When planning your Bay Area wedding, the question of whether to allowchildren is a valid one to consider. There will always be people that disagree with you, but if you don’t want children at your wedding because they’re noisy, messy, too cute, and take away the attention from the bride and groom, then you can ask that no children be present at your wedding.

After all, it is your wedding.

Another option might be to allow young kids at your reception only, where they can eat, make merry, and dance til they fall asleep, but not at the wedding where you want it quiet and all eyes focused on you and the beautiful ceremony.

If you decide you do want to allow kids to be present at both the Bay Area wedding and the reception, you can use a few tricks to help keep them from stealing the show.

1. If your church has a “crying babies” room, then use it. Allow parents and their young ones to sit in the sound proof room where they can see and hear the wedding ceremony, but no one else can hear the noisy children playing or crying.

2. Make use of another room in the church, such as the nursery, for the kids. Hire some teenagers, the number depending on how many kids will be in attendance, to baby sit.

3. If you don’t use option one or two above, consider offering goodie bags for the kids. Enlist a friend to distribute these bags at the front door to guests with children. Inside these (non-noisy) bags you can include some crayons, a coloring book, an activity book, some cheerios or goldfish, an inexpensive picture book and perhaps a (non-noisy) toy.

4. If you are having assigned seating at the reception, try to place all the young families at the same table or same area, preferably towards the back of the room. Seating them near the entrance or too close to the cake table makes it twice as hard for the parents to keep them out of trouble.

5. If your reception is in a hotel, consider getting a room that can serve as a nursery, and hire the responsible teenagers or young adults to work it.

Please know that if you intend to have children as part of your wedding party in the flower girl/ring bearer positions, anything can happen. Ease your expectations and enjoy the outcome. Try not to cast these supporting roles to children that are too young, or at least one of them should be older so they can help out the younger one.

Whether or not to have children at your wedding and reception is a decision you’ll have to make. Keep in mind that there will likely be a few guests that are unhappy with whichever decision you make. But there is no right or wrong answer, just the right one for you and your future spouse. Weigh the pros and cons, and if you do decide to allow kids, use the above suggestions to help it go smoothly.

About The Author

Teri Champigny is a professional niche marketer and travel blog author. For more on weddings, visit Teri’s More Wedding Info and Bridal Accessories blogs.