Including Children In The Wedding Party

Brides often struggle with the question of including children in the wedding party. A small child is often pressed into service as a flower girl or ring bearer, but there are a few caveats to consider before enlisting the assistance of a child.

Children have very short attention spans, and lose interest in the events around them quickly. If your ceremony will be long, you may want to think twice before asking a child to participate. If you decide to go ahead with including a child, make sure their part can be executed at the beginning of the wedding ceremony. Allow them to rejoin their parents or other guests with whom they’re familiar immediately following their part of the ceremony.

Children often speak their minds, regardless of the circumstances or how thoroughly they’ve been coached to do otherwise. They also have a hard time understanding that at a wedding, they’re not really the center of attention. While they may relish their walk up the aisle, they may not be so quick to step to the side when their work is finished.

Children are easily excitable and not so easily calmed down. Participating in a wedding can be furiously exciting to a child. The child participant may not have been able to sleep well the night before, or may simply be overwhelmed by the enormity of the event. If other children are present, they may all get caught up in the excitement, making it difficult to bring order to a group of newly discovered playmates.

When you’re planning your wedding party, you’ll need to weigh the importance of having a child in the party with the circumstances of the wedding, the limitations of the wedding venue and the abilities of the individual child to follow directions and remain calm during the ceremony.

Keywords: Wedding Planning, Weddingblog, Wedding

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