The guest list surrounding your wedding is an area bound to cause you a great deal of stress. Making cuts to the list and attempting to reach out and figure out who forgot to RSVP can be a lot of work. To keep yourself sane throughout the planning phase of your wedding, it might prove useful to get a bit of assistance with your guest list struggles. One of the biggest areas couples tend to struggle with when it comes to guest lists is whether or not children should be invited to the wedding.
Debating this point can be tricky. Some people have very strong opinions on whether or not children should be allowed at weddings in the first place. There are a lot of concerns to having little ones running around while people are dancing, drinking, and attempting to keep the event going in the direction you wish. If you are stuck on whether or not to invite children to your wedding, take a look at these suggestions and decide if it is a good fit for your celebration.
Proximity
The first concern to keep in mind with children at your wedding is who the children belong to. Are these the kids of someone close to you? If your sister or brother, or one of your spouse’s siblings, happens to have children, then it might be fairly obvious that you are going to be inviting them to the wedding. In fact, it stands to reason that these children will play significant parts in your wedding. You might want your niece to be the flower girl or your nephew to carry the rings down the aisle.
Still, there are other children to consider. Does your best friend have a child who you adore? Are there kids of a cousin or work associate you know well and want to bring in on your special day? Ask yourself how well you know the parents of the children and whether or not you think it might make sense to have them at the wedding. If your niece or nephew is going to be the only child present, then it might be smart to invite children of one or two other people to keep them company.
Opening the Gates
It is very important to remember that inviting one child to your wedding can easily open the floodgates. Many people do not want to bring their kids to a wedding because it can be hard to keep track of children who are running around during a party. Unfortunately, there are also many more parents who would rather bring their children along to a wedding instead of having to find a babysitter. This means you need to make your intentions very clear for who is invited to your wedding.
People tend to talk and word gets around fast when it comes to plans for a wedding. If you are inviting one child and someone else hears, they might assume it means that you are allowing all children at your wedding. Before you know it, your wedding might look something like a daycare. To avoid this, be very clear with who you are inviting and which guests are allowed to bring their children. Expressly stating this information on each invite can help you clear the air of any confusion.
Balancing Acts
Coming up with a sensible guest list can be an intense balancing act. To get across the wire, be sure to think through common questions. If you are worried about whether or not to invite children to your wedding, you need to sit down with your partner and have a discussion. Talking through these points early enough might help you to come up with solutions that make sense for your special day.
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