Sofia was a flower girl at my best friends wedding, but she had to be there at 3pm, and the wedding went up to midnight. I did not want to leave early because, it's a special occasion. So what did we do?
As I say, there are always solutions to any problems, and I like to share the things I do to give you ideas too! Here's what I did based on her age, and the situation we were in.
I went to the venue to get ready with the girls at noon, and Nathan stayed at the hotel for her nap (so she got a GREAT 2h nap as always and was as rested as she could be), and they both came to the venue at 3pm, right on time for photos pre-ceremony.
Then, we were with her through the WHOLE thing, ceremony, reception, dinner & dance.
But I hired a nanny to come at 8pm. I knew that we would be with Sofia until later than 8pm, however, the nanny had a 4h minimum, so I had to do 8pm to midnight.
My husband and I kept spying on them (as I said they were literally steps away) and it was the cutest thing to see because she was so happy and then peacefully asleep so quick.here the bride & bridesmades got ready pre-wedding, steps away from where the reception was held) and we were with Sofia until 10pm. When we saw her yawning and starting to get tired, we took her to the cottage.
She happily stayed with the nanny (who had brought a ton of games), the nanny changed her into the PJs I had brought, they played for 30min, and she fell asleep with her by 10:30pm.
It truly reassured it was the best decision because, there was no way she would have fallen asleep with the music so loud. She was comfortable sleeping there, quiet and with a place to sleep, versus being with the loud music or in our hands. And there was no way I would have wanted her to sleep in the cottage alone... even if it's so close it was good to have someone watching her, of course. And I was also happy because I got to be with my friend until the very end.
But my husband did not have to go to the hotel alone with Sofia... and then me back with an Uber... which would have been another option but definitley not the best.
Although we paid for 4 hours versus the 2h we used, it was totally worth it, peace of mind, comfortable and best for all of us.