I’ve photographed hundreds of
weddings to date and whether or not to invite children is often a really difficult decision for a bride and groom to make. On the whole I do think
children add to the family atmosphere at weddings and seeing them play together brings families together in a really relaxed and fun way. Being a Dad of 3, I guess I have to say
that! One thing to be careful of
is that there aren’t too many, as it can get a bit over the top and cost-wise
some venues and caterers charge almost as much for kids’ meals as they do for adults.
At the end of the day, it’s all
down to personal choice. If you do
decide you’d like children at your wedding, be sure to cater for them and plan
some entertainment. In my experience,
the 2 most difficult and “boring” parts of the day for kids are the ceremony and
the speeches. There are obviously lots of ideas on
the internet to help you with this. Think
about the type of food you're offering them, how best to seat them and then importantly, think of ways to distract them particularly through long speeches. Goody bags, colouring books & small games at the
tables work really well.
If you can afford to, maybe think about hiring an entertainer or nanny
to keep them occupied for part of the day in a separate area. Be inventive, perhaps a game of eye
spy and give them all a little disposable camera each to go round getting their own snaps! There are some ingenious ideas on Pinterest –
see https://www.pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=entertaining%20kids%20at%20weddings!
I really liked the idea one of my wedding couples had which was to set them a challenge to spot things around the venue and fill in a little wedding book which they could then keep, what kid
doesn’t like a good quiz?! Be creative; theme your activities, like dot-to-dot bride and groom, design a
wedding dress, name as many things are you can beginning with the bride and groom's initials,
the list is endless… Games outside don’t
have to be expensive either; glow sticks,
skittles, soft bats and balls, a small tented den area all work brilliantly. You could even think about milk and cookies
and a bedtime DVD which will always go down a treat for later on in the day or
computer games for the slightly older kids.
Here is a very cute selection of
some of my favourite images of children at the weddings I’ve photographed at
over the past couple of years. Hope you enjoy them.
As I think you’ll agree, they
definitely add excitement, laughter, fun and family togetherness to any wedding
and as a photographer, they can (if you’re skilled and quick off the mark!) help make for some stunning
photography.
Thanks for reading and happy
planning…
