I am not a babysitter....it is not my job to "engage" kids, it is the parents job to keep them under control.
Weddings Reality Check
- Thread starter JamesY
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I am not a babysitter....it is not my job to "engage" kids, it is the parents job to keep them under control.
K
Kirby Ball
Guest
I concur with MacMan. We've had receptions where the kids were an issue and just as many where they were not. Depends a lot on the family dynamics.
No alcohol is normally a floor killer, but we've done a few over the years that were the exception to that rule.
My biggie, is if the Bride & Groom (and bridal party) are not engaged on the dance floor or even in the room it tends to make for a very dull evening.
Um, if the kids are at the reception they're guests just as much as the adults. At that point, it IS your job to engage and entertain them as well.
Absolutely not...my job is to entertain and engage the adults at an event, not the kids.
A wedding is an adult and mature celebration, not a place for kids to run wild and control everything.
Well that depends. If you sell yourself to potential clients as providing entertainment for their guests, then you betcha your job is to entertain and engage the kids as well as the adults. Now if you tell potential clients that you're only there to provide entertainment for guests who are 18 years or older, then the kids are none of your concern as guests.
In my neck of the woods and where I grew up, weddings are celebrations where family is included, not excluded. If you've got half a dozen kids in the "yard ape" ages, use that to your advantage.
Like I said ... I would never make that kind of a statement. If the kids are guests it is part of your job to engage them. It's not the parents fault if you don't have or won't use that ability.
wow yeah - kids have never been an issue as far as i can tell. Most of the time in these "dead floor" weddings, the kids end up being the ones who drag the adults to the floor to dance with them so at least I have a few people on the dance floor.
So far kids have been a part of every wedding I've done, except one. We even have songs like the hokey pokey and a cool version of the chicken dance mainly for the kids - and I've even catered to the kids when I see the adults are just chillin and socializing by playing more bubble gum pop stuff like miley, katy perry, bieber, etc.
So no kids at a wedding or making any sort of announcement about the adults controlling their kids is definitely not something that will work for 99% of weddings that I do.
So far kids have been a part of every wedding I've done, except one. We even have songs like the hokey pokey and a cool version of the chicken dance mainly for the kids - and I've even catered to the kids when I see the adults are just chillin and socializing by playing more bubble gum pop stuff like miley, katy perry, bieber, etc.
So no kids at a wedding or making any sort of announcement about the adults controlling their kids is definitely not something that will work for 99% of weddings that I do.
Sorry folks, I stand by every statement I have made.
In the 20 years I have been doing this, I can name maybe 5 weddings where kids were in attendance and it did not affect people dancing. At the one I referenced from this past weekend. we actually have video of people coming on the floor, and as soon as the kids followed and started running into everybody, people left. You can see it again and again on the video.
I am totally in Dennis's camp about kids should not be at weddings. Many of our clients even have that on their invitations. They are in no way just as much of a guest as the adults there. We let it be known right from the outset to the parents in the room. We announce to please not let their children on the dance floor unsupervised. Our garter / bouquet ceremony is ALWAYS 18+ and we do not take requests from kids.
In the 20 years I have been doing this, I can name maybe 5 weddings where kids were in attendance and it did not affect people dancing. At the one I referenced from this past weekend. we actually have video of people coming on the floor, and as soon as the kids followed and started running into everybody, people left. You can see it again and again on the video.
I am totally in Dennis's camp about kids should not be at weddings. Many of our clients even have that on their invitations. They are in no way just as much of a guest as the adults there. We let it be known right from the outset to the parents in the room. We announce to please not let their children on the dance floor unsupervised. Our garter / bouquet ceremony is ALWAYS 18+ and we do not take requests from kids.
I have had cases where I have mentioned to the bride and/or groom or wedding coordinator about some of the children being unruly, but if none of them have issues with it, neither do I. I work for them. As long as the youngin' is not messing with my equipment, not my issue.
If someone (regardless of age) makes a request that could work with the set I am playing I have no problem playing it.
I can not imagine checking id's of the young ladies lining up to catch the bouquet. Yea, you can tell some obvious cases, but there are some girls that are younger than 18 that can easily pass for older.
I think some of you may be misunderstanding here. We are not rude or confrontational about this.
When dancing starts, I will make an announcement something like this "if you have something you want to hear, just come on up and let me know, and parents, please remember to have fun with your children on the dance floor, but for the enjoyment of all guests, please make sure children are not left unattended on the floor"
When it is time to do the garter ceremony, I will say "this can get pretty wild at times, so please keep in mind this is an 18 and over activity we are about to do".
The problem is, in today's "my children can never do anything wrong" society, parents don't listen to this, and it cause a complete disaster when you have 7 or 8 kids running all over the dance floor while mommy and daddy are off in the corner talking. If you are going to bring your children to a wedding, it is YOUR job to look after them, not mine.
When dancing starts, I will make an announcement something like this "if you have something you want to hear, just come on up and let me know, and parents, please remember to have fun with your children on the dance floor, but for the enjoyment of all guests, please make sure children are not left unattended on the floor"
When it is time to do the garter ceremony, I will say "this can get pretty wild at times, so please keep in mind this is an 18 and over activity we are about to do".
The problem is, in today's "my children can never do anything wrong" society, parents don't listen to this, and it cause a complete disaster when you have 7 or 8 kids running all over the dance floor while mommy and daddy are off in the corner talking. If you are going to bring your children to a wedding, it is YOUR job to look after them, not mine.
Just out curiosity if you spot a younger than 18 girl lined up for the bouquet toss do you hold off on the event, until she leaves the floor?
going to be honest with you, normally it is the bride or groom who does it. once the tone is set that the reception will be geared to adults, the couple gets on board with it.
And this is not something we just spring on them either. Our worksheet (where they choose the songs for these activities) specifically says it will be an 18+ activity, and our contract lays out that unattended children are not allowed near our booth. We have never had one person complain about this. When we explain the reasoning behind it, most of the time the couple is happy we have these things in place.
Once again, we all have different ways of running our business, and this is one of the things we are very serious about, but through years of experience I know the effect unruly children have an event.
Thanks, not a bad approach at all. I do agree that there are definitely some events younger children should not be involved with at all at a reception.
In my area the trend is turning more and more to "childless" receptions, 9 of them so far this year.
It even states on the invites that this is a 17 or 18 and over event.
It even states on the invites that this is a 17 or 18 and over event.
Just being curious, have you ever tried using a bubble machine to lure the kids away from the dance floor?