Child Friendly
Weddings
Almost 50% of weddings in Australia are between couples
who already have children (his, hers and/or theirs), and
this presents wonderful opportunities to celebrate the
wedding as a family event by including the children in
the ceremony.
A child friendly, child-inclusive wedding goes beyond
dressing the child up and having him or her walk down
the aisle as a page-boy, ring-bearer or flower girl, act
as an usher, or stand up with Mum or Dad (or Grandma or
Grandpa) as a junior bridesmaid or junior groomsman.
The children who are important to you can be involved in
your wedding in ways that strengthen the relationship
between you, honour the child, and reflect your
emotional bond with the child.
Exactly how a child is included in the ceremony will
depend on that child's personality, age, relationship to
the one or both of the marrying couple, and the
other ceremony choices you have made.
Where each of the marrying couple have children from
previous relationships the wedding ceremony is creating
a new family structure, and the feelings of the children
about the wedding may well be mixed, so they should be
carefully considered. Some children may want to be very
involved. Others may not. I'm happy to include the
children as much as they wish to be included in both the
wedding and the planning process.
And there is no limit to numbers. If you wish to include
nieces, nephews, grandchildren, or the whole of the
Grade 1 class you teach, that's fine. I can suggest
numerous ways of doing that.