This weekend my kids got to enjoy their very first wedding. My husband’s cousin married his sweetie in a beautiful ceremony. I am so thankful they welcomed children to the wedding and all wedding-related events, since I would have had to stay home with the kids and had my hubby go alone if they hadn’t.
I am going to be totally honest here. I was really, really looking forward to the wedding and spending the weekend with family. However, I was not looking forward to trying to control my sweet, but sassy 22 month old and loving, yet crazy 6 year old at such a grown-up event.
Here’s how we managed to enjoy ourselves and not go crazy.
Bring Bribes: I had a suitcase full of bribes and I am not afraid to admit it. About an hour into the 3 hour trip I surprised Hudson with a coloring book that helped him pass the time. For the wedding, I brought little toys for my son and nephews. One for after the ceremony, they all did GREAT! (I had another toy for them later, but I never got to give it to them.. I will explain why later)
Work Around Naptime: If you have a toddler or baby who still naps, try your best to make sure they still get that time to rest. I am not very strict with naptime routines. On the weekends, we go about our day… and if Mila gets her nap, great. But if she doesn’t I don’t freak out about it. However, I really tried to make sure she got naps here, since I knew she would be up late at night. For Friday, we left the house around her naptime, so she slept almost the entire trip. Saturday, she fell asleep at the mall, so we walked around a bit longer since we had time to kill to let her rest up. It made a huge difference while getting her ready to go and for pictures, etc.
Let the Kids Play: I want my kids to be well-mannered and respectful… but they are also just kids. I make sure Hudson says hello and introduces himself. I (try to) make him sit with family at dinner (no electronics) until people are mostly done eating. But when there is a chance for them to play, let them do it. The rehearsal dinner was at a home, so after dinner… there was a room where all the kids were playing. We let Hudson go off with his nephews to play with the other kids. At the wedding, there was a huge field, so after the ceremony we just let all the kids go crazy. They were running, screaming… playing tag and whatever else they came up with. We stopped them (briefly) for dinner and then off they went again. Expecting them to socialize, dance, and stay by your side just isn’t realistic.
Don’t Forget Snacks & Clothes: Make your life easier, be sure to bring snacks and extra clothes with you. Our go-to snacks are peanuts and pretzels. A bag of that can get my kids through any meltdown. Also, I always had extra clothes for Mila. (I also brought her PJ’s both nights, since she usually falls asleep in the car ride home, so I change her before we leave… just one less thing to worry about)
Be Flexible: I would say my kids did pretty well. Were they perfect? Nope. Did we get some stares at times? Sure. But that’s ok. I tried not to get stressed out about it. We had to be extra flexible when Mila’s elbow popped out of socket while she was dancing with daddy. YIKES! All of a sudden she started holding her arm and crying… when we COULD NOT get her to move it, we asked around and people told us about a after-hours pediatric ER that was about 10 minutes away. We snuck out of the wedding and we were in and out of the ER in 30 minutes. The doctor knew right away what had happened and didn’t even need to do an X-ray. He popped it right back in and Mila was happy as can be!
Overall, the trip was a success! Here are just a few pictures from the wedding!
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| Snuggling with Daddy at our surprise ER visit! |
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| The beautiful bride! |
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| She loves her Daddy! |
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| Handsome boys!! |
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| Family picture! |
Such cute pictures… Scary about the er but so glad that was quick and fairly painless for everyone. These are great tips and basically rules I live by for going basically anywhere with kids haha ��
Yes.. they are universal I think 🙂
Great tips. I've survived three weddings with my toddler. It's so much fun, but planning is a must! Looks like you guys had a great time.
Wow, you are brave! This is the FIRST time our kids have been invited to a wedding.. it was pretty hectic!
Aw, I'm sorry you had to go to the ER! I hope your daughters doing better. We only went to one wedding with my son when he was four months old. It was fun, but honestly, I think I like weddings without kids A LOT better haha. We have one coming up in the beginning of January. Luckily, my parents are able to watch my son.
I agree, I would much rather leave the kids at home!! HAHA! And yes it was so scary with Mila since it was the first time I have ever seen her really hurt. I was SO thankful that is was minor. 🙂 Hope you are having a great week!
I love the tip about bringing the pj's. I could of even used that with my teen after a late wedding. Sammie had that happen to her too. It's kind of freaky, right. Glad it all ended up O.K.
Yes, my son fell asleep on the first night heading home from the rehearsal dinner, he could have used PJ's for sure! 😉 Have a great week!!
First of all, GORGEOUS family! Second, great tips, especially about being flexible. Last, so sorry about the ER…love how you buried the lead. BTW…your hubby looks like he could be doing weather on GMA!
Haha I guess he does sort of have that weather man look in his suit!! Yeah, it was so scary with her poor little arm, luckily it was a quick fix!! Have a wonderful week! 😉
Those are great tips. Congratulations on enjoying the wedding due to your great planning. I enjoyed the beautiful family photos.
Thank you Theresa! It just goes to show, you can't plan everything though! HA! 😉
Great tips Lauren. You all were looking so good. Loved Ur n Mila's dress. My brother is getting married next year n I am super excited about it. Your tips will be so handy for me.
Thank you! Mila's dress was a gift from a dear friend when she was just born, my friend thought it was so cute but they only had one size left.. so she got it! I am so glad she did since I loved it on Mila and was so excited she could finally fit into it! 🙂 Have a great weekend!
Oh I love your advise to be prepared, just love it and yes I have lived by all of this and more. The first time I traveled with my first child she was 4 months old and she and I flew from Chicago to London non-stop. The looks that I got. I took an over night flight and started to feed her when I got to my seat. A man went to sit next to be, called the Stewardess over and said that sitting by me was not going to work. She said to him, hold on and I will see what I can do. Ooooo she looked pissed. Five mins later she came back and I was moved to first class…… She slept the whole way, and when I got off everyone complimented me. Both of our girls are great travelers, it is expected and they travel well….
Wow, that guy sounded likea real ass! 😉 At least you got moved up to first class! You are lucky your kids are good travelers, not sure how mine would fare on a overnight flight! 😉 Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful weekend!
Great advice! We've gone to a couple of weddings, where we had to bring all our kids. And all the things that you mentioned are spot on! One of the weddings that we went to, also had a grassy field next to the reception hall. What a lifesaver that was! And I thought it was adorable to see the little girls running around with their poofy dresses.
Yes, it would have been very difficult if the wedding was in a confined area! 😉
Great ideas and tips for traveling with small kids and keeping them entertained! Thanks for sharing! Visiting from #SHINEbloghop 🙂
Wonderful tips– You are SUPER MOM!! Cute Family
You guys look so cute! I haven't braved a wedding with my kids. I will keep these tips in mind. I'm always scared about my kids' elbow popping out. It seems to happen pretty easily. That is good to hear the doctor was able to take care of it so quickly.
yea, i haven't done that yet… you're braver than me!
Cute article and great dress!
I feel like I have to go through this every week at church. I'm not afraid to bribe either… it's amazing what my daughter will do for a donut!
Have a great day!
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