![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.janicefergusonsews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/076.jpg\" "\\"076\\"")
<\/a>kiddie wedding fun<\/p><\/div>\n
For our daughter’s 2006 wedding at our home, the guest list went round the full \u00e2\u20ac\u0153circle of life,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d from infants to the elderly.<\/p>\n
All were welcome, but, especially for the smallest guests, accommodations had to be made.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 In order for little ones and their parents to enjoy themselves,\u00c2\u00a0 extra planning was required. It took some\u00c2\u00a0 effort, but in the big picture, it was not a major expenditure of time or money.<\/p>\n
Our first consideration was seating for our 8 youngest guests, ages 0-4 years.\u00c2\u00a0 Reaching out to local friends, we borrowed enough high chairs for the babies and booster seats for the toddlers.\u00c2\u00a0 The high chairs were wrapped with gold organza bows, just like the adult chairs.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 The booster seats were strapped securely onto the regular adult seats.<\/p>\n minister’s baby<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n The next issue was table service for the junior guests.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Fine china was used for all the place settings, pulled from my china cupboard as well as borrowed from\u00c2\u00a0 family and friends.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0None was \u00c2\u00a0suitable for our little guests.\u00c2\u00a0 The last thing I wanted was a broken piece of Mary\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Lenox or\u00c2\u00a0the bride’s \u00c2\u00a0service for 12\u00c2\u00a0 from her paternal grandmother.<\/p>\n So plastic children\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s\u00c2\u00a0 plates, cups, sippy cups and silverware\u00c2\u00a0 were purchased on clearance for less than $2.50 per place setting.\u00c2\u00a0 The wedding was in October, so summer clearance picnic items had been marked down again and again.<\/p>\n The gala juvenile design certainly added nothing to the elegant atmosphere\u00c2\u00a0in the wedding tent, so I kept the dinnerware\u00c2\u00a0face down, bagged\u00c2\u00a0in a zip lock\u00c2\u00a0until the seated parents unpacked them.\u00c2\u00a0 Still, it was preferable to using fine china for the tiny tots.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In this same bag at each child\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s place were\u00c2\u00a0 smaller zip locks of baby wipes, Cheerios and an embroidered bib. Because Harvey, the groom,\u00c2\u00a0 grew up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the wedding had a\u00c2\u00a0 Cajun theme.\u00c2\u00a0 So the bibs and some other accessories reflected that culture.\u00c2\u00a0 The bibs were white, with a pink or green border for girls or boys.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n teepee bag wit ultrasuede name tag<\/p><\/div>\n In place of the framed picture place cards<\/a> (scroll to end of post) which the adults received , every child\u00c2\u00a0 (the oldest was 9) had his place was marked with an ultrasuede name tag attached to a teepee bag<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0 made of a playful wedding novelty print.\u00c2\u00a0 The\u00c2\u00a0 ultrasuede name tag was suitable for diaper bag, athletic bag, luggage or whatever.<\/p>\n Inside each of these bags were Mardi Gras beads, glow-in-the-dark bracelets, bubbles, candy and a 3″ teddy bear.\u00c2\u00a0 For the\u00c2\u00a0 boys, the bear was dressed simply\u00c2\u00a0with a black ribbon bow\u00c2\u00a0 tie.\u00c2\u00a0 The girls’ bears had a tulle veil stitched to their heads with\u00c2\u00a0a tiny\u00c2\u00a0cluster of silk flowers serving as a headpiece.<\/p>\n casing the area<\/p><\/div>\n To keep the youngsters\u00c2\u00a0entertained as the evening wore on, two child sized tea tables<\/a> were set up with dolls, bears, porcelain tea sets and tiny cookies I had made and frozen weeks ahead.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0We all\u00c2\u00a0had to laugh when\u00c2\u00a0we realized that 2 \u00c2\u00bd year old Laurel had rushed the table and\u00c2\u00a0eaten all the cookies before any other \u00c2\u00a0children\u00c2\u00a0joined her\u00c2\u00a0for\u00c2\u00a0“tea.”<\/p>\n Fortunately, I had stashed more tiny treats in a plastic container and reloaded the plates before other children could be disappointed.\u00c2\u00a0 A few teddy bears and dolls were already seated at the table.\u00c2\u00a0 Who knew the children would pop the mini cookies in their mouths and race back to the dance floor.\u00c2\u00a0 Oh well.\u00c2\u00a0 The children\u00c2\u00a0enjoyed the music of the Cajun band as much as the adults.<\/p>\n Laurel and doll dancing<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n The children added an uninhibited exuberance to the mood and the elderly added perspective and dignity.\u00c2\u00a0 In my opinion,\u00c2\u00a0the presence and accommodation of babies, elderly grandparents and relatives\u00c2\u00a0serve to remind the bridal couple of the joys and responsibilities of a long, happy marriage.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 If they are too besotted with the emotion of their wedding to notice at the event itself, the bride and groom must at least be reminded of this fact of life when they see the wide age range in their wedding photos.<\/p>\n Have any other readers hosted a wedding at home?\u00c2\u00a0 What sort of sewing projects did you have?\u00c2\u00a0 If children were invited, how were they accommodated?\u00c2\u00a0 I’d love to hear about your wedding sewing and experiences.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" For our daughter’s 2006 wedding at our home, the guest list went round the full \u00e2\u20ac\u0153circle of life,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d from infants to the elderly. All were welcome, but, especially for the smallest guests, accommodations had to be made.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 In order … Continue reading <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a>