Ideas For Weddings That Include Children

This is not such an absurd idea as your initial reaction would suggest. Many people are getting married for the second or maybe even third time and have children from previous marriages. It often happens as well that a couple has a child or children together before getting married. Therefore there is truly a demand for wedding ideas that include children.

Many people may be truly horrified at the idea of even having children at a wedding much less including them in the ceremony or reception. It doesn't have to be this way though and making children a part of the wedding (ceremony or otherwise) can provide an unexpected and fun element that can contribute a lot towards making an otherwise stressful situation bearable. Most wedding ceremonies have some surprises even if it is rehearsed several times. You can be almost sure of this when you include children in a wedding!

Following are a few ideas on how to include children in your wedding ideas:

1. Include them in the wedding preparations like helping with the selection of colors and other details.

2. There are so many decisions to be made regarding a wedding and asking children for their advice will include them in all the arrangements. This way they won't feel left out.

3. If the children are older they can be part of the bridal party. How great will it be if you daughter can be a bridesmaid or your son a groomsman?

4. Instead of a unity candle ceremony, we recently saw it done by pouring two different colors sand into a tall glass container. This will be a good (and safe!) place to include the children.

5. Children can help handing out the ceremony details as guests arrive at the church. Having supervision available may be a good idea if the children are smaller though.

6. Instead of using friends as ushers in church, teenage sons will be a great alternative.

7. Teenage daughters can help mom get dressed.

8. Bigger children can man the guest book station and make sure that every person signs it.

9. Young children are always fun to have as flower girls and ring bearers.

We recently attended a second wedding of a couple in their fifties. All the children and grandchildren from their previous marriages were included in the ceremony and reception. This gave such a warm, united feeling and made it a very special wedding.

A very nice touch was teenage granddaughters handing out a single fresh flower to every lady as they entered the church which made them all feel special and in the right frame of mind for a wedding.

This is just a few of many wedding ideas that include children. Anything goes since it is your wedding and you make the decisions. Who says it has to be by the book? It is refreshing to see things done a bit differently at times. This prevents a ceremony from getting boring.