Sand Ceremony at The Colony on Longboat Key~Kids at weddings has been a huge “no no” during the past, however, the modern trend is to invite children to your wedding.

To combat the problems of tiny tot boredom during the reception and to allow parents to totally enjoy your shindig here are a few suggestions to keep the young ones occupied and happy:

• Hire a babysitter – most hotels have a baby sitting service or a kids club and you could probably pay an extra fee to have them entertain and supervise the little ones during your reception fiesta. Assign an older girl who knows the younger ones to assist.
• Seat children together at a special “kids table”- cover the tables with butchers paper and throw crayons in the middle.
• Give each child an activity pack including games and puzzles, bubbles, crayons, colouring books
• Consider hiring magic makers, clowns or puppet shows
• Ask the caterer to serve a kids meal consisting of Mac n’cheese, pizza’s, carrot sticks, etc.
• Give children jobs at the reception ie. getting messages in the Guest Book, passing around party favors, building a sand castle (after formal portraits are finished), handing out programs & blowing bubbles.
• Have your wedding planner set up a special Cinema Corner for young ones, with a TV, comfy pillows, stuffed animals, popcorn and juice. Show tiny-tot favourites: Finding Nemo, Shrek, The Lion King etc. Better yet, hire a videographer to create a custom video featuring family photos set to music. Kick it up a notch and include family stories with your home movies. Kids LOVE seeing themselves on TV, and this will be a treasured family heirloom for generations to come!

It may seem like a lot of additional effort, but this day is one to remember for the rest of your life, and if having children at the wedding means you can ensure your closest friends and family can be there also, its well worth it!

– by Leslie Harris-Senac of Visions Unlimited Video Productions, Inc., in Sarasota, Florida with excerpts from www.islandbrides.com

7 Responses to Kids and Weddings – Beach Wedding hints

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