Help your kids become wedding experts by reading them books about weddings. Some of our favourites were The Most Special Flower Girl, The Best Ever Ring Bearer and the colouring book At the Wedding.
You can even show your kids some videos of kids in action at a wedding. There are lots of videos online, but I bet your kids will get a kick out of seeing your own wedding. This will help them understand what will be expected of them.
Rehearse at home once a week in the two months leading up to the wedding and then a few days a week right before the wedding. Get the kids dressed up in their dresses and shoes and walk down a pretend aisle holding hands. If you know that they will be tossing flower petals or carrying a bouquet, you can make your own props for them to practice with. This is also a great time to get used to the clothes and break in the shoes they will be wearing. You don’t want your child’s first time in the wedding clothes and shoes to be the day of the wedding. Too many things can go wrong.
It’s the sitting quietly and still, during the wedding ceremony that holds the greatest opportunity for disruption.
Let’s face it, kids are not used to sitting quietly for long periods of time and wedding vows are probably not very interesting for them. Grandparents come in handy here…
if the children are too young to stand for the duration, have them sit with Grandparents or parents and keep them occupied with a bag of tricks – a pad and crayon or if you are worried about your child dirtying their wedding clothes, you can skip the crayon and have Play dough – keep little hands and minds busy.
Trudy McGee
Marriage Celebrant
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