Children At Your Wedding.

A Mixed Blessing.

Children at a wedding can be a mixed blessing, some couples may choose not to invite children at all, it would be an unenviable task telling doting parents that you would rather their child wonder was not present at your wedding. So what do you do if you don't want children present?

Really the decent thing to do is to come straight out with it, most people will respect you for your honesty. You could tell all the main participants that you don't want children present, this way the word will soon get out. Although this may be perceived as a little underhanded. Another is to be pacific with the wording on your invitation cards. Some people will choose to disregard the wording and bring their children anyway.

You could placate the situation by inviting all the children and their parents to a party after the honeymoon, where this is held will depend on what you have planned. You might like to consider some of the suggestions below, to make the day memorable for them. If you decide on this option make it clear at the outset by including it in the invitations.

Provide A Crèche.

If you anticipate that there will be a large number of small children present it may be worth considering arranging a crèche facility at the reception. For this you would have to arrange a room with the venue, and hire a registered child minder or perhaps two depending on the numbers.

Another factor to consider is insurance, it is unlikely the the venue's insurance would cover this, We are at the moment not aware of any mobile crèche facilities in Ireland. If anyone can enlighten us we could post them on this site.

Have A Treasure Hunt.

One way to keep the children entertained is to have a treasure hunt in the venue grounds. Arrange for some of your attendants to hide some goodies in and around the venue. If you spend a little time planning this before hand, you could print the clues for the treasure hunt, and include them with your invitations.

Delegate the treasure hunt to one of your attendants, they would obviously need to visit the venue prior to the wedding to organise the hunt. It all would take a considerable effort but would be worth it all on the day.

Their Own Table.

It might be a good idea if there are a large amount of children at your wedding to consider seating them at a separate table. Consult your caterer about a seperate menu for the kids, it is unlikley that they will appreciate all the items on the adult menu. The disadvantage of this option is that someone will have to oversee the table.

A Children's Entertainer.

Another option worth considering is to engage a children's entertainer or perhaps a clown or magician, it would probably be better if this took place in a room which was separate from the main reception area.

A Quiet Room.

If you anticipate having more than a few children, arrange if possible with the venue to set aside a quiet room where if some of them get tired they can have a nap, away from all the noise and excitement of the reception.

A Bouncy Castle.

To hire a bouncy castle would not be terribly expensive, it certainly would be a hit with the children. No doubt as the day progressed, and your guests become more relaxed, and perhaps a little inebriated, some of them may wish to have a go on it too, this would naturally add to the enjoyment and entertainment of the occasion.

You would need to check with the venue manager that they would allow a bouncy castle, and if yes would there be sufficient space to erect one. Also it would need to be supervised at all times by at least one, but preferably two responsible and trustworthy adult's.

A Face Painter.

This is another option worth considering to keep children occupied Check out the music and entertainers page. I don't think there are any listed there at the time of writing, but by the time you read this well who knows.