When youngsters are involved, it can be hard to choose wedding party roles that are age, gender, and ceremony-appropriate for your family members. You may want to dress your niece up as a pretty flower girl, but she might not be old enough to actually drop petals on the aisle. And do you really want to entrust a toddler with your wedding bands? It may be time to entertain some new ring bearer ideas. Read on and discover new roles you can use to get every family member involved.

Photo by Bethany Noelle Photography

Non-traditional ideas can make a traditional wedding role new.

A great trend in ring bearer ideas is having the young ones carry signs instead of flowers or a pillow. You can personalize the signs, and even add a little bit of humor with phrases like “Here comes your girl,” or “Too late now,” if it’s appropriate. This also saves you time: no one will have to teach the pretty flower girl to throw confetti or petals, and your clean-up time is greatly reduced.

Engage the parents of your young helpers.

If you choose to assign wedding party roles to the young, make sure that Mom or Dad are on hand in case they need guidance. It might be best if a parent is stationed near the end of the aisle so he or she can coax the kid up the path. Maybe one at each end, even! No matter how great your youngest sister does at rehearsal, she’s not immune to the pressure of the main event, so be sure to have a plan in place to combat stage fright. If Mom or Dad is on hand to walk (or carry!) your sister in her pretty flower girl dress, that’s OK too.

There’s a lot to do, so get everyone in on the fun.

I’ve got two younger brothers in different branches of the military, so they’re going to wear their dress uniforms and usher our friends to their seats. Do a quick search for ring bearer ideas if you’re stuck, but I’ll bet you’ll find a lot of pictures of family pets carrying rings attached to collars! Also, play up your family members’ strengths. My fiancé is a musician, so he played an acoustic version of The Beatles’ “Blackbird” at his sister’s wedding. You can even use props: have your cousin pull his infant brother or sister down the aisle in a red wagon, or older children can all hold onto a long decorative ribbon so no one gets left behind. However you get your family and friends involved in the wedding party roles, only do what feels right for your day.  Even the most traditional weddings can use a little humor to lighten the mood. Kids provide genuine entertainment, so don’t worry if it doesn’t go as smooth as you hoped—a good laugh may take away some of those wedding jitters! Always remember that your wedding should be a celebration and plenty of fun.