Kids at Rehearsal Dinner

We made the mistake of allowing one of his groomsmen to bring his daughter to the rehearsal so he thought that meant she could also attend the wedding even though we made it clear that children were not invited to the wedding. The venue was 1.5 hours from where him and his wife live to stay with relatives wasn't an option as they were staying overnight at our wedding. My advice if you want to allow their children at the rehearsal you need to make it crystal clear they can't come to the wedding.

View Quoted Comment I don't care about them coming to the wedding and have already factored in costs for that, but I'm just trying to keep the numbers down for the rehearsal dinner. It seems like they could find someone to watch them for a couple of hours.

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Oh okay. I thought you didn't want them at the wedding either. I think the time of day your rehearsal is at is going to be the biggest problem. Mine was at 4:30, but the only person with children in our wedding was the groomsman who bought his daughter to the wedding even though she wasn't supposed to. The only other children were those in the wedding. Five is when most people get out of work so if you aren't allowing children then they are going to not only have to leave work early, but they are also going to have to find someone to watch the kids which means likely dropping them off somewhere. If they are having to run home get the children and take them somewhere else that means even more time they need off from work. They may be willing to do this, but that is ultimately their decision.

View Quoted Comment I know. I guess it will be easier to just include them. I thought about asking the venue if they have a kids menu option.

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Our rehearsal dinner was at a local restaurant and they had different pricing for anyone under 15.

To be honest, we had a few kids at our wedding (ages 1 year, 3, 5, 6, 10). We provided a kids menu and we made baskets (coloring books, art supplies, little toys etc). It was great! The kids were so well-behaved, enjoyed dancing, and playing with the items in their basket. They had so much fun and seeing the bride was like a celebrity siting for them. I was nervous about it at first, but now I’m so happy we have these pictures and memories. Do what works for your family, not the people on wedding wire

Except for a flower girl or ring bearer, I have never seen any children at an actual rehearsal at a church or venue, or at a dressy evening rehearsal dinner limited to wedding participants. Only if the RD is opened up to general guests from out of town, and children are invited. Sometimes a rehearsal is informal, in someone's yard, practicing lineup and then having a cookout. Then, parents may be told kids are fine. But anything more dressy, like a sit down dinner, or a closed rehearsal, no kids outside WP. Babysitter time.

We had our officiant's two kids at our RD. They're very well behaved, so it wasn't an issue for us! If you're doing a no-kids wedding, I would stick to this for the RD as well