Planning to wed your partner in an intimate setting surrounded only by the very closest of your friends and family is a cause for celebration if there ever was one. At the moment, you are probably preoccupied with making your elopement day special for you and your partner. However, it makes sense to figure out early on how you can incorporate your baby, toddler, or child into your elopement.
Not having to worry about satisfying and entertaining guests is the main reason why some people choose to keep things simple and elope. Nonetheless there are guest that are guests that could be imperative to complete the wedding, like children. However, it might be tricky to keep your little munchkin content and safe during the ceremony. Luckily, we have a few ideas that could help you solve this problem.
Involve them into the unity ceremony.
If you are lighting a unity candle, sand ceremony or unique way to show 2 people uniting, invite your children to help complete the ceremony. Have extra candles or sand representing each child. Make it something that can be displayed in your family home to serve as a constant reminder of the marriage.
Hold your child in your embrace or have them escort you down the aisle.
If you gave birth to your child recently, you might be worried about bringing her or him to the ceremony. On the one hand, the fact that you do not have many people attending the elopement also means that you have to keep close watch of your baby, toddler, or child. This is especially tricky if you have a newborn.
Nonetheless, you probably cannot imagine getting married without your baby present. If you cannot find a nanny or a relative that you could put in charge of looking after your child, we propose a solution.
One way you can solve this problem is to hold your child during the ceremony. In this way,
you will be absolutely sure that your baby is safe and happy in your embrace. The act of approaching the altar with your child in your hands will stay in your memory forever. Also, the photos from your wedding will probably be too cute to handle. Traditionally, the father walks the bride down the aisle. But here at New Land Weddings we throw traditions out the window. How special would it be to have your son or daughter walk you down the aisle and hand you off to the love of your life? Or to see your son walk your wife down the aisle.
Include them in the first dances.
I mention first dance when referring to elopement because I always encourage my couples to have a first dance no matter an elopement or intimate wedding. Any who, have your children jump into your first dance. They could jump into the couples first dance or you could dedicate a song just to dance with them solely.
First look with your child
Seeing your mother or father for the first time in their wedding gear might make for some emotional moments and adorable photos. If your children are not getting ready with you, set up a formal first look for some unforgettable moments.
Get ready with your son or daughter.
Not only will this make for some great moments but adorable photos. You daughter will feel so special if she get's to zip up the back of your wedding dress. Your son will feel special adjusting the tie of his father.
Your children can be apart of the wedding party.
Of course, a child that is old enough to walk can become part of the ceremony by being your ring bearer, flower girl, bridesmaid, groomsman, or usher. Assigning an important role that your child can play in the elopement will probably keep your little one up on his or her toes throughout.
Your kid will probably be thrilled because they are directly participating in the ceremony, which is another reason why you might consider doing this. In fact, your child will probably be so beyond herself with excitement, so you won't have to worry about them making some mischief out of boredom.
However, this can be a little bit trickier to do if your child does not walk steadily yet. However, this does not mean your toddler cannot be your ring bearer nevertheless. Your toddler can wear a cute look for this unique occasion while having the rings (or flowers) tied to its wrist. Namely, there is really no reason why you cannot roll your toddler in a stroller if stroller if you are worried they might fall on their own.
You can attach your wedding rings to your baby’s wrist or feet and incorporate your baby, toddler, or child into your elopement
You can do roughly the same thing if you have a baby. The untying of the wristband holding the rings together with your partner is a great way to tie the knot symbolically. You can even have fun with this idea and swap your usual baby wagon for a flower-adorned stroller in your elopement’s theme colors.
Surprise your children!
One of my favorite elopements was when the bride and groom dressed their kids to the 9s and set up a family photoshoot.. or so the children thought. The parents showed up in their wedding attire to leave the kids in total shock. Family photos turned into a surprise intimate wedding! How fun would the photos be and to capture that emotion surprise? What a story to tell that would be!
Your photos or video
Your elopement photoshoot is an excellent way to make your baby, toddler, or child part of your elopement.
This video and photos could serve as your wedding or elopement announcement. If you do not intend to share this intimate wedding video publicly, it will become an essential part of your personal video archive.
Essentially, you should use this opportunity to make a photo album that you and your family will be able to cherish for the rest of your life. There are many themes, props, and decorative elements that you can use to make creative and fun photos you can send out to your friends and relatives. In this way, you will be able to incorporate your baby, toddler, or child into your elopement as well as share your special day with people who were not present at the ceremony.
How to involve your kids without them being there.
Suppose you are having second thoughts about having your child attend or actively participate in the ceremony. In that case, you can avoid this altogether with these solutions.
To incorporate anyone into your wedding without being there you could have them be virtual guests. We have seen a huge rise in live-streaming weddings because of Covid, but it is also popular among destination weddings.
Involve your children during the planning and prep process. Bring your kids with you to pick out the wedding bands. Include them while you are making wedding decor or packaging invites.
If your children aren't there on the day of the elopement you could organize a fun photoshoot before or after your elopement. With or without your wedding attire. This is an excellent way to compensate for not having your child right there with you while you are approaching the aisle. This is also perfect for those multi-day elopements, one day with kids (and maybe a little bit more champagne) and one day without!
Transporting Goods to wedding Since elopements usually involve traveling and children involves more luggage, check out this blog post on Transporting Wedding Decorations for your Destination Wedding.