As you begin to plan your Cape Cod wedding and start to pull together your guest list, one question will arise - do you invite kids to your wedding?  For some couples the answer is an easy yes or no, but below we will review some of the ways to handle the question of having kids at your wedding as well as ways to entertain them if they stick around.

Should We Invite Kids?
So there are a couple of factors to consider right off the bat when you ask this question.

1. Are you having a flower girl or ring bearer and what are their ages?  

2. How many nieces and nephews do you have and what are their ages?

3. How many of your friends have kids and what are their ages?

Once you know the answers to the above the next questions are: Who will be really upset or annoyed if they can't bring their kids? And if they can't bring their kids will it be impossible for them to come to your wedding?  If you think most of your guests with kids will be okay with the fact that they have to leave them at home, then in my opinion you go for it.  If you think that most of your guests that have kids need to bring their kids in order to attend, then you extend the invite to the children.

Now to throw another option into the mix - you can always include some kids and not others. If you really want to have a flower girl and ring bearer, those kids can attend and you don't have to invite everyone else's kids. You can also set an age limit on kids attending; for example, only kids 12 and over are able to attend.

We do also realize that this kid question can become very political, so at some point this blog post will become useless to you as you will have to deal with your friends and family members and what works best for them....or not.

No to Kids - How to Help Your Guests with Kids
If you have decided not to have any kids at your wedding, here are some ideas for those with kids to be able to attend:

1. Provide them with a local babysitting option - on the Cape we highly recommend Summer Sitters to all of our clients. (If you want to sweeten the deal - offer to pay for the babysitter!)

2. Give them a serious heads up on the date - like maybe even before the save-the-date goes out - so that they have plenty of time to get a sitter at home for a night or two.


Yes to Kids - How to Entertain the Kids at the Wedding
If you have decided to invite kids to the wedding, here are some ideas on how to entertain them while at the wedding:

1. Feed the kids earlier - like during cocktail hour or during the salad course - and hire kids' entertainment or a babysitting service to come and gather the kids for 2 hours while the parents enjoy their meal in peace and get to dance a little.

2. Provide activities for them at their table - put together a bucket or bag of goodies for each kid at their seat so they have something to do during dinner.

3. Have a "kids table" where they can all color, make a mess and eat together.


Photo Credit: Katie Noble Photography

Find more info on planning your Cape Cod wedding.