Kid Friendly Wedding Planning Southeast Texas
Today’s edition of Southeast Texas Wedding Tips looks at making your SETX wedding kid friendly.
When planning your Southeast Texas Wedding, “Consider the Children”.
The more “kid friendly” our Golden Triangle weddings are, the more comfortable everyone is- crying, pouty children won’t add to your wedding. DO have the kids there- but follow a few simple tips to keep them happy and smiling.
Early in the process of planning your wedding, you’ll want to decide if children’s attendance is encouraged or discouraged.
Today, weddings are increasingly big affairs that not only serve to sanctify and proclaim your marriage, but also as something of a de facto family reunion. Family members will come to your wedding who you haven’t seen in several years.
If you’re getting married a couple of years later than your friends and bridesmaids, many of them will have young children as well.
If you decide to encourage children to attend your Southeast Texas wedding, there are a few things you can do to help those with children.
Remember that if you want to keep your guests at your event you have to make it child friendly. You don’t have to go over the top, but just including simple things throughout will make it easier on the mommies and daddies in your audience. You’ll also be a happier bride with enough wedding guests left to blow bubbles as you run to your get-a-way car.
–Have a play area set up. It can be simple with a few baskets of toys, cards, blocks, or a kid friendly souvenir toy- make it as simple or elaborate as your wedding.
–Provide kid friendly food – that fancy pants soufflé is not something that any six year old cares about, especially when there’s a huge cake starring him down, calling his name, begging the kiddo to come a poke a finger in it. And I’m not saying to create a separate menu. But at my most recent experience the guests were kept waiting while family pictures were taken soooo long (well over an hour with guests standing up outside the banquet room). Kids were starving (and we’d fed them on the way to the wedding to help compensate for any delays in the wedding schedule). I asked the waitress for crackers and she said no! It was a fancy shindig at a rather swanky hotel, so I had to ask her boss.
The food was delicious, but sorry folks my kiddos just don’t eat chicken with swirled sauce on top or grilled fish with pesto rice. We had to leave the banquet hall and order the kids sliders from the hotel bar. It was a family wedding we had all looked forward to attending but due to delays and questionable menu choice, I was in the banquet room and my children were at a hotel bar eating hamburgers as my husband watched football on the big screen (away from me and the wedding).
Crackers, finger foods, fruits, cheeses, CUPS with TOPS on them are perfect for wedding kid food!!! Your open bar is great for adults- it is not much harder to make it kid fun as well. Ask the bartender to be set up for Shirley Temples, umbrellas, or fruit on the side of the cups for the kids.
–Schedule Your Southeast Texas Wedding Photos with kids in mind. Use the airline rule. If you need a picture of a family with children schedule them first or call for families with small children at a specific time before the festivities get cranked. Kids aren’t going to look any better as the night goes on. Understand that children will be shedding frilly stockings, bows, sweaters, and vests to get down to movable clothing. If you want a picturesque moment then take advantage of happy little people as soon as you can. If you wait, you’ll get photos of a bunch of half naked heathens alternately asking when they will play the chicken dance song and threatening to pass out on the dance floor.
– Include kids in the entertainment early. Have your DJ or band play at least one kid-friendly song – YMCA, The chicken dance… Nothing gets a party going like cutie pies on the dance 
floor and who is going to dance with them? That’s right. Daddy will dance with his baby girl and granny will dance with her little grandsons. If you get little ones on the dance floor, adults will quickly follow. The dance floor will shine with giggles and happy feet.
–Valet Parking. At the end of the night, parents are usually toting their sleeping tots in their arms as well as purses, and bags, shoes that came off, headbands and bowties. While not always easy to set up in the Golden Triangle, valet parking does make it easy for them to leave directly from your facility and not have to walk to their car or have little ones hand in hand walking through traffic.
– Cry room. Make sure your mothers of babies have a comfortable place to breastfeed that’s not a restroom or a quiet place that they are welcome to go when her baby is crying without interruption. Most Southeast Texas wedding venues have the space to accommodate a cry room, they just need to know you want one and any special requirements your guests will have. And as important – make sure the mothers know that you have designated a place for them and how to access it at her convenience. You’re going to watch your wedding video over and over. You don’t want the soundtrack to be a crying baby.
Schedule any activities that you want a full audience for as early as possible. People do feel obligated to wait around at least until after cutting the cake, so just be considerate of the families you have there after all they have been considerate enough to plan, fly across the country, get everybody dressed, get there with smiles just to show you love and support. Believe me, it is way easier on everyone not to go to weddings with children.
If families take the trouble to attend your Golden Triangle wedding, they think you’re pretty special. Browse these tips a couple of times and you’ll be able to show them you think they are special too.
We hope today’s edition of Southeast Texas Wedding Tips has been helpful.
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