We recently heard about a bride with five sisters, ranging in age from infant to adult, all needing a role in her wedding party. We're fans of just having as many bridesmaids, junior bridesmaids, flower girls, ring bears, flower grandmas, adult male flower girls, bell ringers, and aisle walkers as you like (WHEW!), so we're all for making this way less of a stress than it would be otherwise. Or, if you're looking for beautiful simplicity, consider having no wedding party, and nobody gets left out.

But if you're going for inclusion, here are some alternative wedding party roles for kids we'd recommend, AND how it's been done traditionally, just for reference. Our advice? Include whoever you want and enjoy seeing them all honor your love.

Here's a typical age-to-role breakdown, just so we know how it's been traditionally done and what guest parents may be expecting so you can dodge any questions:

• 3 to 6: flower girls, ring-bearers, sign-carriers, and bell-ringers
• 7 to 10: candle-bearers, prayer book-carriers, handing out programs or flowers, and guestbook greeters
• 11 to 15: junior bridesmaids and junior ushers/groomsmen

These ages are completely subjective, and there are no rules on how many of each you can include. But at least we know what might be expected by guest parents of these kiddos. Here are some other ideas:

Sign carriers

Have kids lead you into the ceremony carrying funny signs (preferably not the groom-runs-away kind, though).

Ring security

Maybe your ring bearers are serious about this ring safety business... or even need their own ring security detail (offering even more roles for kids)?

Flower carriers/bouquet creators

In addition to decorative petal pushers, you could have some of the children create your bouquet for you. Here's how we've seen it done with guests before. Just adapt it to the kids, and you're a go!

Distribution experts

Kids can be super helpful by helping to pass out favors, tossing items (like lavender, bird seed, etc.), bubbles, and programs.

Train conductors

Have a long dress train? Have a couple of kids help you carry your train down the aisle. Maybe have them wash their paws first, just in case.

Readers

Older children can be super sweet as readers during the ceremony. We've even collected our favorite readings from kids books to make this even more adorable.

Puppy wranglers

Have a responsible child walk your pooch down the aisle and keep him entertained during the ceremony. This isn't only a kick-ass job, but a super useful one.

Gift watcher

An older child or teenager could be put in charge of keeping an eye on the gift table and making sure the gifts get where they need to go. Just make sure the gifts get moved swiftly so they aren't tied to that table for too long. Hey, there's dancing and cake to be had!

Escorting the Bride

The most important job of all might just be when you get to escort the bride down the aisle, as Virginia's son did at her wedding. Obviously this one is pretty specific, but for your own kids, it might be the winning role.

Are you having kids in your wedding party? What roles did we miss?