If you have a lot of young relatives hanging around, you may be wondering how best to include the little ones in your wedding. Children of all ages can participate in a wedding and their spirit always adds something special to the festivities. Here are some ideas on how to include your nieces and nephews in your wedding.

Your nieces and nephews can have a place at your wedding ceremony regardless of their age. The most common role for young children is ring bearer or flower girl. Don’t feel like you have to choose between your nephews and nephews if you have a large family. While many bridesmaids may end up looking a bit silly, a large group of kids at your bridal party will inspire lots of smiles and “awwwws.” Some brides who have a very large group of young relatives to include in their wedding will decide to have only one maid of honor and one best man for the groom, giving up the rest of the bridesmaids in favor of having a wedding party made up of all. its members. nieces and nephews.

The most common role for young children is ring bearer or flower girl. This tends to work best for children between the ages of three and eight. The flower girl (or girls) can bring a small bouquet of flowers or a basket of petals to throw away (if the venue allows). They are usually dressed in sweet little dresses with patent leather shoes and possibly wear a flower crown in their hair. The bride should plan to give flower girl gifts to the little ones. Traditional flower girl gifts include very delicate silver medallions or pearl pendants.

The ring bearer theoretically wears the wedding bands down the aisle to the altar (I say theoretically because the rings on the pillow are often fake). If you had two small children and you wanted each to be a ring bearer, each could carry a small pillow, one with the bride’s wedding ring and one with the groom’s ring (or the facsimiles). When you have a larger number of nephews, it can be pages. This works best when the wedding is a large, formal affair. Pages traditionally help carry the bride’s tail. It is very sweet when the wedding dress features a large cathedral length train, but it would be impractical for a small sweep train. In that case, just have the youth all dress the same and walk down the hall as a group. Even without a specific task, your nephews can still be a part of the fun.

Elder nieces and nephews may be invited to participate in the wedding as bridesmaids or groomsmen. This is a bridge position for a boy who is too old to be a flower girl or ring bearer, but too young to be a full-fledged bridesmaid or groomsman. The typical age range for junior assistants is nine to fourteen years old. Once they are about fifteen or sixteen years old, they will be ready to be regular bridesmaids or groomsmen. Junior bridesmaids will wear dresses that are similar in style to bridesmaids’ dresses, only a more demure and age-appropriate style. Since men’s formal wear varies so little, junior groomsmen can wear the same type of suit as groomsmen, or they can wear a jacket and pants instead of a full suit.

Even young children can play a role in your wedding as long as you don’t expect things to go perfectly. There is nothing more adorable than a very young niece or nephew traveling down the aisle in a fancy carriage or sleigh pulled by an older brother. I’ve even seen babies pushed down the aisle in flower-adorned strollers! It is so much fun to include as many nieces and nephews in your wedding as you want.