Writings by me

This weekend I attended my first wedding with a kid in tow. The original plan – for the four of us to go – was thwarted by Harry coming down with a stomach bug. As maid of honour, non-attendance was not an option, so Freddie and I set off on our wedding mission.

And what a lovely mission it was. Freddie at 7 is slowly becoming much lower maintenance at the same time as becoming a proper person with viewpoints and a great sense of fun. Throw in an ever-growing repertoire of dance moves and he is perfect wedding material.

So, if you’re planning on taking your kids to a wedding this summer, the following helped:

• Always carry crisps/kid-friendly snacks; I majorly dropped the ball here. Eating at weddings is an odd one for kids. While I tucked into glorious canapes of pate, butternut squash, and filo squares of deliciousness, Freddie was not as enthused. Always head out with an armful of snacks? Attending a wedding is no different. 
• A small backpack (the ones with reins attached are a perfect size) containing the following: Playing cards – card games have been a revelation for this phase of parenting. I particularly recommend Monopoly Deal and toy dinosaurs, or any other toy of the moment that easily fits in your backpack, tiny notebook and crayons etc. All the garb you normally lug around with you, in miniature. These are essentials for those moments when nothing is really happening and you want to mingle/start propping up the bar.
• Relaxing rules on bedtime; we were extremely fortunate to be staying at the venue. I’m also extremely fortunate to have a flexible kid who doesn’t really get that cranky about staying up.
• Having a wonderful selection of people on hand. There were so many people who wanted to sit with him, play with him, dance with him. I came away from the wedding feeling extremely lucky to know the people I know.
• The bride and groom were relaxed, adapting to him being glued to my side, slotting him into the aisle walk, the top table and just generally being awesome.
• The wedding fare for the kids was perfection; pizza and chips followed by an ice cream sundae. This was very well received after a long afternoon where mum forgot the crisps.

From this experience, I highly recommend taking along your child as your wedding date.