#160 Kids At Weddings

Mollie Yarsike is creator and owner of Black Tie Kids. After attending different networking events for young professionals, she realized the need for childcare at adult-focused events. Since it's inception in 2014, Black Tie Kids has worked over 120 weddings in Southern California alone.

In 2017, Black Tie Pups was added as a way to help couples who want to include their furry friend as a part of their wedding day. Today, Black Tie Kids provides services through SoCal including, Los Angeles, Orange County, and Palm Springs. They also are available in San Diego, the Bay Area, and the Metro-Detroit Area.

Mollie joins us to share all her wisdom about childcare at a wedding and other events, as well as how to make sure your special day goes on without any stress from the little ones.

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Big Takeaways

Having the correct headcount is important for bringing in sitters. It is a 1:5 ratio, but if there is anyone 18 months or under it is a 1:1 ratio. Babies need more personal attention.

Plans for the babysitting staff should be made ahead of time. If a surprise happens day of, they know how to handle it, but having an accurate headcount and being fully staffed is important to a seamless event. All babysitters are properly vetted, and love kids!

If you have out of town guests who are invited to the rehearsal dinner or other events, consider having the babysitters there so the parents and kids can meet them ahead of time. Then everyone will be more comfortable!

Some venues require a sitter if there are over a certain amount of kids. And so if you are in a tighter budget, Black Tie Kids also offers supervision that is a lot more relaxed. Aka, they are just there to monitor, not necessarily bring entertainment for the kids.

Having room for the kids to run and play is the idea situation. Mollie’s team wants to keep the kids having a great time, and not causing a ruckus for the wedding or worrying their parents. If a dedicated room is available, they would much prefer it.

If the wedding is outside, there are fun events that can be added for entertainment, like twister, giant jenga, egg on a spoon, relay races, etc. There is a lot of room for kids to get creative and get exhausted.

As far as food for kids go, chicken fingers and French fries are always a hit. Keep it simple. Most kids tend to like it. Past and macaroni can be very messy and more limiting.

Links we referenced

blacktiekids.com

instagram.com/blacktiekids

facebook.com/blacktiekids

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