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Once upon a time, most families had the same origin story. Two young people would meet, fall in love, and get married—or their marriage would be arranged by their parents as a way of making mutually beneficial connections. Once the couple was married, they would start living together and have children.
These days, however, many couples are choosing to cohabit and have kids together before they tie the knot. If you are a parent and are now planning your wedding, read on for some suggestions on how to make this special day suitable for the whole family.
Consider the Menu
When it comes to planning your wedding reception meal, you may be feeling ready for a break from chicken nuggets, chips, fish fingers, or whatever your family’s go-to mid-week dinner is, and keen to plan a more extravagant, gourmet menu. If your children are picky eaters, however, you and your partner might want to consider some fun catering station options, as the last thing you will want to be doing on your wedding day is spend the whole meal trying to convince your kids to eat something. A pasta bar, a popcorn machine, and an ice cream sundae station, for example, will keep your kids both fed and entertained while the parents concentrate on making memories.
Consider the Transport
The most traditional wedding day transport arrangement involves the bride and her father traveling to the wedding location together in one car, and the groom and his best man making their own way separately. After the wedding, the bride and groom would travel together to their new house or their honeymoon in their getaway car, complete with its bunch of noisy cans and ‘just married’ sign on the back.
You and your partner, however, may want to travel to your wedding and reception locations together and may see no need to arrange alternative transport for your kids. Traveling to your wedding as a family unit doesn’t have to mean renouncing your dream of a classy, vintage wedding car, however. The 1961 Austin, for example, can quite easily accommodate four people even within a relatively small space, thanks to its characteristic sideways engine. This makes it perfect for two spouses-to-be, a child and the driver. Just make sure that the wedding dress skirt doesn’t take up the entire back seat!
Consider the Schedule
When planning your wedding day schedule, keep in mind that most kids have shorter attention spans than adults and tend to become tired more quickly, and need to go to bed much earlier. As well as making sure that you have plenty of coloring books, picture books and toys on hand to keep your little ones entertained throughout the day, consider hiring a children’s entertainer for an hour or so during the reception, perhaps just after the meal, when kids will have had to sit through first a ceremony and then a lengthy dinner and are bound to become restless. If your trusted babysitter can double-up as an entertainer, you’ve hit gold: once the entertainment slot is over, they can take your children home and put them to bed while you and your new spouse hit the dance floor.
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