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Spoiler Alert: You can’t. So sorry to disappoint! Keeping a toddler quiet during a wedding can be a challenge, but it's not impossible. Read on for some helpful tips and tricks to make it through the day with ease.

For all of you parents out there that will be chasing after a toddler during an upcoming wedding this summer, I have a few pointers and suggestions of (quiet!) activities to try and keep your toddler entertained during a wedding ceremony and reception.

We recently attended the wedding of my husband’s sister, and our little man was also invited (although, he was not actually in the ceremony). Most times when you have toddlers or young kids at weddings, they are more than likely family members of the bride or groom or involved in the wedding as ring-bearers or flower girls. Whether or not they will be walking down that aisle with a special part of the wedding, you will still find yourself in need of keeping kids quiet and entertained during the rest of the ceremony! Keep reading for a few tips to consider when packing and planning for a wedding ceremony with your toddler.

How To Keep a Toddler Quiet During a Wedding

Pack a special activity bag. I grabbed a gold tote bag that I had in my closet from years ago that had a large opening with no buttons or zippers. The key was to have easy access to grab something without fumbling around with closures.
Keep it quiet - and best of luck! It’s not possible to keep toddlers completely silent (most especially depending on their age and personality), but you can still choose to limit the types of books and activities that you provide. I opted for some touch-and-feel books (no noisy buttons on our books) and some fidget toys that were fairly silent.
Include some non-messy activities. I picked up a few activities (or distractions) for my toddler that I could pull out of the bag quickly that I knew would not make a huge mess. I decided to go with a few packs of those magical markers that are invisible until they hit the special paper (Crayola Wonder Markers), a couple of touch-and-feel board books that were brand new, and a silicone popper toy.
Bring special snacks. I packed a few bags of fruit snacks (gummies) because I knew that it would be a special treat for my toddler! This is not a snack that we have often, so it was interesting to him. It was also a fairly quiet snack. If you want to take an extra step for lessening distractions, you could prep the fruit snacks and put them into a ziploc snack bag (opens much quieter than the fruit snacks packet). I also made sure to include some classic favorites (goldfish) and prepped them into a snack container that didn’t require opening any loud bags. I also went prepared with a bottle of milk (my toddler’s favorite) and a bottle of water.
Sit on the outside aisle and be ready to move. We knew that our son wasn’t going to last for long sitting during the wedding and the harder we would try to keep him quiet or in one spot, the louder he would get. So we made sure that we were sitting on the outside end of the aisle and could sneak away for him to let out some energy. It requires some sacrifice between my husband and me and there were moments of the wedding that we missed, but thankfully we were able to step away and still overhear and see the wedding ceremony without our son being too distracting.
Be prepared and be flexible! The most important thing to remember when thinking through what you will need to keep your toddler entertained during a wedding is that while it’s good to be prepared, you MUST stay flexible! I made sure that I had *more* than I would actually need, but was also aware that it was possible that my toddler might not be interested in any of it and may just need to run out some of his energy.

For the rest of this post, I am sharing with you the exact items that I had packed in my tote bag, as well as some other tote bag options and activities that you could consider for your bag!

SHOP MY WEDDING TOTE BAG FAVORITES

WEDDING-APPROPRIATE TOTE BAGS

If you don’t already have a tote bag that you love and feel like would be appropriate for hauling toys and activities for you little one to a wedding, I’ve rounded up a few of my favorites that I think are also beautiful to wear to your next wedding if your kiddo was also invited.

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QUIET BOOKS

The goal of some of these books is to keep your toddler entertained and invested in the book without them asking you to read it to them during the wedding! These are books to touch and feel and engage with mostly on their own.

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QUIET ACTIVITIES

When it comes to keep toddlers busy, these activity pads, sticker books, coloring books and magic water coloring books are some of the best that don’t make a huge mess and will keep a toddler busy during the wedding.

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QUIET FIDGETS & TOYS

I love some of these little fidgets or small toys that can keep a toddler busy for a longer amount of time during a wedding ceremony and/or the meal.

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QUIET SNACKS & CONTAINERS

Snacks are one of the best ways to keep a toddler busy and distracted, so having some easy-to-use snack containers will be key to a successful wedding event with your toddler! I also prefer plastic water bottles over stainless steel just for the fact that those steel bottles are SO loud when they get dropped - and toddlers will for sure drop their bottle a lot!

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DINNER ESSENTIALS

If you’re able to ask in advance of wedding day about high chairs at the venue for the meal, then you will have a better idea of how to prepare for your time at the wedding with your toddler. If the venue is not going to provide a high chair or booster for you, I have a few travel-friendly suggestions listed below!

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