Blended family

Making your wedding a family affair can make it more special and meaningful if you have children either from this or previous relationships. Crafting moments that focus on you as a couple and the commitment you are making to each other in marriage and including your children in other aspects of your ceremony will create a memorable experience for you, your family and your guests.

There are myriad ways to involve your children in your wedding based on their age and interest level. Certainly flower girl, ring bearer, bridesmaid and groomsman are common roles for children to take, depending on their ages. Children can be readers, and ushers, too. A particularly meaningful way to include children of any age is to have them escort you up the aisle. In an upcoming wedding I’m working on both the bride and groom will be entering the ceremony space accompanied by their teenage children. This opens the wedding with a strong visual that the children support the marriage and are an integral part of the relationship.

A family ritual can be a powerful moment in your wedding ceremony when you celebrate the new family by inviting the children forward to join with you in a visual activity – a sand blending, flower blending, tree planting or other ritual. A recent article on Weddingbee offers some ideas for your consideration.

One word of caution regarding children from previous relationships. If the children (no matter their age) have a relationship with their other birth parent, it is important that the new family being recognized with their parent’s marriage not be viewed as trivializing or breaking the family relationship they have with their other parent. Families are created by love and take many forms. We can all be part of many families without one diminishing another. It is important to be sensitive to the feelings of children and their emotions during the wedding.

If you are bringing children into a new family unit with your marriage, celebrate fully by making your wedding a family affair.