Ways to Make Your Luxury Wedding Kid-Friendly

A rose petal-covered aisle under a midday sun. The glisten of the rings on the ring-bearer’s pillow. The song of a children’s choir, ushering in the wedding guests before the ceremony.

These count as just a few of the elements that make luxury weddings in Alabama so magical. They also highlight the integral roles that children can and do play in luxury weddings.

However, despite children being common components of a wedding ceremony, many couples still feel reluctant to include children in their wedding planning activities. When looked at in this light, most people begin to understand that it’s not a matter of whether children will be involved in the wedding. It’s a matter of how many there will be.

This post looks at some practical ways to make your luxury wedding kid-friendly, including offering tips on what to do if you’re planning a southern destination wedding.

Tips on How to Make Your Luxury Wedding Kid-Friendly

Although all weddings that include kids benefit from having a concrete plan, destination weddings in particular require it because people come from out-of-town to attend the nuptials. Therefore, people with kids need to look at what will happen to their kids not only on the day of the wedding, but also on the days leading up to and after the wedding day.

The tips in this section are taken from our experience helping numerous couples plan their southern destination weddings in Alabama.

Choose a Venue That Has the Capacity to Host Kids

Not all wedding venues are created equally. Some are more kid-friendly than others because they include activities like:

• A petting zoo
• Bike trails
• Pedal boats (with adult supervision)
• Painting and art activities
• A pool
• Fishing and other outdoor activities
• Plenty of space to run around
• Places to find snacks
• Close to town (if parents need supplies)

If you’re planning a luxury destination wedding, be sure to talk to your venue to ensure that it can help you accommodate the kids you plan on inviting to your wedding.

Supporting The Flower Girl and the Ring Bearer

If you’re planning on having a flower or girls and a ring bearer, then having other kids at the wedding to play with after the ceremony is over makes a lot of sense. If you’re doing a destination wedding, planning events, like painting activities or time at the petting zoo, allows all the kids to get to know each other. This makes your flower girl/s and ring bearer feel more comfortable before, during, and after the ceremony.

Also, it’s a nice touch to create some kid-centered events that allow all the kids at the wedding to be seen. In the days leading up to the wedding, you can have a parade filled with kids carrying balloons, noisemakers, and little colorful flags. It’s cute and fun for everyone. And it makes an excellent photo-op for your wedding website, too!

Create a ‘Kids Only’ Area

Part of the worry that people have when it comes to having kids at a wedding is the fear that they’ll be under foot, including during dinner when hot dishes and drinks are being served. Creating a “kids only” area that includes kid-related activities and hired sitters lessens the likelihood that these worst-case scenarios will happen. It also makes kids feel special because they have a space of their own.

Fill this area with games and activities, like coloring books, word puzzles, toss across, croquet, and more. Kid-friendly music and movies make a fun addition, too. Just create a playlist that you play throughout the evening.

Set Up a Kiddie Buffet

Most kids don’t like the things that make grown-up food so appealing – green sprinkles of parsley garnish, spicy flavors, waiting to eat… Setting up a buffet filled with kiddie foods like hamburgers, hot dogs, mini pizzas, and other snacks ensures that kids will eat at your wedding and eat in a hurry. They won’t need to wait for dinner to be served, and if you have a buffet for the grown-ups, setting up a separate kids’ buffet keeps the food line from bottle-necking.

Offer a Private Space for Parents With Very Young Children

Southern weddings are joyful, often ruckus affairs filled with much mirth and plenty of stimuli. For kids under the age of two or three, this often causes sensory overload. Add tiredness and youthful impatience to the mix, and you’ve got some cranky kids (and parents).

Setting up a private quiet room or rooms gives parents a place to take their kids to help them calm down. It also prevents the uncomfortable feelings that parents can sometimes feel when their kids act up in public.

Tip Off the Entertainment

If you’ve hired a band or a DJ, it might be helpful to let them know that family-friendly instead of prime-time fare works best for your wedding. It’s also best to give them some advanced warning. Telling them on the day of the ceremony makes switching up their playlist all the more difficult because they have to do it at the last minute.

Include Kid-Friendly Wedding Favors, too!

The Starbucks cards and wedding snifters that you planned for the adults at your destination wedding probably won’t appeal to the kids that attend. Creating kid-friendly favors, like magnets, bags of mini-coloring books and crayons, or simple puzzles, make the wedding a special day for the kids, too.

Final Thoughts on Making Your Luxury Wedding Kid-Friendly

Inviting kids to your wedding requires you to crank your wedding planning up a notch, but the results can be simply magical and well worth the effort. Aside from giving you the opportunity to create some sweet and memorable wedding photos, you’ll be able to see the magic of your wedding through the eyes of innocence. By following the tips in this blog, you’ll set the stage for both a memorable and smooth kid-friendly wedding that people will talk about in the years to come.

If you’d like some help planning your kid-friendly luxury wedding, reach out to us for a proposal. We’d love to help you with your special day!