It's been nearly 25 years, and I still remember this event: After having sewn half of the bridesmaids outfits, designed most of the flowers, and generally bent over backwards to be a very supportive sister and bridesmaid, moments before the wedding (and not well beforehand), her groom insisted that our 4 month old (still nursing) baby was not welcome in the sanctuary during the ceremony. He said that a baby crying during their vows would ruin the experience for him.
My husband slipped out of the sanctuary and remained throughout the entire wedding in the cry room of the church, with a baby as good as gold. We paid a sitter for our older son, but the babe-in-arms needed to be with mommy, because I'd have to be at the wedding and reception from set up to clean up -- about 11 hours. No other babies or children were present that evening. My truly biased opinion is this. You are more likely to have your vows interrupted by a ringing cell phone than a crying baby.
However, if you are still worried, try to place yourself emotionally in the shoes of the mother who may still be nursing the baby. Give her plenty of notice to make plans. Offer to have a sitter on site during the ceremony, so she and her partner can enjoy the wedding together. Little children bear no malice, and will only "ruin" your wedding if your heart is not open to them, or if you have not planned in advance to make any kind of accommodation for them. Most parents will be responsible for their little ones, so check your worries at the door.
I'm sure the wedding planners of our blogging community will have more ideas-- this is just what happened to me. By the way, he (groom) never did stop trying to control -- and they are now sorting out the final details of their divorce.
Contributed by Puget Sound Wedding Professional Julia Miller of Julia’s Floral.
No comments:
Post a Comment