Just wondering what all you ladies opinions are on children at weddings are?? Do they make your wedding or break it??
Obviously as a mother im Yay! I could not imagine my daughter not being there and she needs some play mates in the form or cousins etc! but even before that i never would have thought of banning my younger cousins or cousins babies, wedding for family no matter what age they are!
But some people like a more adult affair? what about you?
Met June 2009 on my Birthday,Met again July 2009 and got
together, May 2010 Moved in,Jan 2011 got pregnant,
August 2011 Got our own place, 2011 Had our Baby Girl,
Dec 2011 Got engaged, July 2015 Getting married! Yay!
CommentAuthorlouise5
yay!!!!!!!!!!! im a mummy of five :-) my boys are 13 and 15 months. my girls are 10,9,7 my eldest son is best man, our youngest is paige boy. two of my daughters are flower girls one of my daughters is bridesmaid with my sister and 8 week old niece!!! my ushers are my nephews who are 10 and 8! kids make a wedding! they are first to dance, im having a totally child friendly wedding i even have a sweet buffet for them! x
"MUMMY OF FIVE AND PROUD"
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CommentAuthorMrsH-2B
edited
As a guest, I definitely prefer going to a wedding childless, I don't mind other children there, as long as we are child free and can book at hotel and have a drink.. My stepsons wont be going to my brothers wedding unless it's a weekend we're meant to be having them.. But as a host I would never NOT invite the family children to my wedding, if they choose to get a baby sitter for their kids then thats their choice, but I wouldn't tell them they couldn't bring them.. Only our families are invited during the day including kids as they are our family, and we're inviting friends at night but their children aren't invited.. However, my brother is banning our cousins children purely to keep down on cost which I think is very wrong of him, but nevermind.. xxx
I can't wait to become his Wife :-)
4th July 2015
CommentAuthorlizzylou
I don't mind children at a wedding at all. The only time i've ever objected is when a little boy was allowed to scream over almost an entire wedding ceremony! When he started the ceremony paused and there was a little giggle of "oh bless him" from the bride and groom and the rest of the congregation. But then he went on and on, and I saw the mother pass the child to the father and I thought "oh good he'll take him out" but no, he just stood there and he just carried on screaming! It was awful! The bride kept turning round and smiling awkwardly but it was dreadful as you could hardly hear what the minister was saying! I really thought it was a bit selfish of the parents. We all know that children cry and everyone understands that it's no ones fault but to stand there and let this cry for almost all of the ceremony I thought was a bit much!
We have two very small children (under one) coming to our wedding as I didn't think it fair to ask the parents to leave them at home, and then my three nephews and nieces. Other than those we haven't invited any other children purely because lots of people we know have 2 or more children and we were ending up with nearly 20 of our guests being small children! That meant we had to choose which 20 of our friends we weren't going to invite so i'm afraid the kids had to go! We just politely explained to our friends what the situation was before we sent the invites and not a sinlge person was annoyed or upset with us - well at least they weren't to our faces!! lol! Lots of them said things liek "Oh we wouldn't have brought them anyway" or "It'll be nice to have an evening out on our own". If one of them had said "well then we can't come" my partner and I had agreed that in that case we would make every effort to accomodate them where we could. We've done the same with friends partners that we have never ever met - you've got to draw the line somewhere!
I know not everyone will agree but for us, we wanted as many of our close friends there as possible and so the decission between 20 or our friends or 20 small children was obvious. It wasn't easy and we went back and forward on it for a long time feeling guilty. It was only when we asked a few parents what they thought we realised that it would be fine and the right decission for us was to limit to only babies and children in the family to the day. Children are more than welcome in the evening! xxxx
Lizzy. x
CommentAuthorHelenW
I'm a yay too! H2b and i have 3 between us, so there's no way we'd have a child free wedding.. we also have 5 nieces/nephews and our cousins/friends having babies, we're a real close knit family it wouldn't feel right without the kids!
But as a guest, we generally leave the children at home. Its a very rare occasion when we get to have a night to ourselves. I think the majority of my neices/nephews will be there for the day and will go to grandparents for the evening - my sisters want to have a night off too.. xx
"Once in a while, right in the middle of an ordinary
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I'm definitely Pro-children. We are only having 20 guests including children, my mum is a foster carer so I wont know until the day before who will be there. There are definitely going to be three with her, two neices and a page boy (Best Mans son) - All except one under 4 and I haven't met two of them yet (mum has only just got them) so our wedding could be interesting!
xx
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CommentAuthorJuly 2014 bride
edited
am a mum of 4 two girls and two boy.my girls are 11 and 1 years old and my boys are 8 and 4. and all of them are include in the wedding my eldest girl is a bridesmaid my youngest is a flower girl.and my two boys are page boys my maid of honour daughter is also a flower girl at my wedding.kids make a wedding they tend to have lots of fun on the dancefloor and having them around is a blessing.there will be around 15 kids at my wedding that way the kids don't get board and have someone to play with.
After being together for 15 years i fiinally going to marry
the love of my life and my best friend.
CommentAuthorJoanna
I'm definitely pro children at weddings. I have two nieces and a nephew aged 4, 2 and 18 months and all are in the wedding party. My nieces are bridesmaids and my nephew is an usher
The greatest thing you'll ever learn
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CommentAuthor*KelBel*
We're having bridal party children which are my 3 daughters only x
Velcro...my wedding day twinny! The Two Kel's!
Got engaged 14/10/12 in Central Park NYC!
Became Mrs Macdonald 13th September 2014
Mummy to 4 girlies and baby blue boy Due 10/05/2016
CommentAuthorEllenH27
We're having an adult only affair, not because I don't like children, just our venue isn't really suitable and if I had everyones kiddies there we would be looking at 30+ extra guest, so with budget in mind we decided on no children, and all our friends have been fine, there have been a few extended family memebers who have been difficult, but thats our decision and we're sticking to it. x
CommentAuthorJenniferY90
I am half and half. We are having children at the wedding and the meal but then the parents are under strict instructions that they have to all be gone by 7.30 at the latest. I am having a flower girl and page boy, they are my God children, I was at my Godsons birth and I brought my GOd daughter home from hospital, they are my extended family and I couldn't get married without them. H2B has 5 nieces and nephews so we couldn't not invite them, so we then ended up inviting a total of 11 children. But, my family and friends are all big party drinkers and I didn't want anyone to have to stem their partying because there was a child asleep in the corner somewhere, the kids would get grouchy because its a long day for them. All the parents have loved it, it means they get to spend the day with their kids all dressed up and looking lovely and then they can ship them off and carry on partying. There are toys in the church to keep them happy, I have made them all entertainment packs for during the meal and speeches and then they can go home and the adults can act like children instead.
CommentAuthorMrsWright290912
edited
We only had our nephew attend the daytime (he was 13 months at the time). We did say to others they could bring their children etc but none of them wanted to. We had cousins children attend the night time and it was fine. One of the children got a bit overexcited and drew on nearly every page of our guest book which I was cross at but only because she was 13 and should have known better!
I think you have to tread carefully. Some will be offended if you say no children, however, if you have lots of young children together, is it going to be noisy etc during the ceremony? And will people have the sense if their children are noisy or get overexcited to deal with it?
I know that if we had put a ban on children coming, my SIL and her husband couldnt have come (they flew from Turkey for our wedding) and quite a few evening guests wouldnt have been able to come.
I know people who have had children to their weddings and have made little party bags with things to keep the children entertained such as crayons etc. I also know someone who is not having any children at their ceremony or meal but is having the children to the evening (created a bit of a issue as the children are her neices and nephews etc) We dont have children yet and the thought of lots of kids running around would have terrified me but thats just us.
If it had become an issue with lots of children at our day, we would have restricted it to just familial children.
Just use your judgement and I'm sure you can't go far wrong :o)
I really did marry my Mr Wright and we had a nice day for a
Wright wedding!
Mexico for our first anniversary
CommentAuthorsarah
I think children make the wedding, but there are definitely instances where it'd be inappropriate to have children attend (evening weddings, etc). I can see why people might not want children in their weddings as well.
CommentAuthoralmost a year wife!!
Generally it's a no for me....
Ill marry my hero
CommentAuthornatalie2614
Seei think kids make a wedding and I'm very family orientated. However I wouldn't take offence if a bride said no kids at a wedding and I was a parent. The end of the day I would respect their wishes. If I have very small children I would probably leave them with grandparents or something so me and hubby could enjoy the day.
We had about 5 kids and they were really well behaved xx
Married my best friend 05.04.2013
CommentAuthorMrsA-J
Yaay!!! Personally for me I love seeing children hitting the dance floor and shakin there booties. To me a party isnt a party without children. They get the adults up and dancing as they have no shame so get things going! Plus my family is fully of children! My own and siblings and neices and nephews! Id miss there not being kids there
But on the other hand I can see why people dont want children there. As they do need to be looked after so one of the parents might not being having as much fun.
I think its deffinatly a personal opinion and you should weigh up your pros and cons! xxx
CommentAuthorFinally Susan B
No children for me (We're having 4 neices/nephews in bridal party) I think it very much depends on your family - if the people important to you have children then I guess it would be yes. We have very few children in our close family so was easy to invite adults only
CommentAuthorMrsGothBride
Nay nay nay nay!!!!
When we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours
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5th September 2013
CommentAuthornadia13
Nope!! Only kids there b is my niece 11yrs who b bridesmaid & my 3 nephews who r 9,11 & 14 yrs!! And the flower girl is best mans daughter who is 5yrs will be leaving once the photos r done!! We did offer h2b cousin & wife 2 bring there babies ( one almost new born) coz 'its family' I wasn't really keen but they said no anyway coz she is breast feeding ( thank god lol) I'm NOT a fan of kids and some friends can't make the wedding coz they can't get a baby sister even tho they had plenty of time but as I've said 2 them it's us that decided not 2 have kids there & even tho they can't make it but that the decision!! None never complained mind about the whole no kids but I guess coz they know how I feel about them lol
CommentAuthorKatherineR45
i've been to both and they each have pro's and con's. We will be having children as I'm very close to my nieces and nephews and some of our friends children and i really want them there x
CommentAuthorCarolineW10
If a child cried through my ceremony and wasn't taken out by the parent I would be livid. I'm spending too much money on my wedding for it to be ruined.I live kids but we don't have any, I have kids coming because friends and family have assumed they are all invited. They will get more than an akward smile if they kick off!I think husband will ask them to leave if they do! Is it just my friends and family that can't bare to be parted from their kids? Not even for the 20minute ceremony!(we have booked a qualified babysitter to care for them during the service but they've all turned their nose up so far!
CommentAuthorTotallyLovedUp
I understand both sides but personally I am pro children at weddings but as a guest, I like to leave my boys with a sitter lol I wouldn't dream of telling guests they cant bring their kids to my wedding! In my opinion, if you don't want their kids there, don't invite them at all... maybe a bit harsh but.... lol
CarolineW10, I see what you are saying and can totally respect that, but you don't have children yourself, so it is, I imagine, hard to see where your friends and family are coming from. Saying that if my children started playing up during the ceremony I would have the decency to take them out!
I feel like I am sounding a bit contradictory, but I really do see both sides! If I had planned an adult only wedding I wouldn't be too happy if people assumed children were invited too, but then if you really don't want them, make it clear on the invites that children aren't allowed lol
I think children at your wedding is a personal choice, but be aware that there will be fall outs guaranteed if you flat out refuse to allow children (please don't think this was aimed at you CarolineW10 x) :p
CommentAuthorWhovianbride
I think i would be mortified if a child was screaming through my ceremony but most the kids will be atleast 3/4 by the time unless some more babies are born! but i think i will be saying to my girlies and cousins etc, in the event your child does play up etc please as quietly as possible remove them, i don't want my moment ruined!
Met June 2009 on my Birthday,Met again July 2009 and got
together, May 2010 Moved in,Jan 2011 got pregnant,
August 2011 Got our own place, 2011 Had our Baby Girl,
Dec 2011 Got engaged, July 2015 Getting married! Yay!
CommentAuthorCarolineW10
Totally loved up I do take offense at all it is a tricky one because I do see both sides too. X
CommentAuthorLauraJo87
I think it depends on the type of wedding...we're in the fortunate position that we are only having a small ceromony and reception (42 people at last count) and there is only one of our guests who has a younger child. This guest is perfectly happy to leave her laddy at his grandmas for the day, as she says he will not really understand what's going on, and will probably be bored being the only child of that age there. The evening is adults and older kids, think the youngest is twelve which I think is fair enough...if guests had young children and didn't want to leave them, I wouldn't be offended if they didn't come...however if they moaned about there kids not being able to come I'd probably be a bit peed off...as its a personal choice. Although I'm having a child free wedding, I'm not against children at weddings at all - I just think sometimes (at least at least at weddings I've been to) parents don't keep a close enough eye on them. At one wedding we attended a wee girl was taken to hospital after claiming railings at the venue and falling off - fortunately she was fine but it can't have been nice for the bride to have an ambulance and paramedics invade her reception! If we did have family with young children, or more close friends with young children that we were involved with, we would probably invite them, but we would probably had the day differently to our 'adults only' wedding xx
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The First Day Of My Happily Ever After
CommentAuthorCarolineW10
I meant I don't take offense sorry didn't check message before I posted it!
CommentAuthorMickaylaH
I am very close to my family, therefore neices and nephews will be at my wedding along with my cousins children.
How loads of my friends coming have children. They arent invited as it would cost too much. If I could afford it they would there.
Xx
CommentAuthorStaceyP91
Yeh we will be having children, but works out to be 10 kids at the ceronmy, we have a 3yr who will be 4 when the wedding comes. I'm not too worried the youngest will be 4/5 months and they will be my nieces/nephews. So Im not worried the oldest will be 9
Xxx
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CommentAuthormym72
We invited children to the wedding - as my cousin has two boys (9 and 6 at the time) and husband's cousin has a son (who was 4) - but as we got married at Gretna Green, and therefore made a weekend of it, their parents decided to leave them with the grandparents so that they could relax for the weekend and not have to worry about checking on them in the hotel as we had a late bar etc.
We were perfectly happy for them to be there, but in the end it did work out well as everyone could enjoy the whole night without having to rush off and put kids to bed.
For our evening reception back home we again invited children - but husband's cousin again got a babysitter instead, my cousin was away on holiday - but a few of our friends brought their kids (age range from about 15 down to 2). We were happy for them to be there and think children make a wedding really.
And it was a good way to get rid of the balloon displays at the end of the night....not many children don't like balloons lol.
CommentAuthorLinzi-jo
We will be having children at our wedding. H2b is Greek so family is a huge thing to him and there will be 14 coming from his side, and 1 (maybe 2) from mine. Personally I like having children around but as with everything there are pros and cons, so I can also totally understand why people wouldn't want children there. I am not a parent myself so couldn't comment on leaving them at home for the day, but I know that for a couple of friends who have children this would be a big no no and they wouldn't think twice about falling out with someone over it xxx
Got together 14.02.2008
Got engaged 31.12.2010
Will become a Mrs on 30.08.2014 xxxxxx
CommentAuthorDecember
We are inviting children to our wedding. There are no young children in either of our families, but a lot of our friends have little children, and they are a part of their family and we love them too, so we want them there.
Also, we live away from all of our friends so everyone is having to travel. I think if its close to home its easier to say no kids, but asking people to travel and leave children at home is a really big deal. I don't want guests saying no because we won't allow their children!
But I do have a friend already on hand in the screaming scenario! He loves kids but really objects to them making noise in weddings. He will be in uniform (military wedding) so has already said he will go up to any parents of a baby making noise and politely insist that they leave the ceremony until baby is quite. I do agree that its wrong to let a baby cry in the ceremony. Everyone is there to hear your vows, so they need to be able to hear them!!
A friend of mine has said no to any children at her wedding, and also told BMs they will lose their position if they fall pregnant between now and March!!! If one of my BMs gets pregnant I'll just get some extra material put in her dress! I think people can be far too uptight about babies/children at times!
CommentAuthorInDreamland
We have said that we cannot accommodate children with the exception of family only.
We need to take budget/cost into consideration ...................plus all of H2B's friends who are married have one or two children each and quite a few of mine do too so would be very packed with screaming kids running around out of control and his mates actually want to leave the kids at home with parents so they can let their hair down and have a few drinks without worrying and taking care of children.
xx
Married the love of my life on Saturday 11th May 2013 xxx
Had our dream perfect honeymoon in Hawaii!
CommentAuthorDecember
Yeah, InDreamland, we haven't sent out invitations yet, but lots of friends have already asked parents to look after kids so they can come without them!!! Haha! It tends to be the ones with kids that are older, sort of 7+. The littler ones will be coming I think.
CommentAuthorMrs Ashman2b
I'm kind of on the fence with this one whilst i'm pleased there are no children attending our wedding thats mainly because we're having a grown up kind of day. I think if we had family with small children then i'd welcome them with open arms but we just don't. (my mother would tell you because i've been on the shelf too long to provide her with more grandbabies!!)
I went to a friends wedding in Feb they have a little girl of 18 months and she stole the show all day. She was soo happy bless her, she took the rings from the best man (my h2b)and gave them to mummy/daddy to exhange, ate a grown up meal from her top table high chair and was still dancing happily until about 9pm.
So whilst some children do run wild its not all of them but i agree with Indreamland it does bump up the cost paying for small people that may not eat what they are given and some get grumpy from being over stimulated and tired. But i suppose parents are keen that their children don't play up or would rather some adult time and leave them at home.
