Best Practices When Including Children in Your Wedding Weekend

When you plan to host a wedding destination weekend, you will want to consider an element that may be important, not only to you but also to your guests. Will you be inviting or including children in your wedding plans? The decision to include/not to include children should be based on your own vision of your weekend & your ability & resources to accommodate this special set of guests. It’s always best to discuss this element with your Wedding Planner, who can help you weigh the pros & cons of this decision, and to help with a plan to make children comfortable & the experience enjoyable for all.

Our weddings are so often centered on family, so many of our couples could not imagine a weekend without their littlest loved ones present. Others want a weekend escape, where adults can enjoy grown-up fun & reconnect with calm conversation, which is more difficult to garner when children are present. It’s about a 70/30 spilt in recent years, between those who choose to host children versus this that do not.

If you choose to include children, we have a few suggestions, to help ensure that the weekend is optimally enjoyed for guests of all ages:

Communicate

Have a conversation with parents of the children you plan to include, to understand what is important to them, what they are comfortable with & how it relates to their children.

Care

If parents of small children are not bringing a sitter or family member with them to provide care during events, we suggest engaging a provider like Midcoast Family Rentals(MFR) to provide experienced babysitters, to care for children during events. Typically, we suggest the sitter care for babies & small children, in the lodging accommodation where the child is staying, so if the child needs a break from the excitement or a nap, they are in a familiar, comfortable place. MFR can also deliver children’s cribs, high chairs, strollers & toys to make the stay for your smallest guests, easy & enjoyable.

Food

Children typically make great & enthusiastic guests, as long as they are well-fed. Ask your caterer to provide a selection of kid-friendly food & beverages, in the location where children are being cared for.

Entertainment 

For older children & teens, you might consider creating a “Hang Out” area in the Retreat House Recreation Room, where they can play pool and games, use the TV for video games or watch a movie, & enjoy snacks & food, just for them. This area is close to the reception spaces parents will occupy, but a bit removed, to allow kids the time & space to have their own kind of fun & adults too. We suggest a sitter be hired to keep an eye on these older children, to make sure food & beverages are available, the space is safe & tidy, & the young ones are accounted for.

Some of the most cherished & beautiful moments from wedding weekends at the estate are often centered around the joy & excitement of the children in attendance, but every celebration is unique.