3 top tips on how to wedding with a toddler!

1. Outsource the big, time-consuming jobs

2. Hire someone just for your little one

3. Keep your expectations of them realistic and embrace the chaos they create - go with the flow!

   
   

   Here's why...

When I got married last May, I thought I knew exactly how the day would go. After all, I’ve photographed so many weddings that I knew what I liked...and didn’t like! Plus I have an incredible graphic designer for a partner, who took on a fair whack of the organising, so we felt pretty smug that we would have a seamless and excellent day.

And it was excellent... but when your 18-month-old ends up with a split chin the day before and you’re sat in A&E in a blood soaked jumper waiting for them to glue her poor little chin back together again, your certainty about being able to pull of that smooth wedding of your dreams begins to waver. In a big way...

Our wedding was on my parnter's family farm in North Devon, so needed a lot of organising and setting up as we didn't have a venue running that side of things for us. We had planned to be around for the whole day before to make sure everything was ready but all of a sudden, that just wasn't possible.

Introducing Tip Number 1: Outsource all the jobs you can, especially if they're time-consuming!

Even if we hadn't ended up being covered in blood and unexpectedly unavailable to set things up, the reality is that with a toddler in tow, every job takes longer (and gets less of your attention) than you hope.

So, as your prepare for your wedding, think about which jobs will be looming over you and work out how you can outsource the responsibility (even a little bit) to lighten your load.

I am so lucky to have Tegan, founder of Nice Moon Events , as one of my closest friends and was so grateful that she had already agreed to do the decor for our day. We had given her an idea of what we wanted and she absorbed it all and then delivered more than we could’ve possibly hoped for.

So, while we were sat in A&E, she swooped in armed with hundreds of disco balls and transformed our tipis.

If you’re going for a DIY wedding or can’t afford a decor-extraordinaire, I’d definitely recommend making sure you’ve delegated as many jobs as possible to reliable (and willing!) friends and family

We had a list of smaller things that we needed help with and our favourite people were so happy to be given a task that helped us create the vision we had.

Tip Number 2 - Hire someone just for your little one

This one is another that is often overlooked as it’s seen as a bit of an extravagance. For us, it was utterly and totally worth it.

At only 18 months old, our little one had barely been away from me and was not keen on crowds or anything out of routine. Having someone specifically for her meant that although she did still run up and join us at the front during the ceremony, she then felt happy to go off and play when she needed to.

Hiring someone who wouldn't have otherwise been at the wedding also meant that our family could all stay and enjoy every special moment with us, instead of spending the whole time babysitting!

The pressure it took off us, knowing that she was well looked after and having a great time, was worth every penny.

Finally, Tip Number 3 - Lower those expectations to match what you KNOW is reality!

It may be your special day, but they are still a toddler… and they don’t care that it’s your wedding.

I had such high hopes we would have gorgeous photos of our little one walking beautifully down the aisle sprinkling the carefully dried rose petals in her lovely little sandals and flower crown… yeah we had to let that go.

Her injury meant all bets were off and we really embraced just going with the flow - her flow.

We encouraged her into a couple of photos then let her run free and didn’t push anything that would create any stress on any of us.

It meant the moments she was smiling, she was genuinely happy and that was more than enough for us.

(We gave up on the shoes too...!)

Have I missed any other tips that should have made the top 3? Let me know over on my Instagram - I'd love to hear what you think.

Suppliers:

Events and decor: Nice Moon Events

Hair: Jo Cadogan Hair Stylist

Tipis: Ecotipis

Food: Mulberry Catering Co

Drink: The Box Bar