We’ve all seen pictures of them in the movies – cute little wedding flower girls (or junior bridesmaids as they are sometimes referred to) in their pretty little dresses, the mere sight of them bringing an ‘ah’ or a tear from the whole congregation. This article takes a closer look at wedding flower girls and talks about their role, duties and how to go about choosing one or more for your big day.

Choosing Your Flower Girls
Usually aged between 4 and 10, it's commonplace for wedding flower girls to be related to either the Bride or Groom - god-children, nieces, cousins etc. can all make for viable options, although if you want to select one or more children from outside the family circle you are more than welcome to.

Whilst four is typically the starting age for a junior bridesmaid, some couples will look to incorporate a baby flower girl into the bridal party. Whether it's the daughter of the Bride and/or Groom, or one of the bridesmaid's youngest, these make for a really cute addition and look fantastic on the wedding photos!

Of course there's no set rules on wedding flower girls and you don't have to have any at all if you don't want to. Indeed, whilst wedding flower girls can be cute, they can also be frustrating, especially if they decide to throw a tantrum at some point during the ceremony! Essentially, only you can judge whether or not the little ones you have in mind would be suitable for both the occassion, and any duties you have in mind from them.

The Role & Duties of Flower Girls
If truth be told, wedding flower girls don't actually have any specific duties that they must perform on the day - let's face it, they may well be starstruck enough without having to cope with the burden of tasks to perform! That said, there is a simple duties that, if you follow tradition, you may want to ask them to perfrom:

Get the wedding flower girls to walk directly in front of the Bride (or in front of the Bridesmaids if you'd prefer a bit more focus on the Bride) and carry a posy of flowers.
or
For something a little more taxing, forgo the posy and instead ask the wedding flower girls to carry baskets of petals and scatter them in front of the Bride as the enters

Tips For Your Flower Girls
To help minimise any potential ‘issues’, opting for two of more wedding flower girls, or a flower girl and a page boy can help. You'll often find that the extra numbers will provide your wedding flower girls with added confidence and will help them feel at ease throughout the proceedings.

Another tip is to try and involve your wedding flower girls as much as possible in the wedding prior to the day. They don't need to perform any specific tasks as such, but getting them familiar with the rmembers of the wedding party, particularly the bridesmaids and any page boys, is a really good idea. If you do want to give them something to do, you could always ask them to help pull together the wedding favours - sorting out sugared almonds, tying ribbon round lottery tickets, putting chocolate dragees into organza pouches etc.

Be sure to ask a responsible bridesmaid to look after your wedding flower girls during the day and help guide them through where they need to be and what they need to be doing at all times and finally, get them to sit alongside their parents during the ceremony and reception so they can be kept in tow!

If you have one or more wedding flower girls in mind, be brave, don’t be ashamed to bribe them with a pic’n’mix, and watch them become the star of the day, for just a few moments that is - rest assured that the Bride and Groom will soon take over!