If your own children will be at your wedding...

[loolooskiptotheloo]

What will you do with them when they get tired? DS will be 4 and the place we've chosen for reception has no accommodation, do we just let him sleep on coats, ask one of our parents to take him home early ( and possible miss the dancing/partying) or ask the nursery he goes to if his key worker is available to babysit and take him home and put him to bed? Or something else we've not thought of!

Is the reception near your home? Can you find out if a relative would be happy to take him home and put him in bed? And do you have a regular babysitter or someone he knows? You could ask them to come to the reception about 8/9 and take him home when he is tired.

Anyone else coming with kids and could take care?

He might be up for ages with the excitement tbh. Take a buggy and he might sleep in that til you go, if you are not drinking/ don't mind - older people not dancing will watch him I expect:)

our ds will be going to sleep in his pushchair at our venue. not ideal but its just 1 night and later in the night my parents will take him to their room for his proper sleep.

we've asked one of the bridesmaids to take him out around 7.30 and put his pjs on so he'll be more comfy

We went to a wedding yesterday where my 3yo was a bridesmaid. She was dancing and having fun until about 9.30 then we pushed some chairs together at the side of the room and made her a little bed with coats as a pillow and cover. She slept there until 11pm when we left!

We will just do the same thing again at our own wedding in 2 months time.
We also had our 9 week old baby asleep in a carrycot.

Thanks everyone, just can imagine DS all overtired and not settling, just can't decide what to do.

We had our DCs at our wedding. DS was 2.5 at the time. He was actually surprisingly good, but did get tired later on. FIL took him for a walk in his pushchair after the meal and then MIL took both DC back home about 10pm. This worked well, although obv was reliant on MIL being happy to leave slightly early. Hope you find a solution that works for you :)

We had our children there teenager, ten year old seven year old and baby.
We let them stay up until they dropped asleep.
We found them asleep in various places and sent them home with my parents and carried on enjoying the party. That way they were part of the day but we also had our own time.
At your own wedding there must be one relative or friend who would love to look after children for a while on your special day one that doesn't see you often so can't complain they had gone crazy from lemonade and wedding favour sweets

We are having this very problem - the wedding is in September and our dd will be 16 months or so. No relative has offered yet and both my sister and his brother have refused. My mum is not up to it and I'm not sure my dad would be willing or capable... same as his dad, which leaves mil - who is a little bit fond of the drink...

I think I will just not have too much to drink, she can kip in the corner in her Pram and then I guess I'll take her home - no after party, no newly wed hotel room!

I'm a little bit bitter bit it our problem - I guess this is another reason people get married first before kids!

good luck, hope you sort something and have a lovely day!

my 3 kids will be 11 months, 4 and 8 for my May wedding. my youngest will be in his pram and my 2nd youngest will be in her old buggy that reclined down (maclaren XT) with blankets whilst my eldest will be running around wild!

A friend of ours has got a babysitter for her DS that we're sharing. We're going to her house during the reception (she only lives over the road anyway as it's a small village) to put them to bed - DS in a travel cot.

Using the break as a chance to get changed/refreshed too.

Ours were a little younger - 3 and 1 - when we got married, so we paid our childminder to bring them back to our house and babysit for the evening. I just didn't want the hassle of them being around all evening.

But DD1 was a bridesmaid for my cousin at 4, and partied for most of the evening, before falling asleep in a chocolate-stained heap and sleeping through the disco. I'm always amazed that small kids can do this without any problem!

Our venue is a hotel where we are staying, the children are staying in pils room, so they will just keep going and then fall asleep on the chairs or someone's lap and then be carried to the room when we go up.