Lemur L'amour: A Kid-Friendly Wedding

Way back in February, I blogged about having a kid-friendly wedding.We ended up having fifteen kids under the age of twelve at our wedding, and all of them did great! Sure, we delayed the start of the ceremony because not everyone had arrived, but once everyone got there and was seated, they all behaved perfectly for both the ceremony and reception. (At least from what I remember—I was pretty focused on the fact that I was marrying Mr. Lemur.) I think there were a few things that we did that helped it work out.

All pictures by Niki Marie Photography.

Activities. As we transitioned to the reception, the kids all did a great job of sitting and coloring quietly until their tables were dismissed to the buffet lines. If you're having kids at your reception, I highly, highly recommend having some kind of activity for them! Several parents said thank you to me for helping keep the kids occupied, especially since it was lunch time.

Food. Uhh, this one is pretty simple. Feed them! If you're having an upscale reception with fancy hors d'oeuvres and salmon as the main course—consider serving the kids an alternative meal or making sure there's something they'll eat. Our food was simple enough that the kids could enjoy sausage biscuits, sandwiches, cinnamon rolls, muffins, and fruit alongside their parents.

Space. Another recommendation for a kid-friendly reception—give the kids room! We were in a large room and there weren't really any areas that were "off-limits," except for maybe the fireplace, since we had candles lit. Everywhere else the kids were free to roam. We seated all the kids towards the back of the reception area so they literally had half of the huge room where they weren't bothering anyone.

Relax. Finally, if you're planning on having kids at your wedding, my number one suggestion is to not try to control it. Because you can't. And as much as I'm usually a Type A planner...when it comes to kids I just couldn't be. I did my best to give them a good environment—something to do, lots of room, and food they could eat—and after that, I just let them have a good time!

I know this isn't the greatest picture, but as we were coming back in from sneaking out for a few pictures in the woods (more on this later), little Olivia walked up with a half colored picture. She told me she had colored half of Cinderella for me and left the other half for me to finish. If I needed any validation that having kids at my wedding was the right thing to do, this was it. Love this girl.

The wedding day began at 5:30 am and continued as we got ready at the venue. We had our perfect first look and then took couples pictures in the road. After bridal party pictures and family pictures, it was time to begin the ceremony! I walked down the aisle and began the ceremony, then we said I do and were husband and wife. Then it was time to be seated for the reception!