Sandra Weir isn’t a wedding crasher. But her name’s hardly ever on the guest lists of the nuptials she attends.
Still, the New Yorker gets to applaud happy couples on their big days — so long as no diapers need changing nor temper tantrums need soothing.
“As a wedding nanny, I take care of all the kids’ needs during ceremonies and receptions,” Weir, 31, a professional childcare provider from Yonkers, told The Post.
At $35 an hour — not including her transportation and tip, which come at extra costs — she’s wrangled up to 10 tikes, ranging in age from two to 12, as lovebirds exchange vows. And her prices can increase depending on the amount of cuties she’s covering at one event.
“I make sure children at weddings are safe fed, entertained, using the bathroom and away from the celebration if they start crying,” said Weir, an ex-nutritionist-turned-babysitting entrepreneur. “I love it because I love weddings and kids.”
She’s part of a growing number of caring enterprisers who’ve ditched traditional 9-to-5s to become a modern-day Mary Poppins at special occasions.
Chapelle Johnson, an associate editor at The Knot, tells The Post that the new role’s booming amid debates over whether youngsters under 13 should be invited to I Do’s.
Recent brides have gone viral for banning bambinos from their bashes and online detractors have deemed tots at tying-of-knots “absolutely unacceptable.”
“There’s been an increase in child-free receptions,” said Johnson, citing a Feb. 2024 report. “38% of married couples opted for kid-free celebrations in 2023 — up 8% from 2018.”
But when fiancés are forced to include little ones, Johnson says caretakers can be a worthwhile expense atop the already $35,000 cost for the average shindig.
“By hiring a babysitter, parents don’t have to worry about keeping their children entertained and wedding toasts can go uninterrupted,” she continued, adding that these unique laborers of love are likely here to stay.
“This trend isn’t going away,” said Johnson. “One day, a wedding nanny [will be] on every couple’s checklist.”
But Sara Ross, 23, a wedding nanny from San Diego, Calif., tells The Post that when brides and grooms don’t want to foot the bill, individual families have asked her to mind their minis.
“I’ve been hired by random couples who just want someone to watch their kids so they can enjoy the night,” said the Gen Z founder of Nanny the Brand recruitment service.
Ross left a career in marketing to watch whippersnappers full-time in 2018.
For around $35 an hour, the brunette comes to each wedding equipped with age-appropriate boxes full of toys, games and crafts to keep all the kiddies preoccupied.
“If a venue doesn’t offer a dedicated space for kids,” said Ross, “I set up a little play area in the bridal suite or reception hall.”
She also shows up to work with a full belly — namely to avoid scavenging for a plated dinner, which can cost couples upwards of $85 per person — and tosses on a comfy black dress, allowing her to blend in with the crowd and freely manage rug rats.
Eugenia Siero, 34, owner of District Sitter in Washington, D.C., however, insists she and her staff of 40 nannies sport teal uniform shirts when on the job.
“The uniforms help identify us as childcare providers,” said Siero, who often enlists her employees to join her at weddings with large kid attendees.
She tells The Post that maintaining a balanced child-to-nanny ratio is key to ensuring teenyboppers’ safety as they play in the ball pit or enjoy the games of Twister and musical chairs she arranges.
“We offer one-on-one care to infants under, one sitter to every three toddlers under age 3 and one sitter to every four kids between ages 4 to 12,” Siero said. She and her crew have even been tasked with watching over 120 children during one massive holy matrimony.
“It can be challenging,” she confessed, noting the crying fits and meltdowns that erupt. “But we love making kids feel special.”
Aisling Ross, 25, who’s tended to tikes worldwide as “The Wedding Nanny” since 2019, agrees.
And while the Dublin, Irelander loves the work, caring for cubs has changed her mind about parenting any time soon.
“I used to think I’d have a baby in my early twenties,” Ross told The Post. “But since I started working with children at weddings, I’ve decided to wait.”
