So, you are starting to plan your wedding reception, and you now have to deal with one of the toughest choices you will have to make. Whether kids at weddings will be allowed to attend or not? Catering for functions is a lot different from catering at home. At home, you are free to make last-minute changes to deal with any emerging problems. A function is pre-planned, and acting in an agile manner becomes difficult. Therefore, if you do allow children to attend, and this creates problems, you are likely stuck with the problems for the entire wedding reception. You can’t simply find something to entertain the children, or change plans to accommodate them better.
Now is the time to make the choice, children or no children? Deciding now will give the parents of children plenty of time to arrange a babysitter, etc. so that they can attend your wedding reception. You might be interested to know that it is quite common for children to be excluded from non-Asian weddings. At an Asian wedding, children are usually invited, so deciding to break with this tradition may be tough.
The Pros of Having Kids Attend
Speak to any good caterers in London, and they will be able to give you an honest opinion of whether having children in attendance is the right thing for your wedding. However, do take some time to think over the benefits of having children attend. These include:
- Adults love taking adorable, cute pictures of children dressed up in their wedding finery.
- Guests, especially the elderly, take great joy in interacting with children in such an interesting setting as a wedding reception.
- Children can be fun. The funny things they often say, and the way they have little inhibitions when it comes to things like dancing at a wedding. This provides some great entertainment for the adults present, and also helps to keep the conversation flowing.
The Cons of Having Kids Attend
Of course, alongside the pros that we listed in the previous section, there are also a number of cons related to having children attend a wedding reception. Some of these include:
- You will need to speak to your catering services and make sure they have included catering food that is suitable for children, who may be picky over what they eat. This is especially true if you are using Indian catering for weddings, and there will be children in attendance who do not eat Indian food.
- A wedding reception is a long event, often going on late into the night. This can be very tiring for children.
- If children are attending the wedding itself, or you have a specific ceremony taking place during the reception, children could cause unwanted interruptions. Parents may have to step out of the ceremony to deal with their child’s needs.
- For parents, a good time at a wedding reception is one of the only times they can let their hair down and stop worrying about their children for an evening.
Considerations for Kids at Weddings
If you do decide that you are going to allow children to attend your wedding and wedding receptions, here are a few considerations to keep in mind.
- Children need their own, suitable entertainment.
- You may want to help parents arrange for CRB registered babysitters as a group, to get a better deal.
- You could set aside a special children’s rest area, such as tepees in the garden. Make these a fun place kids want to go to rest.
- Provide quiet entertainment for during the ceremony, or during the wedding speeches, such as colouring books.
In Conclusion
Whichever you divide, kids or no kids, it is better that you do so before you start planning the event. This is so you can give your catering service and your guests plenty of time to prepare. Having kids at a wedding can be a lot of fun, it can also be a recipe for disaster. We are happy to talk over this issue with you, and help you to reach the right decision.
