Are your wedding plans in full swing – or have you fallen at the first hurdle? By far the most challenging part of your day to plan is ensuring you secure the date you had in mind and in the venue you’d like. Oh, and the registrar needs to be free to marry you that day as well. Major headache incoming.
If that part’s all sorted, we salute you – the best is now yet to come, including buying that all-important dress, booking entertainment, and choosing (and sampling!) your wedding menu.
But wait…have you remembered to cater for the kids too?
Your venue probably has the children’s menu sorted, but it’s down to you to plan something to amuse them during the reception, as well as organising the intricacies of having young people there at all. So, here are our top tips on catering for kids at your wedding…
Consider Where They’ll Sit
If you’ve invited a few older children to your wedding, it can be tempting to let them all sit together – but consider having at least a couple of adults on the same table, just to ensure things run as smoothly as possible.
While the children coming to your wedding may be largely well-behaved, put them all together and it may be a recipe for disaster. Or you could have a speech that’s drowned out by a few teenagers egging each other on in the silliness stakes.
Get Them Involved
Some children will shy away from playing a part in your big day, but the more receptive kids amongst your guests will relish the chance to get involved in some way.
Consider giving kids – even the youngest ones – a small task or two. Perhaps toddlers could throw some rose petals down the aisle before you walk in, while older children or teenagers could be in charge of the guest book.
You may even want to rope a niece or nephew into manning a photo props basket, or being in charge of encouraging your guests to take a selfie with a polaroid camera for a post-wedding scrapbook.
For kids that already have a role in the wedding, these cheeky bridesmaid and page boy flags are also worth thinking about. Send them down the aisle (after the groom but before the bride) and give your guests a chuckle as they proudly clutch their flag. Or they may prefer to simply hold the flag for a few photos – whatever works best for the little one in your family.
Let Them Know What to Expect
While some children will be ridiculously excited about your big day, others may feel a bit daunted about it all. After all, it could well be their first time attending a family wedding.
Ahead of the day, you could let them know exactly what they can expect, which will give them a chance to get excited for the big day and feel a part of it.
Tell them about the speeches and the excitement of raising a glass (containing a non-alcoholic drink, of course), when the groom or father-of-the-bride says ‘Let’s toast to…’.
Or let them in on the fact that everyone stands up and claps and cheers as the bride and groom first enter the reception room. Once they know there’s fun around every corner, they will be much more prepared to play along.
Provide Entertainment
You’ve booked entertainment for the adults (hello, five-piece band or Ibiza-style, party saxophonist!), but what about the kids? Go all-out with a bouncy castle, ball pool or even a magician, or keep your costs down by providing a good, old-fashioned colouring book and box of crayons for use during the reception.
Step things up a notch with one of our handy wedding activity boxes for kids, which contain a host of treats (including puzzles, small wooden games and more) to keep them happy throughout the afternoon. You can even have them personalised for a fun, memorable touch.
Above all, make sure you enjoy planning your big day (almost) as much as your wedding itself.
Until next time…