Sami and Shane's Cornerstone Sonoma wedding

Sami and Shane are possible two of the most adorable, caring, and fun-loving couples we've worked with. So I'm happy to report that at their wedding the "This is why you hire a wedding planner" moment was a positive one. Everyone thinks children in a wedding party are adorable because let's face it, they are. What could be cuter than a young kidd0, shyly making its way down the aisle with a cute sign that says' Here comes the bride"? The only addition that could make this scenario cuter would be if the kiddo was also walking a Labrador puppy. These picture-perfect moments are actually incredibly hard to accomplish. Most adults are nervous being in front of 100+ strangers, so just imagine when a four-year-old has 200 eyeballs from strangers watching. Meltdowns occur, they take an "alternate route" to the front, or sometimes they just don't show up because they missed their nap and went to bed too late last night. All of these things have happened at our weddings.

The Ceremony Rehearsal

To be honest, the ceremony rehearsal did not go well for the kiddos (of which there were five) at Sami and Shane's wedding. Their son "D" did rock it, but that's where the fun ended. The other four were not into it. I won't bore you with the details, but let's just say that the ceremony rehearsal ended with the bride saying "well if they don't make it down the aisle that's fine." She didn't even bring up the sign that said "Here comes the bride," it was obvious she thought it was a lot cause that the little boy would carry it. She was clearly bummed, but also clearly preferred to have happy children at her wedding rather than all-night meltdowns.

My Trick for Well-Behaved Kids in a Wedding Ceremony

I really wanted Sami to get the picture-perfect photo she was hoping for, so I needed a secret weapon. One rule of thumb about wedding planning is to always bring a tasty lunch. Conveniently my favorite local deli is also next to a CVS drugstore. I arrived to pick up the sandwiches 15 minutes early so that I could find the perfect secret weapon for the under-five-year-old age group: stickers. It took a while to find the perfect stickers. I thought I hit the jackpot when I found Charlie Brown stickers until I realized that one of the stickers was of snoopy drinking a beer. That didn't seem like a good way to start off someone's wedding. Fortunately, one row over I spotted the crowd-pleasing smiley face sticker. I grabbed two packages and headed for the cash register.

The Wedding Day

Fast forward to the ceremony. The whole wedding party is lined up, including five nervous children. It's still unclear if all four children will make it down the aisle. Then I pull out the secret weapon, stickers. Kids start smiling and they are excited to be here (finally!). With a little help from Mom, the boy agrees to carry the sign in exchange for one more sticker. Five confident and smiling children walk down the aisle, making for picture-perfect moments.

After the ceremony, the bride asked me if all the children made it down the aisle. When I told her, yes and with the "Here comes the bride" sign, her face lit up. It was the perfect start to being newlyweds.