Weddingbee boards

My fiance and I are having an outdoor ceremony and reception at two separate (but very close) locations. We'll have about 40-50 kids ages 0-13. We're very excited to have a family-friendly wedding. Qe also want to do everything we can to make sure kids are safe and have a good time, but that their parents can focus on the wedding and have some adult time if they so choose. We also want all adults to party as hard as they can and stay as late as they want to at our reception, whether or not they have kids.

Here's what we are thinking of:

A kids' table for older kids (maybe 5 or 6+) with two paid adults to help supervise. Younger kids eat with their parents (?). Kids table will also have crayons, goodie bags, etc.

Older kids will probably also spend a lot of time on the dance floor / running around. One idea I read on another post and really liked was having an adult help organize group games for kids during the cocktail hour.

There are several paths that lead to a beach and another to the edge of some pretty treacherous cliffs. I could imagine some of the older kids (10+) sneaking off farther than they are supposed to, and thought it might be wise to, outside mealtime, have the babysitters keeping an eye on things. We can't block off the paths since they are technically public property. How worried should I be about this? I am sure the kids' parents are generally quite vigiliant, but the point is I want parents to feel like they can be less vigilant than usual and that their kids are in good hands.

For younger kids, I thought a fenced off, play-pen like space with safe flooring and toys. A sort of nursery where parents can drop off their kids, if they like.

We had initially thought of having the ceremony and reception early so that things could wind down and parents could have kids home reasonably close to their bedtimes. However, many photographers we have spoken to have urged us not to have our ceremony in the harsh mid-afternoon sun and I also think that *I* really want a dance party that goes late into the night (well, 11pm is the latest we can go because of the noise ordinance!). We have lots of young kids in the mix, but also lots of super energetic 20-somethings who can definitely keep a dance floor going for hours.

I figure we can:

1) still have an early reception

2) have the reception start late, but make sure dinner wraps by about 8/9pm so folks can get home with their kids even if they miss dessert (we aren't having a cake, anyway) and just accept the fact that many folks with kids will leave early

3) create a space that is somewhat removed and quiet where kids can be put to bed close to their normal times (and then carefully carried to cars at about 11pm/midnight). we don't have a space that fits this description yet, but i'm sure we can find one.

Not having kids, I have no idea how any of the above plans will work out--it's all conjecture! Would love to hear opinions from real lives moms.

Thanks so much for your suggestions!

@Miss Root

It's a destination wedding, so folks will either have their kids with them or not. Most folks are coming to the general area one week to 3 days before the wedding, so most guests with kids will bring their kids. I guess one thing we can do for guests who might want to have a more adult time is provide a list of babysitters they can book for the day of the wedding.

@Baimee

I was also that kid! Only I wasn't really shy--I just found the conversation at adults' tables so much more interesting than kids, even when I was five. My much younger brother and cousins will get bored of adult conversation very quickly and will be more than glad to have a kids table. Good advice, though. Perhaps best to ask parents their kids' likely preferences?