Children are so excited about any upcoming event, and a wedding to a small child is just about the biggest deal there is! Especially when it involves one or both of their parents. It feels like their day, too, which is just beautiful.

Of coure we all know you could have them in your wedding party and photos, but here are some other simple ways to honour your little people on your wedding day and make them feel included.

1. Let them get ready with you

If you have a boy, send him off with the groom for their day of golf and chilling out with the blokes. He will love the man time, and feeling like he’s one of the boys. And I bet a bit highlight of his day will be having his tie tied and his buotonniere fastened by the groom; whether he’s dad or stepdad-to-be, this is an important bonding moment.

For the little girls, getting in the thick of the pampering is a dream come true, and something she will remember for life! Have her hair done by your professional hair stylist, give her a champagne glass with OJ in it, let her have her nails painted. And even if she only gets some clear lip gloss, let her sit in the makeup artist’s chair and be fussed over! Often the makeup artist will happily do this free of charge.

2. Let them make a speech or presentation

Have a trusted family member or friend work with them to “surprise” you with a speech, a poem, a song, or an artistic creation to present to you at your wedding ceremony or reception. They will be so proud!

Do your kiddies have musical talent? Why not have them perform a song a la Lennon and Maisy on Nashville.

3. Give them their own dance

At the wedding reception, dedicate a special dance to have with your children! They can swap between mum and dad, and make sure it’s a beautiful meaningful song (that’s not too long.) Here are a couple of suggestions:

Songbird – Eva Cassidy

Michael Buble – Everything

Pharrell Williams – Happy

The Beatles – I Will

Elton John – Tiny Dancer

Bob Marley – Three Little Birds

Sheryl Crow – Sweet Child o’ Mine

Shrek Movie – I’m a Believer

Ray Charles – Ain’t That Love

The Temptations – My Girl

James Taylor – You Can Close Your Eyes

James Taylor – How Sweet It Is 

Michael Buble – Daddy’s Little Girl

Nancy Sinatra – It’s For My Dad 

Lennon & Maisy – That’s What’s Up (or the original by Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros)

And my favourite, which I sing to my son… Ben Taylor – Nothing I Can Do. The son of legends, James Taylor and Carly Simon, Ben Taylor wrote this song for his mum! Aw!

4. Represent them in your cake topper!

Find a cute figurine, or have an icing cake topper made to their likeness. You can have them on top with the bride and groom, or on a lower cake tier.

5. Let them ride in your car

There may only be this short window of time throughout the day for you to take a moment to rejoice and reflect privately as a family. Both prior to the ceremony, and on the way to your reception are two great opportunities to have a little heart to heart. Plus they will love the fancy wheels!

Photos by Lindy Photography

Flowers by Willow Bud 

The post 5 ways to honour your children at your wedding appeared first on The Bride's Tree.

Today we have a Guest Blogger, the lovely Kari, a Sunshine Coast Celebrant we simply adore! 

Congratulations to Hayley and Wade with their darling children, Charlotte and Kobi, married in the delightful Tiffany’s Chapel in Maleny.  Charlotte gave me a priceless opportunity to catch the bridal wrap, as she stood wrapping herself in Mum’s stunning bridal gown, while Toni was organising the group picture.  Too delightful to miss!

We seek ceremony when there is something profound happening.  We do things in ceremony that are symbols of a deeper meaning in our lives.  Some things are not easy to express every day, as we live it.  Some things are best expressed by ritual.  A wedding does this.  It creates an opportunity to gather the important people, and to enunciate deep feelings in the form of promises or gifts.

Hayley and Wade's wedding day was a dream come true.  And it was a wedding about family.  Hayley and Wade believe that family is first, family is everything; family is LIFE.

Often a wedding is not simply about two people.  It is about a wider group of people; community, family, heart families.  This wedding was for everyone there.

This marriage was about a family unit, yet was a recognition of the important relationship that holds the family together, the parents.  For Hayley and Wade wished to give the gift of marriage to each other.  They had already promised forever, in their kids, but on their wedding day they showed it to each other.

A key to understanding this was their choice of reading “The key to love is understanding…” taken from an unknown author in 1st century China. Read it on my blog.

Thanks to Toni Snell Photographer for the glorious images.

Today's article is by Kari, from Kari Celebrations. Kari is a wonderful celebrant on the Sunshine Coast. 

The post Married with Children appeared first on The Bride's Tree.

Natasha and Adam, along with their two children, Betty and Teddy, travelled a long journey to their wedding in Little Cove, Noosa. The journey started in 1997 when the UK couple met in their home town. After 15 years, two children and a very long flight, they made their vows in a very intimate ceremony, followed by a carefree reception at Bistro C, Noosa. 

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While they know it would have been easy to have a huge wedding with all the trappings back in the UK, a holiday to Australia and a Sunshine Coast wedding with only seven guests was exactly what they would call the perfect wedding day. Natasha says her best choice, aside from choosing to have a destination wedding on the Sunshine Coast, was to hire Kim from Weddings of Noosa to coordinate their special day.

Location was key, and the intimacy of Little Cove in Noosa was just perfect for its privacy and a simply beautiful setting. Locals made the day even more special. Well wishers on the beach included a pair of sweet little girls, who made out a heart in stones with the word ‘love’ inside just for them!

Natasha’s idea for styling for her wedding was simply to look not so styled, but to embrace the simplicity of a beach look with a touch of vintage and a splash of bohemian style. The relaxed, intimate, personal, simple and stress-free wedding Natasha and Adam dreamt of was beautifully captured by Lindy Photography. 

“I couldn’t believe how having a look around could save us so much money. I will never believe that you have to spend a fortune on a wedding for it to look great. By having a mindset of what you want your wedding to look like makes you buy the right things and not be wasteful and extravagant.”

“We had picked our own wedding playlist for the ceremony. As Adam waited for me ” The Scientist” by Coldplay played a firm favourite of his. “At Last” by Etta James was my entrance song, a very personnel and appropriate words that at last we finally did it!”

“I got Adam cufflinks personally engraved with the exact Latitude and Longitude of the exact point of where we got married on Little Cove beach”

The Hand-picked Team That Made It All Happen 

Photographer: Lindy Photography

Celebrant: Jacqui Gray

Florist: Blooms of Noosa / Bombonieres: Handmade heart place settings by Bizara / Hair and Makeup Artist: Debbie of Beauty on the Move / Wedding Planner & Decorator: Weddings of Noosa

“We like to think we were very lucky to have the most wonderful sunshine as we took our vows and the storm which arrived minutes after of us signing was all part of the fun! I will never forget getting the heel of my Jimmy Choo’s stuck in the boardwalk at Little Cove and a very kind surfer walking past with his board rescuing my shoe. Very surreal, but very funny! Then walking along barefoot in the rain. Only being in Noosa and the beautiful surroundings made this fun at home in England this would been a lot more stressful and not so much fun.“

“We have that special something that you just can’t explain when you find your special person in life!“

Natasha and Adam’s Wedding Secrets Revealed

Biggest Splurge: Natasha’s Jimmy Choo shoes

Best Bargain: Natasha’s £300 Monsoon Bridal gown

Accessories: Brow band handmade by my friend Emma Dignam who specialises in wedding jewellery –emmajaneuk@hotmail.com. Vintage style clutch bag by Newlook £25. 

Betty’s Dress: Monsoon Kids – £50

Betty’s shoes: Sandals by Quiz bargain in the summer sale £7.99

Adam’s suit and shoes: Ted Baker shirt £80 approx. and Linen trousers from House of Fraser £60. Brown leather flip flops previously owned.

Teddy’s attire: Linen shorts and linen shirt by Monsoon Kids £40 and brown Birkenstock sandals £25

The post Intimate Destination Wedding – Little Cove, Noosa appeared first on The Bride's Tree.

This moment in time was captured by the brilliant Karen Buckle Photography, whose work we love and adore with all our little hearts. As a top Sunshine Coast wedding photographer, Karen would be lucky enough to happen upon gorgeous little people like this all the time at weddings.

Now, I know that many people like to have a child-free wedding, allow the parents to kick back and enjoy the party, and I really do see their point. However, I also think little people make weddings really special and heaps more fun. Who doesn’t melt over the pretty little flowergirl dancing on her daddy’s polished shoes? Who doesn’t take a little bit of pleasure in spotting the rascally little boys sneaking past and nabbing a few extra bits of unattended wedding cake?

Okay, children at weddings may not be for everyone, but these two dapper dudes definitely make a good case for it with their expressions alone!

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