How to Look After the Little People at Your Wedding
By Esther Dawson

10 February 2017

With child-free weddings becoming more and more popular, the question of whether to include children in your wedding day celebrations can often be an agonising decision for brides and grooms alike.

There can be strong opinions and an element of pressure from relatives who want to have their children involved. And sadly, by excluding children from weddings, guests with younger children are often unable to attend due to difficulties arranging childcare. Here are a few challenges to be aware of along with a solution to make your decision a whole lot easier!


Challenges:

It is lovely to be able to include children both within your ceremony and wedding day celebrations. Children bring a wonderful, spontaneous element to weddings and by having everyone involved you will truly encapsulate the sharing of togetherness and unity that a wedding day is all about. Including younger guests within your special day however does pose some challenges to yourself, the children and your other guests. With everything involved in the planning and execution of your dream wedding the needs of your younger guests will often be inadvertently overlooked.  

wedding childcareImage from Pinterest

A wedding is a very adult occasion and by placing children in an adult situation there are large expectations and an element of pressure placed on both the children and their parents.  It is important to remember that they are children and might struggle after being told to sit still and behave for a prolonged period of time. Even the most mature and well-behaved children can easily become tired, restless and disruptive (usually around the time of the wedding speeches). 

Parents and other guests can spend a large amount of their time trying to keep the children occupied and quiet throughout the formalities of the day and as result miss out on some of the pivotal milestone moments of the wedding celebration! Worse still, if parents are relaxed about their children's behaviour, you’ll have little people running around disturbing the occasion and creating an unpleasant atmosphere for yourself and all your guests.

wedding childcare
Image from Pinterest

Solution:

So, how can you include children in your wedding day while managing to keep them entertained and happy without causing family members and other guests to miss out on your special day?

A growing trend in overseas wedding planning is the incorporation of onsite childcare for your wedding. With wedding crèches and bespoke childcare services widespread throughout the UK, catering for your younger guests by providing onsite care is becoming very popular and establishing a strong foundation in wedding day celebrations. 

By providing onsite care, children are able to be involved in as much or as little of your special day as you want, no one is excluded from your big day and parents and guests can fully enjoy this milestone occasion. 

Great news - there is now a company that is offering this service here in NZ!

wedding childcare
Image from Pinterest

The Event Childcare Company is an Auckland-based company that specialises in providing onsite wedding childcare staffed by trained professionals. They will establish a special children's space onsite at your venue complete with all the toys, games and equipment to keep your younger guests entertained and provide a truly unique and special experience for both the children and their parents. The Event Childcare company works alongside brides and grooms to create a personally tailored childcare solution for your wedding day reflecting the individual needs of your wedding  and the ages and interests of your younger guests. 

When looking at including childcare services in a wedding, brides and grooms can either choose to fully provide the service themselves or offer it to their guests who will more than likely be happy to contribute to the cost, saving them organising a babysitter or missing out on the wedding.

Consider providing childcare at your wedding – your guests will be impressed at your forethought and impeccable planning and appreciate that their children are not only invited but have been exclusively catered for. Then kick back, relax and have fun!

wedding childcare
Image from Pinterest