Would you/ has anyone taken a baby to destination wedding?

[Sunnycupboard]

Just looking for any experiences or advice! A relative of DH is planning and it looks like it could be a destination wedding next year or the year after around 3-4 hours flight away. Me and DH want to TTC in the next year so although I’m aware it’s unpredictable, I am just thinking about what that might entail if we had a baby by then. Another caveat is that he was one of my DH’s groomsmen so there’s the possibility he could ask my DH to be his. DH was a groomsman a few years back for a member of the same family at a destination wedding and whilst he enjoyed it, he found it a bit full on eg rehearsals, pre and post-wedding events, photo schedule etc so it was essentially a week-long commitment. If he had to do that again I’m thinking I could be doing the lion’s share. Has anyone attended a destination wedding with a baby up to a year old? I’m also aware it may even be a child-free event (although the last one wasn’t) in which case I couldn’t go anyway. I spoke to DH and we definitely don’t want to put off TTC.

I wouldn't delay trying to conceive just because of a wedding—especially since it’s not even yours.
I actually found traveling with a baby to be easiest in the early months. I tried to fit in as many flights as I could before they started walking.
And if you feel like the wedding events are too intense, having a baby is a perfect excuse to skip some of them—'Sorry, my baby’s fussy, go ahead without me.' Honestly, that sounds pretty ideal to me.

Sure, if you want to go why not? I can’t think why you wouldn’t. It’s just a trip abroad with a wedding plonked in the middle. I took my youngest to Barcelona alone at 8 months (not for a wedding) and we had a grand time.

The only caveat might be that you will probably need to leave early. I’ve taken mine to weddings and we’ve made it til 9/10pm, but it’s unlikely you’ll want to stay till midnight or later (especially when you’ll be up with baby at 6am and throughout the night). Unless you are in a room on site, this will, in a foreign country, mean Dh needs to leave with you. This may impact on whether he agrees to be in the wedding party or he may just need to be really honest that he’s realistically going to need to leave early to get you all safely back to your accommodation.

Dh was best man at his friend’s destination wedding, which was childfree. Ds was still quite little (and we also had a 5 year old) and we have no family help anyway. It meant Dh had to go alone because we couldn’t bring the dc and I couldn’t just leave them home alone for several days either. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I would absolutely not plan your family around someone’s stupid wedding though. If you want to have a baby together, have the baby. You’ll either go or not go. Or they’ll split up before they even get that far. But don’t change your plans for them.

If I'd been invited to one I'd have happily gone. Babies are easier to travel with than toddlers.