There seems to be a fairly harsh divide between those who are pro-child-friendly weddings and those are insistent on keeping their ceremony child-free. While we love the innocence and simple joy that children can add to any event, we must admit, that sometimes these little angels can be a tad bit troublesome.
Children can be absolute tricksters sometimes, and though their antics can be frustrating. Sometimes it's actually a better choice to just laugh along with them. Children love a playground and what is a wedding if not for one giant funhouse for our little troublemakers to run around wreaking havoc on. Yes, we can be upset to see our beautifully designed cakes eaten prematurely, our perfectly setup family photos upended and our vows interrupted by the sound of bored sobbing. However, the decision to have children in the first place comes with the acceptance that children can get out of control sometimes, and deep down, we love to see them have fun. Perhaps we can allow them to bring out our own inner child, and indulge in a bit of premature cake ourselves.
We have today, some of the wildest, weirdest and wackiest ways in which children have thrown a wrench into a wedding plan. We certainly hope the bride and groom were able to enjoy the ensuing carnage but even if they weren't, we can definitely enjoy it now. And possibly pray that the same doesn't happen on our big day. Though, we will try to enjoy it if it does.
16 The Cutest Flower Girl
Don't put very young kids in the bridal party! We know that you have a fantasy to have an adorable little 2 year old Flower Girl but that is just way too young and she is going to be scared. Better to get someone slightly older and just have the younger ones be spectators or better yet be able to make their own fun during the ceremony and rejoin everyone else for the reception.
The fact is that young kids are always in their own world and always play by their own rules, not anyone else's. At that age, they are not going listen to reason.
There is nothing wrong with having very young kids at a wedding ceremony, if that is what you want. But you must always be prepared for the consequences.
Your flower girl having a meltdown in the middle of a ceremony does not have to mean that the wedding is ruined. More likely it just means that half the guests will be mildly annoyed, while the other half just thinks that the behavior is adorable. That's the great thing about kids. At that age, even when they are annoying and frustrating they are still cute.
15 One Girl Who Is Very Hard To Impress
Even the Royal Family has to deal with bored babies on their big day! Sometimes we find ourselves judging our ability to live up to the "Mega-Mom" stereotype that we see perpetuated in various tabloid journals. However, the reality is that we don't get to see any of the issues that are dealt with behind closed doors. The truth is, being a mother is hard no matter how famous or non-famous you are. And being a mother at a wedding? That is just a recipe for possible disaster.
The entire world watched the Royal Wedding, but to this kid? It was just one more boring event that she had to attend because of her family. Out of all the "celebrities are just like us "posts out there, this must be the one that hits closest to home.
How many of us have gone through all the trouble to make a beautiful, fun, exciting, and yes, impressive event just for out children to turn around and ask us if they could go home yet? I would wager, most of us have. And the Royal Wedding takes the cake for exciting celebrations. But, we all know how hard it is to impress our children!
14 Someone Disapproves
Little kids can't stand to not be the center of attention. To them every day is their day. So your wedding day will be no different.
Don't be surprised if the little girls and boys at the ceremony decide that your wedding day is all about them. And you shouldn't be upset about it either.
Let them enjoy any attention that is bestowed on them. At the end of the day, you still will be with the love of your life, who will shine all of his attention on you for many years to come.
And if the children aren't happy about the lack of attention? Then they can cry themselves out. As we have said before, children are resilient. A few hours of boredom and lack of attention will not hurt them in the long run, so just focus on yourself. Enjoy your big day and maybe take a few photos with the kids.
If they are your kids, and you don't mind sharing the spotlight then you might end up with several photos to treasure, especially when they are grown! Your wedding is all about making a family of your own so make sure to celebrate that fact!
13 At Least Someone Finds It Funny
We are a fan of this picture because it looks like the bride was getting in on the joke with the child and that is exactly the right spirit to have! After all, a fun family picture is a lot more interesting than a stuffy posed one. So, if your kid decides to make the picture his own, just try to beat him at his own game. Half the fun of having kids is getting to be a bit of a goofball with them.
Getting kids to behave the way you want them to can be a bit of a losing battle. But, if you try to beat them at their own game, often times you will both end up quite a bit happier.
You have a whole ceremony to get perfect pictures of just you and your new husband. Let the ones with your kid be fun and silly!
It will be a lot less stress than trying to wrangle them into a set up that they don't want to be a part of. Compromise is key when it comes to kids. Besides, you have their whole lives to try to force them into looking nice for a big event!
12 Falling Asleep On The Job
This little guy just got a bit too tired! Who can blame him? Weddings are exhausting even when you aren't only two feet tall. But when you are a tiny human being who needs far more sleep than the rest of the his fellow wedding guests, and who hasn't even had a chance to enjoy snack time yet, a four hour wedding ceremony can just become a bit too much.
Children need rest. So, if you are certain that you want to have a child friendly wedding, make sure there is someone to look after the children to make sure that they are given breaks when needed.
It might seem a lot of hassle to go through on your big day, but it is your best option unless you are alright with small children simply falling asleep wherever they please. Actually, the idea of a wedding ceremony filled with peacefully sleeping children does sound appropriately adorable.
It's all up to you to decide how you want your big day structured. There is not necessarily any right or wrong way to go about it. More so a decision you have to make as to what will allow you the least amount of stress.
11 All Packed And Ready To Go Home
This one is hilarious for its sheer simplicity. This kid is obviously completely fed up with everything going on around him. We all want children to be charming and excitable at events, but sadly that is not always going to be the case. Children have personalities of their own, and likes and dislikes that may not match up to yours. Therefore, it is not entirely surprising that they wouldn't necessarily care about your wedding day. Or be particularly impressed by anything that it entails. These are things that you must take into account if you are planning on having children attend your wedding.
If you want to make sure that kids stay at least relatively entertained, encourage their parents to bring along toys or books to keep the kids busy during the ceremony.
Otherwise, just try to enjoy yourself and make sure you are happy. Children are resilient and if there is one thing they tend to bounce back from easily, it's boredom. But your big day (hopefully) only happens once. You will already have a bundle of things to be worrying about, no use fretting over whether the children in the crowd are entertained or not. Your wedding day is about you.
10 Eating Cake In His Underwear: Best Wedding Ever
Attending a wedding is hungry work! And having a giant, delicious looking cake staring you in the face will inevitably make you even hungrier if it's past snack time. If you don't want this to happen at your wedding, just make sure the cake is out of eye view from the kids, either that or assign someone to hold them back.
Even if you make sure to feed them before, and during the ceremony, the kid is always going to go straight for the cake. So, what should you do if you find yourself in this situation?
Well, you have several options assuming the cake is already destroyed.
Option number one, you can throw a fit and let the rest of your guests know how upset you are about the situation, thereby possibly making your guests feel uncomfortable.
Option number two, feel awful about it but keep it to yourself and try to put on a brave face. This will at least keep the situation somewhat private but still includes you feeling negatively on an important day which is less than ideal.
Option number three, our our opinion the best option, you can smile and laugh at the ridiculousness that is a hungry kid digging into your wedding cake.
9 She's Proud Of Her Entire Outfit
Little kids are the only ones that can do this and get away with it. We honestly can't blame them. If you've ever had a moment where you just feel like you can't be bothered to care anymore, then you understand where this kid is coming from. Not saying that we should all walk around pants-less but... that does sound fairly intriguing.
A little kid walking around in their underwear in public is hardly the end of the world. In fact, it can even be considered a piece of free entertainment for your wedding guests.
Who doesn't like an adorable little child running around being natural and carefree? And if they don't they don't have to worry themselves about it. These things are to be expected if you allow kids to be a part of your wedding. Which is why you need to warn your fellow guests about it too. As long as they are prepared, there is no reason for anyone to be upset about kids acting like kids.
If someone complains, this is what you tell them: I decided I wanted my wedding to be kid-friendly and I am sorry if anything today bothered you, but this is my wedding, not yours.
8 Smile For The Camera!
Sometimes, no matter what we do, our kid is going to cry. That's just how it is. When a kid is bored? They cry. Hungry? They cry. Not being given enough attention? You, my friends, are in for the loudest and longest of cries.
So when you bring a child to a wedding, and they are forced to sit through several hours of speeches, unable to touch the sweets on the table while everyone seems to be infatuated with two people the kid might not even know, they will most likely be a sobbing mess.
All we can say is, at least they will probably be a cute, sobbing mess. And if the bride and groom are child-friendly, they are sure to understand. If not? Hopefully you at least got them something nice as a wedding gift. If not, maybe just don't bring your child around the happy couple in the near future.
If you are bringing a kid to a wedding, or inviting kids to your own wedding, make sure there is something to keep them distracted.
A separate play setup for the under ten years old crowd will do wonders as a distraction. Also make sure they have some candy to munch on.
7 Hide And Go Seek?
We think that this one is simply adorable but realistically there are those who could possibly be upset by the idea of a kid exploring the bottom of their wedding dress. Less upset if it's your own kid most likely but we all know that when it comes to children, boundaries are more or less non-existent.
Let's face it, kids are curious! And at that age, societal standards aren't something that they will be taking under consideration.
So, if you don't want a guest's kid playing hide and seek under your skirt, make sure to have a very direct talk with said wedding guest beforehand. Your guest may think it's cute to let their little boy or girl treat a wedding celebration as their own personal playground but that doesn't mean you have to agree with them.
On the other hand, mistakes happen, and maybe your guest loses track of their kid for a few minutes during the ceremony, which we all know, is all it takes for our younger guests to find mischief. If this happens, try not to freak out. It's a little kid and they certainly won't be embarrassed so why should you be? These are things you need to prepare for if you are having a child-friendly wedding.
6 Who Wants Some (Pre-Loved) Cake?
This is a tough one, what to do if the cake isn't necessarily destroyed, but you're still aware that one of your little guests may have licked said cake. On the one hand, no one will know that this happened. On the other hand, you aren't going to be ok with serving pre-licked cake (we assume).
If you are truly ready to be heroic, you could always eat the segment that's been licked (not such a big deal if the child is your's. If the child isn't though, that option may not necessarily be on the table.
Truthfully, cutting out the part that's been licked (if you know exactly where the area is), but then that might also lead to questions.
Nobody wants to have to throw out their whole wedding cake, but what if you don't know where exactly it is that's been licked?
Well, at least we can give you advice on how prevent this mishap. Alternatives to wedding cakes are very much in style at the moment, so if you are considering wedding cupcakes, that could be a way to make sure you don't end up throwing away an entire cake. Just make sure they don't eat all of your cupcakes.
5 Speak Now Or Forever Hold Your Peace
We know that it's not a good thing when kids cry. Actually that is an understatement. But, I think we can all agree that there is something quite adorable about children crying (if it's not over something serious!). So we think this little crying flower girl is kind of cute. After all, you need to make the best out of the situation.
Rather than feeling annoyed or upset, you can choose to simply be entertained by the younger members of your wedding party.
Sometimes children will cry, and sometimes they will cry at inconvenient times and there will be very little you can do about it. Part of becoming a parent is learning to be resilient in these situations. You are the adult, so if your child cries, that doesn't mean that you cry too. And it doesn't mean that you automatically run to their side, especially if nothing is really wrong. It can be difficult but we are very confident that you can find the right balance between being a compassionate parent, and making sure that you child isn't spoiled. So, to be clear, don't get too worked up if your flower girl starts crying in the middle of your ceremony!
4 He's Unhappy And Wants Everyone To Know It
Little kids can sometimes be more dramatic than academy award winning actors!
Thankfully, that means that we always know whether they are pleased or upset. Unfortunately, that means that everyone else will always know when they are upset too.
You can do everything possible to make them comfortable and happy but kids are unpredictable, and sometimes they're just going to want to cry and mope and whine. If they're part of the ceremony you can certainly choose to give them a time out. However if they are too vital to the ceremony it is entirely understandable if you decide to let them participate despite a sour mood. We would all prefer it if young kids could always be pleasant and adorable but sometimes people forget that children have personalities of their own as well. And they very rarely do what we want them to do. Sure, we can reward them when they do behave themselves and punish them when they don't. But, in the end what it comes down to is choice and it is their choice how they want to act. At that point, sometimes you just have to go on with your own set schedule and hope for the best.
3 The Couple Is A Little Young. And Unhappy.
When you put a kid into an outfit they don't want and force them to sit still for picture taking, it's probably not going to lead anywhere good. From the looks of it, that's what we are figuring happened in this particular photo. Everyone knows how kids can be about their clothing, if they love it, they wear it everyday. If they hate it, they are not going to rest until that particular outfit is off the table completely.
If you are insistent on dressing up your kids for wedding pictures, we recommend having them try on a few first. Find something they feel comfortable with and they will be at least slightly less upset about the finished product. And so will you.
As for how to get a child to take a good picture, we would like an answer to that ourselves! Honestly, children will do what they want to do and if they want to be your little supermodel, that is what will happen. If they don't, then get ready for the insanity. Embrace it if you can! Funny wedding pictures are just that, funny! And if you can't laugh at the time, at least you might be able to laugh in the future.
2 A Memorable Walk Down The Aisle
The younger they are, the less surprising it is when they have a public meltdown at the worst possible time. It's what you invite in if you choose a child-friendly wedding. It's a consequence that you have to accept if you agree to let friends bring their kids. If you have a child of your own, you are usually even more prepared.
Sometimes you're not going to be able to comfort them when they cry. And in the middle of your own ceremony, you barely have enough time to use the bathroom, let alone subdue a screaming child.
People will stare and it's hard not to become embarrassed or frustrated at these occurrences but children will scream, cakes will be destroyed and life will go on. However, we have said it before and will say it again, your wedding day only happens once. We hope.
There is no easy solution to ensuring a little kid doesn't throw a fit in the middle of your wedding. In fact, it does seem like for the most part, the best advice we can come up with is laugh it off and don't let it bother you. And there are plenty of ways to laugh about a crying child.
1 When The Cake Looks Too Delicious
We must say that we are impressed by this young boy's use of a fork! If your young wedding guests decided to dig into the cake ahead of time, we hope they do so with as much finesse as this little boy does here!
As far as little kids causing scenes in the middle of a wedding, this one is pretty tame. Honestly, if a child uses a fork, not only is the cake still completely edible, but more so than not, this is actually more impressive than destructive! So, out advice is to not bother being upset about this little mishap. Just eat, drink and be merry and share the cake with the rest of your guests young and old alike!
We definitely recommend alternative desserts to cake that won't be so easily destroyed if someone decides to cut into the cake a bit too early.
Anyone who has ever planned a wedding has seen the possibilities on Pinterest. If you show up with a chocolate wedding fountain, a stack of Rice Krispy Treats and a Cupcake Tower, the kids aren't going to be the only ones begging for an early dessert. And aren't early desserts the best desserts?