Your wedding is a very special day, and it’s just as important to your kids as it is to you. However, they can often feel left out of the action, particularly if the festivities of the day are mainly aimed at entertaining the adults. To help your little ones to feel included, here are three ways you can involve them in your wedding day.

Give them an important task

Kids love being entrusted with an important responsibility, and often, being given the job of bridesmaid, page boy or ring bearer will be exciting enough. However, once the ceremony is done and dusted, the novelty of these roles can wear off, particularly for younger children who need a little more entertaining.

To keep your kids involved in your wedding right through to your evening reception, you could consider giving them a couple small but important tasks. For example, you may want to have them help with setting up your centrepieces before your wedding breakfast. Or, you could ask them to collect charity donations from your wedding guests – a wonderful way to both keep them feeling involved, and give back to the causes you care about. Guests may also feel more generous if children are asking them.

Choose child-friendly entertainment

There’s plenty of wedding entertainment options that your kids will enjoy, from photo booths to magicians and circus performers. However, nothing will make them feel involved in your special day quite like their own dedicated entertainment or activity. After all, while a classical musician or poet makes for a wonderful, romantic evening for your adult guests, your kids are less likely to be impressed.

If your wedding is in summer, you could consider setting up fun, life-sized garden board games to keep the kids busy and engaged. Alternatively, you may want to put up a sweets stall, complete with a spot for roasting marshmallows. Simply offering goodie bags filled with trinkets and treats to each child as they arrive at your venue also works well, and helps them to feel acknowledged right from the start of the evening festivities.

Let them help with preparations

There are lots of exciting things to prepare in the months leading up to your wedding, and plenty of those tasks your kids are likely to enjoy.

To keep them involved in the planning and prep (and to make your work just that little bit easier), you could consider taking your kids along to some of your vendor appointments. They’ll definitely appreciate the chance to try some of your wedding cake options prior to the big day – and are likely to offer plenty of inspirational input, too. Plus, when your wedding day finally arrives, your kids will love sharing with your guests that they had a hand in picking your food, decor or entertainment.

Why should you involve the kids?

While child-free weddings have become a popular choice for many couples in recent years, nobody ever regrets having the kids that are closest to them present on their wedding day. Ultimately, the choice is yours. But, of course, the big day is more likely to go smoothly if your kids feel engaged, so you’ll want to do plenty to keep them feeling involved and appreciated throughout the special celebrations.