Friday 13 January 2012

A family occasion?

When drawing up that guest list for your event, usually in the case of a wedding, one question that comes up is whether to invite children. There is no doubt they can add to the enjoyment of the day.... when they are having a great time.

At our recent family wedding my six year old niece challenged the photographer to a 'shoot out', and spent the wedding breakfast touring the tables with a disposable camera snapping away various (probably headless) images. Another client of ours drew up a photo competition for the older children, giving each a polaroid camera and a list of clues to the people they had to find and photograph during the day.

If you are expecting your guests to bring their families, we believe it's important to make sure the children feel welcome and looked after.

photo courtesy of http://www.rebeccajudge.com/
In May last year we worked on a wedding for Jamie and Ceri, and they had a relatively large number of children in attendance.  They were able to provide a separate children's marquee, and asked us for advice on how to best look after their young guests. 

So, out came a tried and tested recipe - some sort of entertainment and a special children's menu to help keep them happy and contented throughout the day.

Busy Living Ltd were brought on-board to provide a creche for the younger children, along with a magician for later in the day.  Before the event, they met Jamie on-site and together they carried out a comprehensive risk assessment, confirming several changes that were made in the garden to ensure it was a safe environment for the children. 

We provided a dedicated team for the children's food to make sure they were consistently looked after whilst we also took care of the grown-ups. We made sure the children were given several small meals throughout the afternoon, ensuring they didn't get chance to get hungry or thirsty.




On the day, the children's tent was well-stocked with toys, and qualified nannies. 

As one guest commented 'No-one heard a single child crying all day' so our task to keep the children happy was clearly successful!
photo courtesy of  http://www.rebeccajudge.com/
We appreciate not everyone has the luxury of separate space for their young guests, are can afford a children's entertainer or creche.  But the principle remains the same and it doesn't cost much to make sure that the menu is right and there is entertainment for them, even if it just takes the form of a party bag on the table with colouring books or games for them to keep themselves occupied. 

Not only will they then add to the enjoyment, but the parents will thank you for the opportunity to share in your day without worrying about their little ones.


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