Father holds son during ceremony in Wellington Florida

Incorporating family members into a wedding is not limited to readings, best men, maids of honor, bridesmaids and groomsmen, as ring bearers and flower girls offer the youngest generation a chance to be part of the festivities. Having young children be a part of the day starts during the getting ready process and may serve as the first time in their lives that they have been involved in such an event. Conversely, many of the brides and bridesmaids share stories with the flower girls about how they played that role just a few years earlier. Here the adorably dressed ring bearer was greeted with open arms by the groom’s side of the wedding party as he joined them about an hour before the ceremony began.

When kids are part of the bridal party, they are the last ones to enter before the bride arrives. They are frequently the first ones to speak out of turn during quiet and emotional moments, usually handled immediately by one, if not both of their parents. In this case, the closest parent was a groomsman standing directly behind the ring bearer. He scooped him up quickly while scurrying away from the action. We have noticed that kids making noise during important moments is usually viewed as cute and sweet by wedding guests, for about eight seconds. Dad acted quickly enough here that they only missed about three minutes of the ceremony, stealthily sneaking back into position without the bride and groom even noticing they were missing.

This image tells a story and slightly hints that it may have been taken during a part of the ceremony. At first glance, pegging the kid as a ring bearer is actually easier than noticing that his father is a groomsman, partially due to the fact that dad's boutonniere is obscured. The son is obviously distracted by something off-camera while the dad is trying to quiet him. Just in case you can’t sleep without knowing, there was a giant iguana crawling across the lawn, catching his eye for a moment but luckily not crashing the nearby ceremony. The angular movement within the image is complimented by the tree in the background, which also provides a clue as to the geographical location. The bark of a scrub pine is easily recognizable by any Floridian and by plenty of the state’s millions of tourists. While they do grow elsewhere, the bark of these trees fill the landscape at eye level, especially in more inland areas like Wellington, a community in inland Palm Beach county. 

Wellington is known for being an equestrian community and the location of Palm Beach Polo. In recent years it has grown in population, due in large part to the permanent relocation of transient northerners, frequently referred to as snowbirds. This affluent community of nearly 65,000 is on the western edge of development for the region, providing beautiful sunsets that lead into starry nights. Recent road construction projects have made Wellington much more accessible from the airport. Southern Boulevard has been expanded and streamlined to have more of an interstate feel, ditching traffic lights in favor of overpasses with exit ramps. Wellington is easily reachable from the northern parts of Palm Beach County, where we live, as Florida’s Turnpike conveniently swings west at this point.