Couples planning to have kids at their wedding should take a few notes from this children-friendly celebration. Erin and Julijus kept their wedding fun for all ages by providing a variety of activities and play rooms to keep everyone entertained throughout the weekend-long celebration. Featured in our last issue, here’s how they planned their memorable event.
Follow Washingtonian Weddings on Instagram | Like Washingtonian Weddings on Facebook
When Erin and Julijus traveled from their home in Lithuania for their DC wedding, they knew that guests would be coming from all over the world to join them. Their loved ones’ experience was their primary focus, so they worked with their planners to design a fun-filled weekend for all ages. At the welcome party at Hill Country Barbecue, young guests were offered toys, stickers, and candy on cigar trays. “We started right off the bat trying to make the children feel welcome,” says planner Kawania Wooten of Howerton & Wooten Events.
After the ceremony the following day, child-care professionals stepped in at cocktail hour to guide children to two nearby action-packed rooms (each kid-approved by the groom’s sons in advance). “The beauty of that venue is that the walls are glass,” says Wooten, “so the parents could peek in without having to go in. Some of the children stayed in there all night!” The next day, guests boarded transportation from Old Town Trolley to tour DC on their way to a Nationals game. Each was given a baseball cap with the couple’s monogram embroidered on the back, and inside the reserved, catered suites, Fluffness served up an allergen-free cotton-candy bar. It’s a lesson true the world over: Entertainment and goodies for the children meant the adults could relax. “From the food and alcohol to everything else,” says Wooten, “it was all very much about how the guests enjoyed their weekend.”
The Kid-Friendly Wedding Ceremony
The weekend was thought through from the perspective of the children (including the couple’s own), from the parasols and sunblock provided at the ceremony to the face painter and ice-cream cart at the reception.
The Fun-Packed Activity Rooms
The wedding-planning team from Howerton & Wooten collaborated with the pros at Elegant Event Sitters to design two activity rooms: the “superhero kids” area featured capes, masks, superhero tattoos, and activities for the young ones, and in the “rock teens” room, rock-star-themed wigs, makeup, and karaoke awaited.
The Kid-Friendly Wedding Menu
Children took turns playing in a mobile video-game truck. For dinner, Occasions Caterers served egg- and nut-free chicken tenders, macaroni and cheese, and crudités for the younger kids; in the teen room, the menu included grilled flank steak, buttermilk potatoes, and haricots verts and julienned carrots.
An After Party at Nats Park
At the Nats game on Sunday, two of the Racing Presidents mascots stopped by to pose for photos, and when the game ended, the kids got to run the bases. Marigold & Grey designed welcome bags for guests that included, among other goodies, Nationals water bottles and Nationals baseball caps, and, because some guests were unfamiliar with the national pastime, a guide to the rules.
The Details:
Photographer: Love Life Images | Design & Concept: Howerton & Wooten Events | Florist: Nature of Design | Catering: Occasions Caterers |
Cotton-Candy Bar: Fluffness | Welcome Bags: Marigold & Grey
Jacqueline comes to Washingtonian with close to five years of digital content experience and SEO best practices. She previously was a senior editorial associate at WeddingWire, specializing in wedding fashion, and before that, an assistant at Vow Bride. Originally from Norfolk, Virginia, she now lives in Columbia Heights.
Amy leads Washingtonian Weddings and writes Style Setters for Washingtonian. Prior to joining Washingtonian in March 2016, she was the editor of Capitol File magazine in DC and before that, editor of What’s Up? Weddings in Annapolis.
