Inviting children to your wedding can be divisive. Some couples prefer to just have the grown-ups, while others are delighted to have little feet running around and enjoying the day. If you’ve decided on the latter, you may suddenly find you’ve lots of little people to cater for. It’s a good idea to think about ways to get them involved in the wedding. That doesn’t mean you have to go off and ‘do an Angie’ and let them doodle on your veil, but making them feel special and including them will not only add to their enjoyment of the day, but it will mean they are less likely to get bored or upset and in turn means that everyone will have a more pleasant day.
Thankfully with our years of wedding planning behind us, we know just how to keep the little ones entertained and make them feel included. Here’s some of our top insider tips. If you’d like to discuss your wedding day needs in more detail, please feel free to send us a mail

After children have sat through the ceremony for an hour or so, it’s a safe bet that they may be starting to get bored, so having dedicated kids canapés back at the venue is a stroke of genius. Especially if the adults are tucking into tea and biscuits or champagne and canapés, it’s only fair to have something just for the little ones. Think about offering milk and cookies with playful straws and lots of colours.

If you’ve kids of your own, it’s a no-brainer to have them take a special role in the wedding as Paige boys or flower girls, but if you don’t have children of your own, then why not allocate these jobs to some of you nieces and nephews? For other children who are coming on the big day, why not ask them to help to hand out the order of service? Or arm them with some disposable or Polaroid cameras and tell them they are ‘official photographers’ for the day. They’ll feel really special and you’ll probably have a big giggle at the photos they take!

The meal and speeches can be a drawn out affair and if you’re a kid, the whole thing can seem like one long bore. So make sure you’ve got something special waiting for them at their seat. Colouring and activity books are an obvious choice, but if you want to make it really special then make a customised one that’s all about the wedding day. Bubbles are another one that all kids adore and for later in the evening sparklers will go down a real treat.

It might seem like a basic one, but you’d be surprised how many couples forget to bring a few games for the children to keep them amused. If your venue has nice grounds or a dedicated outdoor area for the wedding, then make the most of it and set up a special kid’s area. Bring retro themed games like boules, ring toss, mini croquet, hula hoops and even hopscotch! Chances are the adults will probably enjoy it too and they’ll make for good photo props!