Children or No Children, that is the question?

  When planning a Wedding many joys come into minds like friends and family being there with you when it is all said and done. But what about the young families and cousins, nieces and nephews, god children and so on. Is a wedding really for all or just for adults.

  In my experience I have seen it handled in many different ways. I have seen the Weddings with crying babies and tantrum throwing kids, but I have also seen children enjoying themselves at Wedding knowing that the Bride and Groom have thought about them too.

  So some tips for having children at your Wedding and ways to let the parents know that this is an adult only party.

• Check if your reception hall has booster seats, high chairs and diaper-changing stations. If they don´t, contact the parents to make sure they bring all necessary supplies.
• Seat the family with other families who are also bringing young children. If the little tyke starts crying, they tend to be more understanding then say, a group of single 20-somethings. No other young kids? Seat them with the most patient people you know.
• If you choose to have a kid´s table, cover it with a paper tablecloth so they can draw on it. For a centrepiece, provide a bucket of crayons, several cartons of play-dough or travel games.
• Check to see if your reception or catering company offers kid´s meals at a reduced cost. Say so in their invite.
• Before the traditional bouquet toss and garter throw for adults, have a candy toss for kids. This way, the kid´s can participate but you won´t be caught in the awkward situation of having a garter-toting, 6-year-old boy traveling up the leg of a 30-year-old.
• Maybe the chicken dance makes you cringe, but kids love it!
• For favours, send them home with candy or a small toy. Just make sure it isn´t anything they´ll choke on.
• Consider hiring a childcare provider who can run kids to the washroom and sit with them during dance time or better yet have a room specially reserved that can house the kids and keep them busy with movies, video games and or a bed for naps. And a washroom handy for last minute emergencies.
• Include in invite that a childcare provider will be available

  "Adult Reception" or "Adult Dinner Reception" on the reception cards. Also, on the invitations, if they are addressed to "John and Jane Doe" in a family that has children, versus "John and Jane Doe, Jimmy Doe and Jill Doe"....this automatically says you are only inviting the adults....whereas the second wording clearly states you are inviting the children as well.

  The statement, "This is a day to enjoy yourself too. Leave the kids at home (with our babysitter)", will definitely bring some of those not-so-understanding parents to your corner. The parents with the most misbehaved kids will be the first to identify with this statement.

  Call Your Guests...

  Call each and every person who you believe is coming and be honest and up front. Don´t take too long with the small talk and try to end on a positive note. It would also be a good idea to have babysitters in a separate room at the wedding in case someone forgets or just had to bring little Mark.

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