Many couples wish to have children such as
a niece or nephew participate in the wedding as a flower girl
or ring bearer. A beautiful young girl walking down the aisle
dropping rose petals before the bride arrives or a handsome
young man presenting the rings to the groom can be a beautiful
part of the wedding ceremony but it is also important to remember
that dealing with children can be very difficult and that
they can be very unpredictable. As long as you are prepared
for this to happen and you are not the type to allow mistakes
by the children to ruin your wedding day, then go ahead and
ask them to participate. However, if you are the type of person
who is very particular and would be upset if the children
messed anything up, then you probably should not have children
participate in your wedding. If you do choose to have children
in your wedding, there are a few tips that can help things
to run as smoothly as possible.
First have your young attendants assist in picking
out their own wedding attire. This serves a couple of purposes.
It primarily serves to help get the child excited about participating
in your wedding. If they feel as if they have some control
over the situation and feel as if they are special for being
chosen they are much more likely to be looking forward to
being a part of your wedding. The other reason for doing this
is that the child can tell you if a particular outfit is uncomfortable.
Although you may like the look of a certain outfit if the
child isn’t comfortable in the outfit then they are likely
to be fidgety on your wedding day because their clothes are
uncomfortable. In this case it is a good idea to rule out
attire that the child seems uncomfortable wearing.
Assigning a member of your bridal party to look
after the children in the bridal party can also help things
to run more smoothly. A trusted bridesmaid can take responsibility
for the children and keep them entertained during parts of
the day where they have to stand around and wait such as when
the photographer is taking pictures that don’t include the
entire wedding party. You might want to give your designated
babysitter an emergency kit with toys that the child might
enjoy so that she can keep them entertained.
The photographer may have many different photo
combinations that he would like to take and they won’t all
include the young members of the bridal party. Photo sessions
can be lengthy so it is a good idea to ask the photographer
if he can take the pictures that include the children early
in the session so that they don’t grow tired waiting for their
turn.
Another important thing to remember is that children
do not have to be members of the bridal party to participate
in the wedding. If you have nieces or nephews that you want
to feel included but do not want to have children in your
wedding procession, you could consider giving the children
other jobs to make them feel special such as handing out booklets
or sweeping up the rice after the ceremony.
Finally, if you opt to include children in your
wedding ceremony you should be prepared for there to be mistakes.
Although children may have the best of intentions they don’t
always do what is expected of them. Relaxing and recognizing
these moments of imperfection as memories that should be cherished
as opposed to disasters will help you to maintain a healthy
attitude about your wedding ceremony.
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