If you never got the chance to tie the knot before adding to your brood, you are not alone. Thirty years ago, having kids at your wedding would have been seen as strange. But today, many couples wait to tie the knot until after the kids have been born.
For many mommy brides, the main problem is finding the time to plan a wedding while taking care of the little ones. The main issue is working out how to plan a wedding that is both child-friendly and elegant.
To help you plan the wedding you have always dreamed of, here are five tips that should help. You might have kids in tow, but that doesn’t mean you can’t plan the wedding of your dreams.
1. Use Pinterest for inspiration
Pinterest is an amazing resource and is ideal for using to help get some wedding inspiration. As well as using it to look at all the normal wedding pins and dream boards, you can also search for weddings with kids.
This search should bring up a whole list of pins and dream boards with images that you can use to plan a child-friendly wedding. Many of these photo boards are also linked to blogs and articles that have advice on wedding planning, so it’s worth having a look.
2. Planning is crucial
The most important thing you can do to ensure that your wedding is a success is plan, the more organized you are, the better.
You might be busy taking care of your kids, but it’s important that you make time for planning. Aim to deal with one wedding planning task each day, by doing that, everything should get done. If you really struggle with this, you could consider hiring a wedding planner to help you.
Remember, that when you are planning, it’s important to take your little ones into account. Allow extra time for things like last minute toilet runs and snacks, and ensure that you allocate time for naps and feeds.
3. Consider an all inclusive celebration
It might not be what you initially dreamed of but organising an all inclusive wedding will take a lot of the stress off of you. Plus, all inclusive weddings are often cheaper than regular ones, so work out well if you have a tight budget.
Perhaps you have always liked the idea of getting married abroad? Yes – then why not organize an all inclusive destination wedding? Destination weddings are great as everything is organized for you, all you have to do is get on the plane.
4. Get the kids involved
Don’t shut your kids out of your wedding planning, get them involved. Perhaps your little ones could be bridesmaids or groomsmen? Maybe your child could do a reading or if your dad is absent, give you away?
5. Have activities to keep the kids entertained
As well as getting your children involved in the ceremony, it’s also important to have activities for them at the wedding. Don’t make the mistake of failing to plan things for the kids to do. Otherwise, you will have some bored, whiney children to deal with.
Set up a table just for the kids, fill it with coloring books, story books, comics, jigsaw puzzles, and lots of other toys and games. Perhaps you could also set up a table of retro sweets to keep them entertained, kids love being able to help themselves to things.
Just because you are planning a wedding with kids in tow, it doesn’t have to be any less fabulous. As long as you are well organised and make time for your wedding planning, there is nothing to worry about.
