Hellobee Boards

I think the idea of practicing with the song is. A great idea! Will either you or DH be in the wedding party?
Who else is in the wedding party that can be waiting at the end with a treat or potentially walk with her?

My DD was a flower girl at 17 months.

She was on one nap, right around noon, but since both dh and I were in the wedding, there was no way we would be able to stick to her usual schedule. She ended up napping on the way to photos (which were at noon) in the car, and then napped right before the ceremony, which was at 4:30. She was great all the way until 9, when my mom picked her up and took her home for bed.

She did great walking down the aisle. but know that at 19 months, people won't have high expectations of her. She can cry, pick her nose, run the opposite direction, and people will still laugh and think she's absolutely adorable and perfect. (ETA : also, it also wouldn't be unheard of for you to walk her down if she's scared.)

Good luck!

Could you just go the rehearsal? Have DH stay home with LO while she naps. Then you know what she needs to do. You can practice with her before the ceremony.

My LO was a flower girl two weekends ago and the rehearsal was a waste of time for her. It was for me to know what/where she was supposed to do.

@daniellemybelle: If you can't skip it, then you just are going to have her take 2 car naps and hope for the best. There isn't anything else you can do.

My son was in a wedding at 18 months of age, his main job was to hold a ring pillow and walk down the aisle. I was not in the wedding, but I walked down with him. The ceremony was also outside and we just hung out in the back, keeping quiet.

We didn't practice anything at the rehearsal, but I would basically just skip the whole thing and just include her in the photos...but I am path of least resistance and it has more to do with my anxiety around my son's performance than anything else.

I understand your friend's theory on wanting to see how your daughter does at rehearsal, but how she does at rehearsal with 20 people present in the early afternoon may have ZERO bearing on how she does at an actual wedding with 100+ people present late in the day with (potentially) little-to-no nap. I'd go back to your friend again and ask if you could have LO skip the rehearsal.

Could you try to get together with the older flower girl an hour or so before the ceremony so she can get to know her? Maybe she'd feel comfortable walking down the aisle with the older girl.

I can also vouch that a good rehearsal does not mean a good aisle walk. My son was a "petal boy" at 23 months. Rehearsal was fine and he cried all the way down the aisle during the real thing. I think the bride needs to be ok with the chance that DD might not do well & allow for a nap to increase her chances of a good mood. If the bride will really be upset with a poor "show", maybe you should bow out - this seems like a lot of pressure on you & LO.

Ok, I read the part where the rehearsal is really a trial, but... I still say skip it. My LO was a flower girl at 16 months old, and the rehearsal and the wedding were night and day different. Not at all an approximation of what it would be like at the actual wedding.
If your LO is one that tends to be tentative in new situations (mine is), I almost think shock and awe would have been better, than letting her get too familiar with the area. That said, LO went down the aisle in a wagon (which I'd also recommend as a potential backup!), so I didn't have to encourage much cooperation.

@daniellemybelle: good luck! I'm sure it will be great! It sounds like the bride is prepared it won't be "picture perfect". FWIW we had 3 flower girls and 2 ring bearers in my wedding. Our youngest niece could barely walk and the one niece was just 3. The younger One was carried down the aisle by my MIL and the other got stage fright last minute. So FIL carried her down the aisle. No biggie! During introductions the older one got more comfortable and walked in with my niece and nephew. It was super adorable.

I think as long as she stays in it a bit past introductions then it should be fine. Assuming all picture taking is done. I would probably check with the bride before you change her though.

After reading all this, I'm excited to hear how it went @daniellemybelle: !!!! I bet she was adorable in her tutu:)

@daniellemybelle: R (almost 2.5) was a flower girl yesterday. She rocked the rehearsal, freaked out crying when we were lining up because she wanted to walk right.that.second to grandma and then calmed down, smiled down the aisle to me and then walked to my sister. She stayed in her dress for a long time until we determined it was time for my parents to take her home then we got her into her jammies. How did it go for your DD?

@daniellemybelle: she is sooo cute!!!!