To have kids or not to have kids – that’s the question. No, not whether you and your new spouse will have children or not, but rather do you want to have children be in the wedding party. Do you want to have a flower girl and ring bearer at your wedding? If you decide not to have children at your wedding or want to break away from the traditions of having a flower girl and ring bearer, what do you do instead? Here are some suggestions that will help to be more creative and resolve this indecision.
Is the best man best?
Some people love to have the children in their families be part of their wedding, while others are concerned about whether the children will behave properly or get sick and shy in the middle of the processional (you know it happens). If you decide not to have children participate, the traditional way is to have the best man hand over the rings to the pastor or officiant.
Doggie dash
Are you a dog lover? You can always have “Fido” be your ring bearer. Some places are now selling a really cute little jacket that has zipped side pockets for the rings. You can place them on your dog and call him over to you when is time to hand out the ring.
Junior attendants
Other people struggle with not having any young relatives or children of friends. If you know some kids but they are older than the traditional age for a flower girl or ring bearer, consider adding them to the bridal party as junior attendants.
Flower girl alternatives
You might be at a venue that does not allow petals to be strewn, so that rules out being able to have a flower girl. Or does it? You can opt to have her carry a bouquet of flowers she hands out to guests as she goes, or she can carry her own bouquet for the ceremony or/and reception.
Alter server
You can still include the youngsters in the ceremony, but give them different roles. The ring bearer can always serve as an alter server by holding the books or ringing a bell at various points in the ceremony. Bells have meaning in many number of religions. You can have the flower girl and ring bearer be bell ringers, or you can have either child carry a bell into the service instead of being a ring bearer or flower girl.
Program passing
Another alternative is to have the flower girl and ring bearer set up at the entrance of the venue and assigned them the task of handing out the programs to everyone instead of passing out flowers.
As you can see, there are a number of unique ways to include the munchkins in your family in the wedding, or to have the roles fulfilled without having children in the wedding party. Remember that this is your once in a lifetime event and you don’t have to be traditional about it. You can be as creative as you want to be because in the end, what really matters is that you and your partner are happy. Now don’t be a fooled by just creating a great line up and wedding program. Make sure you get a professional, knowledgeable and experienced DJ because without one, this can all be meaningless to your guests. Contact us to have a wonderful wedding!
