Mrs. Pumpkin, Saskatchewan, Canada
Blogger Since: April 10, 2007
Age and Occupation: 28, Lawyer
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Farmer
Engagement Date: July 14, 2006
Wedding Date: June, 2007
About Me: I love movies, music and I am addicted to TV. When I have some spare time I also love scrapbooking and making personalized greeting cards and above all playing Hide & Seek or Duck, Duck, Goose with my two adorable nieces!
The Bare Necessities*
July 31st, 2007 @ 1:37 pm by Mrs. Pumpkin
There was absolutely no question as to whether we would be having flower girls at our wedding since I have the two most adorable nieces in the whole world. Even though the rest of our wedding was child-free, there was no way that my girls weren’t going to be there and be front and centre with me. At least that was the master plan. I had completely prepared myself for the possibility that one or both of the girls may get spooked and refuse to go down the aisle. If this happened I was fine - I did NOT want them to go through anything like this!
I had prepared myself for the possibility that they wouldn’t be part of the ceremony, so much so, that about 4 days before the wedding someone asked me if the girls would stand up there with us during the ceremony or sit down, and I did not have an answer because I never thought further than just getting them down the aisle! We eventually decided that since they are so young (3.5 and 1.5) they would go and sit with their parents for the rest of the ceremony if they made it down the aisle.
As an added incentive for the girls, I took a page from Miss Emerald’s & Mrs. Apple’s books and bought my girls each a pink teddy bear and tied a brown ribbon around its neck so that they would have something cute to walk down the aisle with, and then play with during the ceremony so that they would stay happy and occupied. It worked like a charm and the girls were absolutely perfect! They completely stole the show and were so beautiful in their dresses!
Some pics of the bears and the baskets we used:
The girls in action and with their bears:
Our littlest flower girl got curious as the ceremony went on and came up to the front for a little visit. She walked right up onto my train, circled like a puppy (getting the dress all fluffy, I guess) and then promptly plopped herself down! So cute!
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Unfortunately her Poppa came to get her a little too soon and so Melissa only got this one quick pic of her sitting down:
Besides Miss Emerald’s & Mrs. Apple’s ideas, I have seen a couple of other cute ideas including the flower girls walking down the aisle with white satin bunnies and the bigger kids pulling the smaller ones in something like Miss Gummi Bear’s wagon. Are you planning anything special to keep your littlest party members happy during the ceremony? Will you have a place for them to sit during the ceremony or will you chance it and possibly end up with one of these scenarios:
(all pics *not* from our wedding from WPJA)
* Phil Harris (Disney)
16 Responses to “The Bare Necessities*”
Off topic from the flowergirls, but your shepherd’s hooks ended up absolutely gorgeous!
haha, i love that one with the ring bearer looking at his watch. that’s a great shot!
i’m actually having 5 “angels” (they’re all wearing angel wings with their dresses). 2 of them will be the flower girls and will hand out little bunches of flowers to the guests as they walk down the aisle. these girls are 4-5 years old.
1 will carry the rosary and 1 will carry the bible (both will be 2 years old) and the oldest one will carry both the rings and the coins. i hadn’t thought of giving them a stuffed toy to carry with them.. as it is, i think they all have enough to carry. but they’ll definitely sit with their parents when they finish their walk and i think i’ll give the parents something for them to play with, esp the 2 flower girls who are chinese. they’ve never been in a wedding before and are not used to staying still during a catholic mass, while the other girls are much more familiar with the routine.
i love the picture of the little boy looking at his watch! great shot!
i’m actually having 5 little “angels”-the girls will be wearing angel wings with their dresses and will be carrying different items. the 2 flower girls will have little bunches of mini roses to distribute to guests as they walk down the aisle. they will be 4-5 years old. 1 will be carrying a rosary, 1 will be carrying a bible (both 2.5 years) and the oldest one will be carrying our rings and coins. i hadn’t thought of having them carry any stuffed toy as i think they’ll already have their hands full. but they’ll definitely sit with their parents and maybe i’ll give the parents something for the girls.
oops, sorry for the double post
Super cute…. The babies are always sooo cute.
We had two flowergirls (age 5 and 6) and one ring bearer (age 6). All three children made it down the aisle perfectly! We had them sit with their moms at the end of the second row during the ceremony. Then they were the first to follow us out during the recessional, followed by the bridal party.
I have an 11 year old brother who was my cousin’s ringbearer when he was 4 years old. During the rehearsal, he kept swinging the pillow in the air. Then during the ceremony, he actually fell asleep at the feet of the bride’s brother (one of the groomsmen).
I love the picture with the sleeping ring bearer.
Your girls were adorable! Except for my older sister the matron of honor, our entire wedding party was kids, ranging from my fifteen-year-old stepson the best man, to our six-year-old flowergirl. Our ringbearer was my seven-year-old nephew, and he did a great job. He was very serious in his walk, carrying the pillow so very carefully. I wonder if he thought they were the real rings? (They were plastic–I wasn’t risking a dropped pillow, I’d heard horror stories of lost rings.) Both the ringbearer and the flowergirl stood with us during the ceremony–he stood with his dad, who was holding one of the chuppah poles, and the she stood right by me. She looks adorable in the photos, but a bit unsure a lot of the time, I wish I had reached out squeezed her hand or something. But, I had other things on my mind at the time. 
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I was going to have my flower girls (2 & 3) carry silk pomander balls (becuase I’ve been told real flowers are way too heavy for their itty bitty sizes), but now I’m really considering teddy bears. I’m not sure if the 2 year old will make it down the aisle, but the 3 yr old is already a wedding pro! 
As the mom of a flower girl who backed out, I applaud your attitutde. My daughter got up to the doors of the church before she backed out. My sweet sister-in-law stopped her wedding procession until the wedding planner got my mom so she could take care of my daughter while the rest of us walked down the aisle. Since we did pictures before the wedding, she is still in all the pictures. I suggest putting together a mess free snack bag for your small attendants to keep their blood sugar (and moods) up. Animal crackers are always good and mini marshmallows are a big hit.
such cute pictures! the one of the FG hugging her mom’s leg for dear life cracked me up!!
We had the 3-yr-old niece flowergirl. She did great with just her flower basket. She sat with my parents during the wedding and was escorted back down the aisle for the recessional by my brother (also in the wedding party), so worked out great.
In our formal shots, she’s often wandering around, and I love the pictures that are “Where’s Waldo” with her really tiny in the background or sprawled out on the steps in her fancy dress…. pretty funny. I was obviously not uptight about this stuff. No point expecting too much from a 3-yr-old.
I still remember when I was a flower girl in a wedding. The rehearsal went fine between me and the ring bearer. Right before the ceremony however, he got scared and ended up taking a nap in the basement of the church instead, so I had to walk down by myself. I remember being nervous walking down, and then being mad at the boy afterwards.
We purposefully asked only a FG and she was 7 and a half. It went very well, of course!
I have seen too many ceremonies be “ruined’ by little kids, which is why Patrick and I decided that way…even your little darling sitting on your dress wass obviously a distraction…and the ceremony is all about your union! But, they are also adorable moments to be cherished. Little double edge, there.
I went to a wedding where the FG’s and RB didn’t even stand at the altar–and I didn’t miss them (sadly). They walked down the aisle and sat with their parents in the second row, which I thought worked well.
[…] just love that kid! (Now I have to go out and buy prizes.) Prizes are a good idea, as well as the stuffed animals as Mrs. Pumpkin […]
I was a reluctant flowergirl at age 3 or 4…so reluctant that my dad carried me down the aisle! Now that I’m planning my own wedding, I have a friend’s daughter in mind who is very confident even at 3, and will likely be perfect for the yet-to-be-chosen wedding day!
