Children and Weddings: Flower Girl/Ring Bearer

Flower Girl and Ring Bearer

• The Parent-Parent Hand-off: Have one parent at the start of the aisle. This parent should wait with the flower girl or ring bearer and walk to the aisle, then they can sit in the back row aisle seat after they send the child to the other parent, waiting at the front of the aisle (sitting in the front row aisle seat). If you position one parent at the departure and one at the arrival points, the child is merely walking from one parent to another, with a familiar face in either direction. If you follow this piece of advice you will drastically reduce the very high possibility of your flower girl or ring bearer refusing to walk down the aisle, crying, or throwing a tantrum (buckling under the pressure).
• Escort: If your flower girl or ring bearer is under the age of 5, be prepared to use an escort. The best example of this would be using a brother/sister team, one over 5, and send them both down together. This way, the older child can guide the younger child down the aisle. The escort frequently ends up being the child's parent, and that's okay too. The parent-parent hand-off (above) or using a member of the bridal party is the least intrusive form of an escort. One suggestion we frequently give for little flower girls or ring bearers is to decorate a wagon that a member of the wedding party can pull down the aisle. But you have to be willing to accommodate whatever will get the job done (an angelic child moving serenely down your aisle).
• Rehearsal: Invite the flower girl and ring bearer to the rehearsal. This is an important one because if the children and parents get to work out all the logistics the day before and the children get a run through of what is expected, it will all go 100 times more smoothly than figuring it all out on the fly at the start of your big day.

To learn all about the best way to integrate children into your wedding day, visit www.Ever-After-Weddings.com today!