Should Children be banned from weddings? No, says Kayleigh
I know, I know; it’s not a popular opinion.
Plenty of people hate the idea of having sticky-fingered children running around at weddings, crying during the ceremony, and causing mayhem and mischief wherever they go.
But, for all the perfectionists out there, it’s worth pointing out that a) not all kids are like that, and b) there ARE ways around this.
For starters, you can ask parents to be respectful, and take their little ones out of the room if they start causing a ruckus. You can provide crayons and activity books at the reception, to keep them busy. You can organise your seating plan so that families with children are sat together, and those without are not, to avoid any undue stress. You can set up a bouncy castle on the lawn.
And, you know, all those kiddiwinks give you a VERY good excuse to include some Disney classics on the soundtrack; who doesn’t want to dance to Be Our Guest, eh?
In my opinion, weddings are family affairs. Which means that it's perfectly fine only to invite children who are part of your or your fiance's family - or those of close family friends.
After all, just because you want your niece at your wedding doesn't mean you must have everyone else's niece.
Giving parents the option to bring their little ones is a kind gesture; they might decide that they want a night off, and come alone. Or they might decide that bringing the kids is a far more pleasant alternative to hiring out an expensive babysitter.
Because, yeah, babysitters are expensive. Which, when you factor in the fact that, on average, wedding guests pay a cool £350 EACH just for the joy of going to a wedding, is going to leave you with some seriously disgruntled guests.
Remember, children bring endless playfulness, and surprise to a wedding (not to mention a lot of laughs). Keep a sense of humour about having the little ones there.
If one of them gets covered in your wedding cake, don't throw a fit. Instead, laugh and tell the photographer to catch it on film.
Good luck!
Should children be banned from weddings? Yes, says Fiona
I love children, but I believe that weddings are not a place for little ones.
After watching two dear friends get married to the not-so-romantic soundtrack of a toddler tantrum I felt terrible for the bride and groom.
Instead of all eyes being on the happy couple and what should be the happiest moment in their lives, guests were struggling to ignore the uncontrollable screeching of some of the younger guests.
It’s all well and fair to say that should a toddler tantrum occur then the little pair of lungs would be taken outside to cool down, but the damage is already done.
Now husbands and wives-to-be are choosing to opt out of letting their guests offspring attend their wedding ceremonies, causing many parents to become irate that their (probably indifferent) spawn are left out of their friends’ big day.
We all know children have often unpredictable behaviour (that’s what usually makes them so amazing!) but when it comes to weddings there is simply no place for unpredictability.
Not only is it tough for the bride and groom when a child kicks off during the ‘I do’s’, but the parents are also faced with the torture of having to ‘shush’ their child over the minister.
Mums and dads should save themselves the aggregation and arrange a babysitter, or the bride and groom should make arrangements for some of their guests with young families.
Receptions are often a bit more ‘child friendly’, but, when a drunken groomsmen accidentally stands on a 3-year-old, don’t blame us.
Maybe it’s better to let your trusty neighbourhood babysitter to watch your pride and joy whilst you celebrate your friend’s nuptials, yeah?