Wedding Planning: Providing Childcare at Your Wedding

In a perfect world, your wedding would be a place where grown-ups can come together, sip champagne and mix and mingle without having to wrestle and wrangle with uninterested children. But in reality, that isn’t always the case. If your guest list is comprised of families and dear friends with little ones, perhaps you should consider providing childcare at your wedding ceremony as part of your wedding planning. While this isn’t an option for everyone, it does make things easier for relatives and out-of-town guests with kids. Before booking a wedding sitter, here are a few things to remember:

Interview wisely
Search for sitters who have experience with children. This may seem like a no-brainer, but parents want to know that they’re entrusting their child with someone can handle the constant activity of toddlers and tykes. Have all potential caregivers fill out an application and run the appropriate background checks before making any final decisions.

Determine your pay rate
Wedding ceremony times vary, so you’ll want to decide on whether to pay a sitter a flat fee or by the hour. If you do, however, choose to pay by the hour, you’ll need to state an overtime fee in the contract in case the wedding ceremony runs longer than excepted.

What the sitter needs to know
When sending RSVPs, ask guests to reply whether or not they will be bringing children, and if so, how many. This will help the sitter keep accurate head counts and a heads up on what all supplies are needed. Other information to provide the sitter with includes:

• Ages of children

• Allergies/special dietary needs

• Contact information for each parent

Keep parents in the know
When you’ve determined your caregiver, offer to share his/her profile with any guests bringing children for them to peruse. If their child has a special toy, book or video they like to watch, have them bring it along to keep the child entertained.

Find a venue with separate space
Finding a space that allows childcare is key. For instance, if your wedding ceremony and reception is taking place at a hotel, consider renting a suite—somewhere that’s comfortable and large enough for the children to play, sleep and/or eat. Otherwise, talk with the venue’s manager about renting a separate room that can accommodate a brood.

Finding a childcare provider for your wedding is serious task, but it doesn’t have to be a difficult one. The best advice, as with all wedding planning, is to plan ahead. A good rule of thumb is three months prior to the wedding date. Again, having a childcare provider at your wedding isn’t a necessity. But it is a thoughtful gesture for those sharing in your day that might not have been able to attend otherwise.