Often times, when it’s time to leave to go somewhere with my nanny children, I like to say something stupid like, “Alright, let’s go kids and cats!” Or, I’ll say, “Do we have everyone? Kids? Cats?” As if I was caring for a zoo of children and tigers. (I’m odd.)
The funniest part about this is I don’t even like cats! They are so lame compared to dogs; I just never saw the appeal. Come on, is there anything cuter than my nephew-pup in his doggy life jacket?
Fibonacci and Littlest C
And, in an effort for full disclosure, can I just say I would NOT call myself a kid person either?
GASP!!! BUT YOU’RE A NANNY!?!?!?! Yep. Naturally, I’m in love with my nanny kids but do I have to like every kid I see on the damn playground? Not gonna happen. I know it doesn’t make sense…I have two younger siblings and lots of younger cousins. I have friends with kids I adore, and despite wanting to have my own kids soon someday, I still can’t say I’m obsessed with children in general (not that there’s anything wrong with those who are).
So why am I talking about kids and cats?? Well, contrary to what you’ve been led to believe in this post, I AM having a kid friendly wedding. And I’m super pumped about it.
This isn’t the first time this topic has been on the hive, some bees are also having a kid-friendly wedding and some aren’t. What is right for one, might not be right for another.
We’re only going to have about 10-15 kids if they all come, but the thing is, I really like all the kids we’re inviting. To me, that is the important piece that makes kid friendly weddings work. You have to care about them and you must have some sort of relationship with them. The issue comes when you are inviting all of your relatives that you don’t really see/talk to anymore and they bring their kids and you’re like, “who is that weirdo child being obnoxious at my wedding!?! Why did I invite them!?! Don’t they know I’m the princess of the day!?!”
At our wedding, all the kids coming are cool. They range from potentially toddlers to teenagers, but they’re all awesome. They can handle talking to adults, being patient and eating with silverware (probably better than me if we’re being honest here).
I know there are many reasons why people don’t want children at their weddings, but here’s why I’m excited to welcome the kiddos to our nuptials:
1) Kids are spontaneous! They do and say cute things at random times and it’s OK because it tends to break the ice and keep a wedding natural and light-hearted.
2) Kids at weddings have the opportunity to make their parents more fun. They get their parents to dance, they get their parents to laugh more, they get them to take pictures, and cry happy tears. They just help keep everyone engaged and present (well for the most part anyway, we all know kids can stress their parents out as well!).
3) Kids add a sense of generation to weddings. Does that make sense? Both weddings and children symbolize the future, so they sort of go hand in hand. And, isn’t it beautiful to see grandparents and grandkids in the same room?
So, Kids and Cats it is!! Except instead of cats, I mean cake.
(all photos personal)
Are you having a kid friendly wedding? Why or why not?
I totally agree with all of your reasons for having a kid-friendly wedding – I enjoy the unexpected moments that come when kids are around.
Definitely! We are only going to have about that number of kids too, but I couldn’t imagine not having FH’s FOUR little brothers (ages 3, 7, 10, 11)…I just love those kids. And then several other of FH’s cousins will be invited too, and they are all awesome, fun, well-behaved kids. I never even considered not having a non-kid-friendly wedding!!
Haha, I totally get the “I only like my kids” idea. We only had my nieces and nephews come to the wedding, and it was really easy to wrangle them, and they were adorable. We didn’t really know anyone that had kiddos besides our close family, so we didn’t really run into this issue.
I’m a dog person too!
I agree that the selling point here is having kids you like, I know that if I were on the “invite aunt Sue’s annoying grandkids you’ve only met once and didn’t like” I wouldn’t want to have kids either, but I know and like the kids we’re inviting, and that makes the difference.
Regarding dogs > cats:
http://theoatmeal.com/comics/cats_actually_kill
Enjoy!
We had just two kids at the wedding–both of our nieces–and I was so happy to have them there. They’re both pretty tiny, so they were crowd-captivating. They danced, they played, and they were passed around from person to person, all relatives they hadn’t seen in awhile and happy new friends. They didn’t really hang out with each other, but I LOVE all of our pictures of them.
Fibonacci is an amazing name for a pet.
I think we will have three kids at our wedding, all still fairly young. I’m not too worried about them being obnoxious for the reception, but I will give my officiant the okay to boot them out if they make cry during the ceremony.
I like your theory on making kid friendly weddings work. Knowing who is there and loving them (aka knowing them) makes the world of difference!
Completely agree that it’s important that the kids and B&G have a relationship. We will have kids at our wedding, but only the ones that are near and dear to us.
@Miss Panda: Isn’t it the best name ever? His birthday is on pie day too. My Sister is a big math nerd, haha!
Yup total kid friendly wedding! I love the name of the cute dog!
We have both have a child, so kid friendly wedding is a MUST. Even if we didnt, my life circles around my nieces and nephews who are all in the wedding. With three flower girls, a ring bearer and two ushers that are all related, kids are a must. We have however noted on our website that we have arranged for our kids to go to a slumber part at 9:30 so we can enjoy the remainder of the reception and our planned after, and hoped people would be able to do the same.
Mrs. Sword, Chicago Age and Occupation: 28, Nanny/Actress Fiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Software Engineer Engagement Date: February 19, 2012 Wedding Date: March 2013 Venue: Embassy Suites Bloomington West in Bloomington, MN About Me: I am a true girly-girl originally from the great state of Minnesota and my fiancé hails from the beautiful country of Scotland. We met and fell in love in our favorite city, Chicago, and are having a blast blending our cultures for "A Highland Fairy Tale" wedding! We are truly a case of opposites attract in that he’s a world traveling introvert and I’m a social butterfly who is never too far from home. We both love hanging out with family and friends, fine dining, and laughing at ourselves. He drinks a lot of beer and I talk too much. We wouldn’t have it any other way!
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