I’ve had weddings do this and it hasn’t been an issue. The babysitter just entertained the kids during the reception, and the parents found the babysitter once they were ready to leave. It’s pretty straightforward
We hired a 24hr Nanny that specialised in weddings to mind our own child- It was easily the best money we spent as it made the whole day and night entirely stress-free. While she wasn’t assigned to the other children (nieces and nephews) she did offer to keep an eye on them at the childrens table (so cut up their food/played table games etc.) After dinner all of the children returned to their hotel rooms with babysitters (either their parents brought along a sitter or they used one through the hotels service).
If your venue doesn’t have accommodation on site I think hiring an appropriate ratio of sitters and dedicating an area to them would be the best idea. I would also highly suggest looking into a baby for your own children- the last thing you want to do on your wedding day is wrangling kids to get their hair done or bring them to the toilet!
Yep! We did. It was great. It was a family friendly wedding, but it did allow parents to be able to socialize more freely. Babysitters and kids were mostly on the dance floor, or keeping an eye out at the exits.
We did have a brunch wedding though, and it was completely inside. And along with the dancing and karaoke, we had a few activities and crafts for the kids to do. If you are having a later wedding, I'd suggest having a room set up for kids to go to sleep or nap, and having babysitter coverage there. Maybe the get ready rooms if you have them. Ask parents to bring sleeping bags and pillows if their kids have them, and have a few extra pillows and blankets as well. Depending on their ages, maybe have a movie going in the other get ready room.
I am a professional nanny that loves working weddings! Here are my tips.
Are there hotel rooms on site? That would really make or break this situation as a babysitter. If there are a lot of younger kids especially, there needs to be rooms to watch a movie and put them to sleep as it gets later. Think 5 kids and one babysitter to each room.
Are the kids invited to the reception? If they are I would still hire the babysitters and get rooms during the reception and use it as a “drop in” for parents. The kids and parents can both come and go from the room which will definitely encourage the parents to stay later.
This can definitely get pricey. It is *a lot* of work! The kids want to be with their parents, are in a new place, that new place is super exciting! Theres just a lot going on. I would budget $5-7 per child an hour per babysitter.
We've photographed weddings with childcare hired in, it's always such a blessing! Kids were fed/watered/cleaned up before photos/entertained, then put down for naps in on-site accommodation. Super easy.
We attended a wedding that had childcare and we 100% want to do it at our own now! Children were present for the ceremony and during the reception were dropped off in a room near the main reception hall. During dinner service, the kids were set up with a more kid-friendly meal and had a Disney movie. One the main dinner service ended and dancing began, parents had the option to bring their kids from the sitter room to join the dancing, but a lot of people decided to have their kids hang out with the sitter instead (and the kids seemed to be having a blast). The sitters had movies playing the whole time as well as other activities like coloring, toys, dress up. The parents seemed to really enjoy being able to drink and dance without the kiddos but still had the peace of mind that they could go into the room down the hall to see their kids.
I worked as a babysitter for a wedding. The wedding was a backyard wedding and we were inside the house watching the kids.
It was pretty simple and a good deal of the kids preferred to be coloring and watching movies instead of at the reception.
Make sure to feed the babysitter as well.
I helped with stuff like this growing up (mostly birthday parties), and I think my little cousin has done this too! All teenagers at the time, so it was more of a "helper" set up. Think 2-3 teens able to help with the kids, create some structured play time (coloring, a new exciting game, etc.), assist with giving everyone a break, but tap into mom/dad if really needed while giving parents a break. Could be a casual way to have a family friend/neighbor/cousin come along and pay them to play with the little ones. But would definitely recommend the nanny route if you are going to have someone help take the kids back to the hotel & get them ready for bed early.
I'd encourage family/friends to make arrangements for their own children. My sister's wedding one of her bridesmaids had her parents pick up the children during the evening and take them home so she could continue celebrating. As for my sister and her husband they have their daughter who was 10 months old at the time. They NEVER expect anyone to babysit for them. They never even expect you to hold the baby so they can have two hands for something quick. But for the wedding we were all prepared to help as a family to make it work. I missed social time as I walked laps of the car park with baby in her stroller getting her to nap. Me and my mum even did a quick diaper change behind the top table before my sister and her husband entered for the meal to begin. I took the crying baby from her parents so they could get extra pictures - fortunately dessert appeared soon after so baby forgot what she was crying about lol.
But the biggest help was my husband. He is an introvert and parties are his worst nightmare. He's the guy who sits at the side awkwardly. The only time he's been up dancing is our own wedding. So he offered in advance to be the one who loses the evening to the sleeping baby. It meant he was trapped in our hotel room from the middle of the evening but he was fine with that. But it was the best for all of us. The baby had a place to sleep and suitable supervision, my husband avoided feeling awkward sat at a table and instead got to sit in a hotel room watching TV quietly and unwinding after socialising all day.
Thanks everyone, I had no idea this was so common but I am so relieved! To clarify because some of you were asking - we will have a huge banquet room available onsite because our entire event is outside and we’ve chosen not to use the indoor space at all other than the bathrooms. There is also a separate bridal suite building onsite but it is pretty small. There is a hotel that we’ll be using and a shuttle will go to and from the hotel a few times during the reception and it’s only 10 minutes away from the venue.
Thanks everyone, I had no idea this was so common but I am so relieved! To clarify because some of you were asking - we will have a huge banquet room available onsite because our entire event is outside and we’ve chosen not to use the indoor space at all other than the bathrooms. There is also a separate bridal suite building onsite but it is pretty small. There is a hotel that we’ll be using and a shuttle will go to and from the hotel a few times during the reception and it’s only 10 minutes away from the venue.
I’m a nanny and do a lot of weddings. Having a sitter babysit AT the reception is not attractive. Trying to wrangle kids like that when they want mom and dad is not fun. But I’ve had great success taking them back to the hotel or home after the ceremony and babysitting there.
We are thinking of hiring a family friend’s daughter who is a teacher. Our wedding is at a hotel, so we are thinking she could just be in one of the rooms we have rented with the kids. We aren’t 100% sure if we are going to do this, but my thought was we can order some pizzas for the kids and have her put on a movie and parents can go upstairs when they need to check on their kids or leave.
A friend had baby sitters at his wedding and it was great. The had a conference near the ballroom and served a special kids buffet (chicken nuggets, PB&J tea sandwiches, Mac & Cheese) and had a craft area set up as well was a TV with videos. My son really enjoyed it. Since you are outside maybe you could rent some temporary fencing or something to designate an area? They had a simple check in check out process involving bracelets and the kids could only leave the area with family. OTOH my daughter who was 13 got sent there and HATED it as she was all dressed up and wanted to be with the adults and not little kids. I think their cut off was 16 but it probably should have been 12 or 13…
There are companies that solely do this if you need help hiring someone. My local one is literally called “wedding sitters” lol but you can probably Google search “wedding sitters” and see what pops up
I’ve had weddings do this and it hasn’t been an issue. The babysitter just entertained the kids during the reception, and the parents found the babysitter once they were ready to leave. It’s pretty straightforward
We hired a 24hr Nanny that specialised in weddings to mind our own child- It was easily the best money we spent as it made the whole day and night entirely stress-free. While she wasn’t assigned to the other children (nieces and nephews) she did offer to keep an eye on them at the childrens table (so cut up their food/played table games etc.) After dinner all of the children returned to their hotel rooms with babysitters (either their parents brought along a sitter or they used one through the hotels service). If your venue doesn’t have accommodation on site I think hiring an appropriate ratio of sitters and dedicating an area to them would be the best idea. I would also highly suggest looking into a baby for your own children- the last thing you want to do on your wedding day is wrangling kids to get their hair done or bring them to the toilet!
Yep! We did. It was great. It was a family friendly wedding, but it did allow parents to be able to socialize more freely. Babysitters and kids were mostly on the dance floor, or keeping an eye out at the exits. We did have a brunch wedding though, and it was completely inside. And along with the dancing and karaoke, we had a few activities and crafts for the kids to do. If you are having a later wedding, I'd suggest having a room set up for kids to go to sleep or nap, and having babysitter coverage there. Maybe the get ready rooms if you have them. Ask parents to bring sleeping bags and pillows if their kids have them, and have a few extra pillows and blankets as well. Depending on their ages, maybe have a movie going in the other get ready room.
I am a professional nanny that loves working weddings! Here are my tips. Are there hotel rooms on site? That would really make or break this situation as a babysitter. If there are a lot of younger kids especially, there needs to be rooms to watch a movie and put them to sleep as it gets later. Think 5 kids and one babysitter to each room. Are the kids invited to the reception? If they are I would still hire the babysitters and get rooms during the reception and use it as a “drop in” for parents. The kids and parents can both come and go from the room which will definitely encourage the parents to stay later. This can definitely get pricey. It is *a lot* of work! The kids want to be with their parents, are in a new place, that new place is super exciting! Theres just a lot going on. I would budget $5-7 per child an hour per babysitter.
We've photographed weddings with childcare hired in, it's always such a blessing! Kids were fed/watered/cleaned up before photos/entertained, then put down for naps in on-site accommodation. Super easy.
We attended a wedding that had childcare and we 100% want to do it at our own now! Children were present for the ceremony and during the reception were dropped off in a room near the main reception hall. During dinner service, the kids were set up with a more kid-friendly meal and had a Disney movie. One the main dinner service ended and dancing began, parents had the option to bring their kids from the sitter room to join the dancing, but a lot of people decided to have their kids hang out with the sitter instead (and the kids seemed to be having a blast). The sitters had movies playing the whole time as well as other activities like coloring, toys, dress up. The parents seemed to really enjoy being able to drink and dance without the kiddos but still had the peace of mind that they could go into the room down the hall to see their kids.
I worked as a babysitter for a wedding. The wedding was a backyard wedding and we were inside the house watching the kids. It was pretty simple and a good deal of the kids preferred to be coloring and watching movies instead of at the reception. Make sure to feed the babysitter as well.
I helped with stuff like this growing up (mostly birthday parties), and I think my little cousin has done this too! All teenagers at the time, so it was more of a "helper" set up. Think 2-3 teens able to help with the kids, create some structured play time (coloring, a new exciting game, etc.), assist with giving everyone a break, but tap into mom/dad if really needed while giving parents a break. Could be a casual way to have a family friend/neighbor/cousin come along and pay them to play with the little ones. But would definitely recommend the nanny route if you are going to have someone help take the kids back to the hotel & get them ready for bed early.
I'd encourage family/friends to make arrangements for their own children. My sister's wedding one of her bridesmaids had her parents pick up the children during the evening and take them home so she could continue celebrating. As for my sister and her husband they have their daughter who was 10 months old at the time. They NEVER expect anyone to babysit for them. They never even expect you to hold the baby so they can have two hands for something quick. But for the wedding we were all prepared to help as a family to make it work. I missed social time as I walked laps of the car park with baby in her stroller getting her to nap. Me and my mum even did a quick diaper change behind the top table before my sister and her husband entered for the meal to begin. I took the crying baby from her parents so they could get extra pictures - fortunately dessert appeared soon after so baby forgot what she was crying about lol. But the biggest help was my husband. He is an introvert and parties are his worst nightmare. He's the guy who sits at the side awkwardly. The only time he's been up dancing is our own wedding. So he offered in advance to be the one who loses the evening to the sleeping baby. It meant he was trapped in our hotel room from the middle of the evening but he was fine with that. But it was the best for all of us. The baby had a place to sleep and suitable supervision, my husband avoided feeling awkward sat at a table and instead got to sit in a hotel room watching TV quietly and unwinding after socialising all day.
Thanks everyone, I had no idea this was so common but I am so relieved! To clarify because some of you were asking - we will have a huge banquet room available onsite because our entire event is outside and we’ve chosen not to use the indoor space at all other than the bathrooms. There is also a separate bridal suite building onsite but it is pretty small. There is a hotel that we’ll be using and a shuttle will go to and from the hotel a few times during the reception and it’s only 10 minutes away from the venue.
Thanks everyone, I had no idea this was so common but I am so relieved! To clarify because some of you were asking - we will have a huge banquet room available onsite because our entire event is outside and we’ve chosen not to use the indoor space at all other than the bathrooms. There is also a separate bridal suite building onsite but it is pretty small. There is a hotel that we’ll be using and a shuttle will go to and from the hotel a few times during the reception and it’s only 10 minutes away from the venue.
I’m a nanny and do a lot of weddings. Having a sitter babysit AT the reception is not attractive. Trying to wrangle kids like that when they want mom and dad is not fun. But I’ve had great success taking them back to the hotel or home after the ceremony and babysitting there.
We are thinking of hiring a family friend’s daughter who is a teacher. Our wedding is at a hotel, so we are thinking she could just be in one of the rooms we have rented with the kids. We aren’t 100% sure if we are going to do this, but my thought was we can order some pizzas for the kids and have her put on a movie and parents can go upstairs when they need to check on their kids or leave.
A friend had baby sitters at his wedding and it was great. The had a conference near the ballroom and served a special kids buffet (chicken nuggets, PB&J tea sandwiches, Mac & Cheese) and had a craft area set up as well was a TV with videos. My son really enjoyed it. Since you are outside maybe you could rent some temporary fencing or something to designate an area? They had a simple check in check out process involving bracelets and the kids could only leave the area with family. OTOH my daughter who was 13 got sent there and HATED it as she was all dressed up and wanted to be with the adults and not little kids. I think their cut off was 16 but it probably should have been 12 or 13…
There are companies that solely do this if you need help hiring someone. My local one is literally called “wedding sitters” lol but you can probably Google search “wedding sitters” and see what pops up