Advice for selecting clothing for children to wear to weddings.
What is your child's role in the wedding?
Is your child going to be a guest at the wedding or is he or she a member of the wedding party? If your child is going to be a ring bearer or flower girl in the wedding, it is usually up to the bride to specify what the child should wear so that the wedding party looks cohesive. While the bride chooses the clothing for members of the wedding party, the parents of the child usually pay for the attire.
Ring bearers
Most commonly, little boys who are serving as ring bearers or who have another role in the wedding wear either a suit or a tuxedo. For daytime, a suit is just fine as long as it does not clash with what the groomsmen are wearing, but if the wedding is extremely formal or held in the evening, a tuxedo is generally the better choice. Alternately, if the ring bearer is walking with a flower girl who is dressed in white, you can dress the ring bearer in a white suit or tuxedo. For young boys, a suit with short pants is also acceptable. Dress shoes are important since sneakers are not attractive with formal wear.
Flower girls
Flower girls or other young female attendants are usually dressed either in white or in the same color as the bridesmaids. If the style of the bridesmaids' dresses is mature, the same fabric can be used to create a more child-appropriate dress. It is also acceptable to dress the little girls in white dresses that have trim in a color that matches the bridesmaids' dresses.Shoes can be white or dyed to match and should not have high heels; they can be Mary Jane style, ballet flats or sandals if it is a spring or summer wedding.
Child guests
While there is quite a bit of latitude for what children can wear to attend weddings, the first rule is that they should look nice. People dress to show respect for the event when they go to weddings and this applies to kids, too. For casual weddings, little boys should wear at least dress pants and a collared shirt. A suit is always appropriate for a wedding and is strongly recommended if the wedding is a formal one. Little girls should wear skirts or dresses to weddings; the style can vary to fit the season and the formality of the event. However, if your little tomboy will not don a dress, nice slacks and a dressy blouse or sweater will certainly be nice enough for most events.
The rules for children are certainly more lax than for adults, so do not worry about your child's attire too much. Finally, when your toddler insists on wearing his frog rain boots with his suit or your daughter wears a tiara, a sundress and her Uggs, remember that most brides who invite children to weddings are happy to see them however they dress.
