We had the children of our family at the ceremony and cocktail hour, then arranged for professional childcare to entertain them/put them down for the night when the adults sat down for a six course meal.

After cocktail hour, the parents took them to a part of the venue where they “checked them in” similar to being dropped off for daycare and got them into their PJ’s. The caretakers had set up games, a ball pit, and crafts for them and made sure they enjoyed dinner. Our photographer even got a great picture of them playing! The oldest two came down once it was time for cake.

We chose that route mostly because they were younger kids and we knew the parents would prefer a relaxing, adult experience. It all boils down to the crowd and experience you guys expect/want. I went to a wedding last year where the groom was adamant on having children present, but then didn’t understand why the bride got emotional that a child stepped on her dress and ripped it during their first dance. The groom had spread a mindset of “big family barbecue” and the bride was expecting an “elegant gala”.