Flower Girl Ideas for 1.6 Year Old

I've seen several cute things done for small kids.
1. Have her Dad, dressed in tux or whathave you, escort her down the aisle.

2. Have the the ringbearer, or a junior groomsman, push her down the aisle in an umbrella stroller. With the stroller all decorated up, etc.

3. Get one of those push cars with the tall push handle in the back. Decorate it all up, and have her ride in it. They sell them at Walmart, Toys R Us. etc.

I see that you live nearby. I love helping with weddings and parties, so if you need any help, let me know.
M.

We had our ring bearer pull our flower girl down the aisle in a wagon decorated with flowers. Our flower girl was a little older, so she had no problem sitting and waving to the guests. Not sure if your little girl would sit or not, but it was precious!

All I can say is make sure you AND your friend have a great sense of humor and that SOMEBODY has a video camera to put it on America's Funniest Videos. I can see that you do, but make sure it's ok with the wedding couple whichever way this goes. There's just no telling with your 1.6 yr. old. She could be a champ and walk down the aisle and toss petals like an Oscar-winning actress or she could see all of the people and run the opposite way. Who knows? Have fun and enjoy every moment that life gives to you.

The wedding is about the bride and groom and not this tiny infant....I say infant because that is what she is at 1.6yrs and trying to coax or modify her progress down a long church aisle will turn into a show focused on her and not the bride and the ceremony itself (and likely without the intended or desired outcome). If there is a pressing need to have this tiny girl represent a flower girl, she should be dressed in her fancy dress and CARRIED down the aisle by her mother or another person well-known to her, perhaps "helping" to strew rose petals from a basket or whatever is intended for her function. Her role should be symbolically managed and performed by only an adult!

Dear M. B-

I have a child with special needs...one of her former nurses (now a best friend) wanted shannon to be her flower girl. Shannon was a 'new' walker...and needed some 'guidance'. What WE did was take fabric remnants from the dresses...decorated a 'fisher price' shopping cart (loaded with weights...and flowers) and 'aimed' her down the aisle. After the wedding...I think many wished they had had a 'flower' cart' at theirs!!

Good luck!
Michele/cat

1.6 year olds are like cats. you can't train them (or they'd all be potty-trained and have regular bedtimes) and new situations are likely to get their fur all riled.
why the concern? if they want a textbook perfect wedding, they shouldn't have a 1.6 year old flower girl. if they want to include a child they adore, they should let her rip and know for a fact that textbook perfect weddings are dull to look back on, but 1.6 year old flower girls running wild make for GREAT stories and pictures afterwards.
i wouldn't put any pressure on her at all. try to get her to do her thing and laugh heartily if she improvises.
:) khairete
S.

I stashed a very small toy dinosaur in my two-and-a-half-year-old's flower basket, telling her it was a very important delivery for her daddy. I made sure ahead of time that she saw daddy with the dinosaur so she knew it was his, and made sure to tell her it was her job to bring it to him during the wedding. Daddy was in the front during the ceremony. I think the specific task of bringing him the dinosaur helped focus her. Not sure if it would work for a younger one, but it might!

My daughter was in a wedding around this same age. I had to walk with her. I made sure the bride was aware that this might occur -- she was fine with it. My husband sat in the back so my daughter could see him while making the entrance. Ours was an outside event and we had a LONG way to walk towards the altar.

My daughter didn't stay up at the altar for long. I sat in the second row right where she could see me and when she was ready she came to sit on my lap.

I just talked her through the whole process -- and started weeks before the actual event, just talking about it. And when my daughter expressed any concern I just replied, 'One step at a time, let's think about....(whatever was occurring at the moment.)

In the end, she did great. It ended up being fantastic and no one really cared. She was cute and the event was wonderful. Good luck to your friend.

my daughter was 18 the first time she was a flower girl. she didnt do what we wanted but everone thought that whatever she did as cute. she walked half way with coaxing then bribed with candy at the end of the isle. the par i was more woried with was how to keep her intertained while sitting in the pew waiting for the ceremony to end. candy worked nicely. and lots of wipes. but in the end nless these people are snobby they wont care what she does because thy will all think its cute. if she talks too loadly or cried while they are trying to do the vows and such i would take her out but other than that while shes doing her thing its about her.

My daughter was a flower girl when she was just 2. We made sure that Daddy was seated near the front of the church, while I stayed with her at the back, so I could just direct her to walk/run straight to him. Worked like a charm.

My daughter was a flower girl at 25 months of age. I went to Michael's and bought a fake bouquet for her and we practiced, practiced, practiced for like 3 months before. we read ots of books about flower girls an dweddings. And she did great at te rehearsal.

But when it got time to walk, no way. She took off into the pews. Her grandmother eventually urged her down the aisle. the other flower girl, age six, utterly refused unless she walked with her dad who was an usher.

So ANY kid can be unpredictable. And at one and a half or almost two, I think your odds of her doing it independently are vvery very low.

What I wish we had done is had her walk with me (I was matron of honor). It would have been really cute! I actually have a picture of us waiting to go down the aisle that I LOVE! I think all the adults got hung up in wha tshe should do and it wasn't really fair to expect her to do it. Is there an adult or older teen she oculd walk with and/or carry her?? I think it is so nice they want to include her!!! But they will need ot make accomodations.

Also, there were other nieces at this wedding. they all got flower girl dresses although they weren't all invited ot be in the wedding. That oculd have issues too in some families, but she can have a very special role, be in the pictures, wear the dress, even have flowers, but not even do THE walk.

As a side note, I have an 18 month old now. She has been walkingofr 7 months and is very bright. ther eis no way she could do this alone.

You absolutely MUST have her walk with M. or an Aunt or someone else she knows and trusts, otherwise you will not get her to walk into that big Church with all of those people watching her. She will be just as cute walking with someone guiding her and if she gets hesitant or refuses to walk she can be carried without disruption to the whole procession. And someone else said it right earlier, the bride is the star of the day, not the little flowergirl.

I have a seen a much younger child (baby) get pulled in a wagon that was decorated with lace and flowers. Not sure how old the child is now but are you sure she will be walking steady enough if you don't do a wagon?