is very young and unpredictable for a ring bearer.

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• MRSreadcomicbooks member

  

  January 2013 edited January 2013

  I think having your kids with you is a great idea.  Hold your daughter and have the two year old at your feet.  When you have kids, a wedding is more like you coming together as a family, rather than just as a couple...so they should be included.

  
  

  However, don't hang all your hopes on them being cooperative the day of, and have a back up plan. At my brother and sister-in-law's wedding, my niece, who was two at the time, was definitely unpredictable...and we had to distract her with skittles to get her to walk up the aisle. Then she sat on my stepmom's lap for part of the ceremony and stood with her mom and dad for another part of it.

  
  

  EDIT: I should add that I'm a mom too, so I'm not speaking out of inexperience. My son won't be that young when I marry my fiance (he'll be 6), so he'll definitely be a little more predictable...but I know for sure that I want him involved in some way. After all, my fiance isn't just marrying me, he's marrying my life, which includes my son.

  

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• gafoster

  

  January 2013

  I think It's a great idea to include your family!  I too am marrying a man who has a 7 year old son.  He's making his son the best man instead of a ring bearer.  It represents his excitement and acceptance for me to join their special bond as a father/son.  I wouldn't worry if the kids act a ruckus and don't follow the exact ways, they are your family and should be included in the union!  Even if they don't understand what's going on, they will always look back at those photos and know how special they are to you to include them in the ceremony.  Congrats! 

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• cbrenner2488

  

  January 2013

  For my first wedding my daughter was two months old and was our flower girl. She was carried down the aisle by her grandpa with a flower basket. In my next wedding my kids will be four and five and I'm having them in the ceremony with my FH's son who will also be four. 

  
  

  I think its a wonderful idea to include children in a wedding. Its a celebration of when your family officially becomes whole and the kids will love to know you are including them. It shows that you love them and care about them. (especially in the case of step children)

  
  

  I do agree that children can be unpredictable and you should have a back up plan just in case. Having them walk down the aisle with a responsible adult is a great option. But if they can't behave or become fussy then have them sit with grandma and grandpa or someone and set plan b into action.

  

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