Tips, Tricks, & Styles For Dragging Your Kids To A Wedding

Wedding season is fast approaching here and, if you’ve been away for a while, Cams has done awesome roundups of hot momma’s wedding attire and nursing/postpartum wedding wear. Since I have a son in a wedding next week, I thought I would tackle styling your babes. And while I do link to some great looks in here, I wanted this to be more of a ‘how-to’ then a ‘what to wear’. Because, let me state the obvious, weddings and kids are probably not the best combo. This was starting to feel like writing a post on how to mix oil and water. Styling is easy, it’s the day the cute outfit is worn that’s hard to do well. You know, just keep them quiet during the ceremony, off the table at the reception, from being trampled on all over the dance floor, attacking the cake like it’s theirs, and from marching up and down the stairs of the alter during the ceremony (oh just my kids do that?). Man it’s all hard. Or so I hear… quite honestly, my husband and I haven’t taken our kids to many weddings. I have experience with blending kids and formal occasions, but it’s been a while since that occasion has been a wedding.

Let’s Start With Styling

I started with dying over pics of kids in dressy clothes and big smiles on their faces. Mini suits. OMG! Be still my heart. There is a special place in heaven where you just look at little boys in suits. And obviously, little girls. With fancy dresses. And tights. And bows. Can we all agree…might just be the cutest thing ever?

The Rules

I grew up in Texas and I know (from my own mother) that southern wedding etiquette is no joke. So rather than pretend I’ve retained all of those lectures, I am going to just send you on over to Emily Post (the etiquette queen) to address exactly what is appropriate to wear considering all wedding details like time of day, location, and wishes of the bride.

Dressing Your Boy

First off, if your wedding is formal, your choices are a little more slim and basic. Tux’s are generally best to just rent. But lucky for me, this is a Colorado wedding and I can go for a more casual vibe. Not to over-spimplify but boys come down to a few options: casual (collared button up tucked into some slacks + tie), separates (slacks and a contrasting sport coat with a whole slew of options underneath), and full suits. Like I said, I am not going to go crazy deep into these categories but here’s some of my top picks…

A couple of Honorable Mentions in the Suit game that didn’t go in the boutique above:

Scotch and Soda: Top of the line. This is it for me. I mean the style, the cut, the inside print. Perfection. So if the green botanical print works for you, please send me pics! AMAZING!

H&M: This is the cheapest option for suits that are still totally on trend and perfect for little boys! I love the look of just the vest with no jacket if you are going to a daytime wedding.

Dressing Your Girl

Floor length dresses on little girls are really reserved for the most formal wedding and actual flower girls. So you’re pretty safe to just go with tea length which falls somewhere below the knee and above the ankle. And seriously, there are so many amazing dresses for girls. It’s kind of hard to go wrong on special occasions. If it can spin around like a princess and/or has a bow on it, my little girl is pretty much sold. I usually use accessories and shoes to make it feel more edgy, modern, or cool.

Here’s a link to a momma-sized matching Milly dress if you want to coordinate with your little girl! I am so tempted… so. so. tempted.

What I Went With

My little Lucas man is the ring bearer at my husband’s best friend’s wedding (eek!). And while his bride didn’t have a ton of opinions on what Mr. Luke should wear, I knew that he needed a suit to compliment. We decided on a J.Crew crewcuts navy suit. My boy is pretty trim so I skipped the J.Crew button-downs and got the Nordstrom Smartcare dress shirt which is cut a lot more narrow. I also bought two ties for him. One was a polka dot bow tie and another was a regular tie (more on strategy of the two ties below). He had a complete meltdown in the store that “bows” were for GIRLS ONLY, but later that night dad convinced him that real men wear bows too (thank God!). I also added a vest  as an option just for some fun pattern mixing.

Ok Ok, I know I am biased but this boy is so cute. Just sifting through my pics of him was melting my heart. I love him so.

What Shana Went With

First, can we just have a moment to die over Raines and Pax in these chambray blazers! OMG! And this, my friends, is a perfect example of pattern mixing and separates for special occasions. Everything clearly coordinates really well together but the mix of patterns add a style element that’s modern and cool. Both boys are rocking Vans, which is another great option other than converse. Their shirts are GapKids, and the bow ties are Nordstorm.

These light chambray blazers are from fabkids and sold out, but this J.Crew one is almost identical. My little one tried this on in-store and it fit so perfectly! If he would rock blazers everyday like Mr. Pax I would have bought it on the spot! 

Pax’s epic neon pants are fabkids and Raines is wearing Appaman pants (a favorite brand of many celebrities including Gwen Stefani).

And seriously, I have big dreams of all these boys forming a band and touring the country. Raines, of course, would have to be the lead singer!

Guidelines / How To Stay Sane

Boys

• As cute as they are, Eton suits (shorts and jacket) are usually reserved for kids under 4.
• For my boys, dressing up is already uncomfortable. They just aren’t into it. Especially stiff dress shoes. Lucas (my sensory kid) would rather dive into his therapist’s rice box head first than have to wear them. So I started with clean new chucks. An easy way to keep the kids comfy while still looking stylish. The only way this works is brand new shoes. If they are dirty or worn in, they are no longer appropriate.
• Unbutton the top button on their dress shirt. And Yes, your husband still has to button his top button. But the kids don’t! The tie covers it for the most part. And it’s one piece that takes a shirt to the next level of discomfort. Just ask your man.
• Find slim/skinny pants for the boys and size down. First of all, just from a fashion point, the wide leg suit is pretty out. And chucks work better for this vibe. But mostly, by sizing down you can go up a little in the jacket. Which brings me to the next point…
• Size up on the jacket for added movability. This completely increases your chances of them keeping it on for as long as possible. But not too big. You don’t want them looking all Joseph A. Bank Junior.
• Finally, LAYER LAYER LAYER. The more layers you have the more bargaining tools you have. If they have a jacket, vest, and a tie on then as the night progresses — and the mood decreases — You can remove layers while keeping them looking super cute and put together. It’s like strip poker with kids! JK (wrong on so many levels)

Girls

Girls aren’t that much different than the boys as far as rules are concerned.

• Comfort is key once again for footwear. And, I have to tell you, the latest spring/summer 2015 lookbooks from the big designers are also pairing bright white chucks with their fancy dresses. Obviously, Shana already filled us in on this trend earlier but I’m here to tell you, little girls are no exception. For the most part, I’m only seeing the low top version on girls with dresses. The big rule here is NO SOCKS. But, of course, if that’s not your jam you can’t go wrong with a pretty flat, ballet slipper, or dressy sandal. My all time favorite flat is the one in the “Get It Girl” collage above! 
• Diaper covers and/or tights are a must. Nothing ruins a cute dress like a diaper showing while dad is carrying baby around. Why is it that every time my husband carries my daughter in a dress her diaper is showing?
• LAYER again. And bring multiple accessories. Throw a cute clip-on bow in your purse in case that perfect headband won’t stay on. Speaking of purses, a purse is super fun for little girls and is a great distractor for them. We like to stick little princesses or My Little Pony’s in a little purse for Miss R.

Hope this helps! Or, just inspires you to have your kids wear my favorite wedding attire, which is pajamas while they’re at home with a babysitter. 😉

Now I need your help! Share all your tricks for taking kids to weddings! I need all the advice I can get! If I get enough tricks for surviving weddings with your children, I’ll publish them in a post for you guys!

peace ‘n love — OE