038 Chatting with The Wedding Nanny NYC's Sandra Weir

On this episode of A Second Helping, I'm chatting with Sandra Weir, the founder of The Wedding Nanny NYC, a game-changing service that helps keep kids safe, happy, and entertained during weddings.

Sandra launched her business less than two years ago and quickly gained national attention after one of her social media posts went viral. Since then, she’s been interviewed by The New York Times and has become a go-to resource for families and wedding pros alike.

In our conversation, we talk about how The Wedding Nanny came to be, what her role looks like on a typical wedding day, and why more couples are embracing the idea of on-site childcare. We also dig into how Sandra works alongside planners, photographers, and other vendors to make the day run smoothly for everyone, including the tiniest guests.

You can learn more about The Wedding Nanny at:
 👉 https://www.theweddingnannynyc.com/
👉 https://www.instagram.com/theweddingnannynyc/

Transcript

 Should kids be at a wedding? It's a question couples and planners have been asking for years, and today's guest has built an entire business around answering it. Sandra Weir is the founder of the wedding Nanny, NYC, a company she launched less than two years ago to help keep kids safe, entertained, and well cared for during weddings.

After a single viral Instagram post, Sandra found herself in high demand and even caught the attention of the New York Times. In this episode, we will talk about how her business got started, what a wedding nanny actually does, and how her role fits into the bigger picture of a stress-free wedding day for couples, vendors, and parents alike.

Let's get into it. This is a second helping with Allison Bartow. So tell me first. Mm-hmm. How did you get started in this business? How did you start your company? So basically what happened was a year and a half ago, I went to a wedding to help one of the families I was working for occasionally, and everything worked out like it was a successful event.

I was watching for children. But some of the relatives will approach me and be like, like, what are you, what's this service like? Do you have your business? Like they didn't know me obviously. So I was like, Hmm, like people are curious, like I don't think there's something like this. So I just kind of had the idea.

So I did make a video back then went viral. Then your post interviewed me and that's when my husband was like, this is such a great idea. You should just start doing it. Yeah. Oh my God. That amazing. Yeah. What was the post that went viral about? It was just like, kind of like POB of what happens working in a way like.

Doing a wedding day with kids. Mm-hmm. Alright, so now you have nannies that work for you on the wedding day. So I guess tell me a little bit about what it looks like from a couple standpoint, like when they hire the wedding nanny, tell us what that looks like as far as them inquiring through to the wedding day.

So, for the most part, I've noticed. It's either the bride or one of the bridal parties, guests who reach out to us. Um, it's mainly because they have, you know, the sis, the sister of the bride's kids attending or the bride in the room have children already. So they're just trying to figure out who's gonna watch the kids because everyone's gonna be involved in the wedding party.

Like mom is there, dad is there. Everyone is, is busy. So they, they want, they want someone who's hands on so they can also enjoy, but they wanna have the children there 'cause they're either the ring bearer or flower girl. So they have to be there. Even if it's an adult only wedding, they have to be there.

So have you been to weddings prior to starting your business where there were children there that didn't have someone looking a after them, similar to your role? Oh yeah. And it's always chaos. It's always chaos. It totally is. Yes. Um, it's, and so I definitely, I primarily second shoot weddings. Oftentimes there are children there and it is a lot, it's a lot for, you know, the parents and mm-hmm.

It's a lot just being in a wedding party, there's so much going on. But I think when you're in a wedding party and you have children there, I think it's really tough. Um, it is tough. It is chaos and it's, it's frantic and it makes for a long day. So tell me when, um, a bride or a bridesmaid, when they're inquire with you, what kind of information do you need to know to get them a quote, just like the date and how many kids?

So, yeah, that's a great question. I actually recently modified my, my form because most times they wouldn't even tell me what the ages were. So what I definitely needed, the number of children, their ages at the time of the wedding and where they're getting married, the venue address. And that's pretty much it.

I think I could work on a quote with that information, but obviously if I, I know if they mentioned that the kid has an allergy or they have like something else going on, then I'll like always to hop on a call just to see what their specific needs are. So, but yeah, I always try to hop on a call to just make sure I have all the information.

But recently it's just been mostly just email. Yeah. I did see on your website that you have. Like for infants and like up to maybe two years old. Something along that lines. It's like one nanny per baby or infant. And then as they get older, you can have like two kids with one nanny and then it goes like four kids per nanny based on the age, which makes sense to me.

Yes. What times do you normally see people starting to involve you on the wedding day? Like I'm thinking you don't always show up in, you know, at 8:00 AM for hair and makeup and stay through the reception, or do you No, most of the time we show up, show up before portraits. Okay. Like probably around one or two.

So the bridesmaid are getting, finishing, getting ready, or they're about to start the portraits. That's when the children are involved in the wedding party. Mm-hmm. So it's most, most of the time it's either eight hours in total, or it could be up to 12. Okay. That's, mm-hmm. I mean, that's a full day. Now, were you previously, I know when you started your business, you were in a nannying role.

Was that what you had done primarily as a, you know, as a job, as a full-time nanny? Yes. So working eight to 10 hours a day. So really familiar with that. Just not in the wedding. Environment. Yeah. Um, and then I know that you are like CPR certified and all of your nannies are CPR certified, right? Yes, all of them are.

And the ones I'm interviewing right now, if they don't have it, they'll need to get it so they can start working with us. That makes sense. So what has the feedback been from people at the weddings where your company is providing your service? What do people say? I mean, honestly, we've only had really good comments and reviews.

Everyone's been happy about our service. Like most of the times we know like the timeline beforehand. Mm-hmm. So we're always prepared like for wedding portraits and then we know kind of like when we have to make sure the kids have to be ready for like the ceremony. So I think we're just pretty hands on and you could tell that the service museum is pretty unique.

We come prepared with toys, so it's. It's been good. Good so far. And then are you bringing like snacks and arts and crafts and what kind of, you know, in addition to toys, are you bringing other things as well? Or do the parents bring a lot of that stuff? We bring the toys and activities. Okay. Mom bring snacks.

Because also some of the children are ER allergic. Mm-hmm. So we always ask beforehand if any of the children have allergies or any other issues. So we don't bring snacks, but the parents are prepared 'cause we also help them with the packing list. Oh, so, okay. So you provide a packing list. Yeah, that makes sense.

So this our preparation before, like month before the event, we start helping them with like the packing list, the child's profiles, and then like a one-on-one call with a bride. Nice. Mm-hmm. I think it's such a great, great service because I've seen it all on the wedding day. The kids, a wide range of children.

It's just a lot. I think that they're, you know, their nap schedules are off if they're napping at all, and it's just, it's a lot of stimulation. It's typically probably not enough attention for the kids. It's just so much, and I feel like by the time the ceremony. Or definitely the reception rolls around. I find that they're really tired and they're hopped up on sugar a lot of times and they're just, they're not having fun and it's a, a toll, it takes a toll, I think, on their parents, the bride.

And so I think that this is such a great service. I feel like it's gotta make the day so much more enjoyable for people. And you are typically like in the same location for the most part, right? Like you're at the venue, like off in a separate area, or are you sometimes back at like a hotel with the kids?

What does that look like? I feel like 90% of the time it's ad location. Mm-hmm. They've had some hotel babysitting inquiries, but they're not very common. Yeah, I would think that they would be on site with you, which is probably, I would think nice for you guys because you know, at least the parents are there because you're watching children that you're not familiar with, and they know if they need to see their parents, you can mm-hmm.

You know, take them to their parents or something like that. So I would think that that makes it, I don't know if easier is the right word, but just like an extra layer. There for, for the kids. You're not off somewhere. What's the largest number of children that you've had, like for a job so far? We've had a wedding with nine children.

Nine? Yes. We were three nannies together. We have the youngest one, six months old, and the oldest one was. 10, I think. Um, it was a very busy day. 12 hours. Wow. Busy day. How did it go? I, that's a long time with a lot of kids. It went well. I mean, considering it was winter. Oh geez. And we did portrait outdoors with the children.

Um, they were. Pretty good kids, honestly, like we had no issues. Like with, obviously they got tired 'cause most of them were in the younger mm-hmm. Range. Um, but we had plenty of toys. We set up an area for them to be entertained, but obviously, you know, they're all in the writing party, so we will bring them to portraits and come back.

So it was a combination of playing but also being. There for the party and reception and all of that. Yeah. I find that portraits are probably one of the more stressful times. Oh yeah. That I'm seeing because the parents are in the photo and then the kids are in some of the photos, and invariably I. One kid wants to be with a certain parent that day, they can't be put down.

And so then you're trying to figure out, okay, well we can shoot this, and the child's crying, and you're, you are like, all right, well, let's just shoot them within it. And then you're trying, they're trying to hand the child off to, you know, like a different parent or a different relative and the child doesn't want to go.

And so, and it's stressful for, you know, the parent because then, you know, they're not trying to make things more difficult or slow things down, so it's just stressful for them. So we recently had a wedding, um, where it was the bride and groom their son, and he was younger and it's a long day and I, I felt for the bride, she was super patient and just, it's your wedding day.

There's so much going on. And it was a lot. And his grandparents were there and things like that, but he wanted to be with his mom. And so it just, yeah. It was tough because you're trying to figure out what, what the best thing is to do for him, and he had his cousins and things there, so that was a. A child heavy wedding maybe is the way to phrase it.

Yeah. Uhhuh. But it's a lot and I, I feel like with wedding receptions, it's nice if at a certain time the kids are kind of dismissed so that mm-hmm They can open up the dance floor for the adults and have a good time. Because I just feel like it's a different reception when it's the kids out on the dance floor all night.

Yeah. Yeah, sometimes I, I will say half of the time we are asked to bring the children to a separate area during the mm-hmm. Especially the kids are younger, but you'll be surprised a lot of, a lot of these brides, they want the kids there because, you know, they're their ne nieces and nephews. So, but we, we are there just to, just in case, like maybe they're dancing with the parents, but we'll be keeping an eye.

'cause maybe they need to go to the bathroom or they want, they need to be fed. So we are like an extra set of hands. Yeah. And it's, it's so important because the family wants to be there for the wedding. Mm-hmm. And it's, I just think it's such a great idea. What about if like kids need naps or things like that, how do you handle for the younger kids?

So we always strive for them to take a nap before the ceremony. Okay. Um, for example, we had a wedding last week where we had a one and a half year old, and he was pretty easygoing, like. Very chill baby. Um, but he definitely needed a nap. So we just took him for a stroller walk and he fell asleep for 40 minutes.

And I feel like that was a game changer. Yeah. Yeah. He would've been really tired by 5:00 PM if he'd had a nap. They are, they're exhausted. You can just see it in their little faces and then they're, you're trying to shove them in these little suits or in these dresses, and I think that that's awesome that you're, you know, able to help with that.

'cause it makes such a huge difference for them if they've had a nap. It does. Absolutely. So now your business has been around for a year and a half. What does your schedule look like right now? Do you have a lot of weddings on the books? Um, are you noticing just an uptick in inquiries? Um, what, what can you tell us about that?

Yeah. This past month we've had a lot of inquiries. Mm-hmm. And also a lot of short notice inquiries. So those are harder to accommodate. Because we, we didn't expect this summer to be this busy. Yeah. Um, but fall also is very busy. We are pretty much fully booked for September and October. Um, but yeah, we have Greece for next year too, and like even 2027, I can see that.

'cause I, I think some people really plan ahead and they wanna get it locked in. And you've got other people who. I think as it gets down to the wire and it's getting closer, they start to think about this. Or maybe they go to a wedding and they see the kids running around or they just come across you on social media.

I know I saw you on Instagram. How is Instagram impacting your business? Oh my God. It sort has been a life changer, honestly. Um, before I started being consistent with my social media, we did have inquiries, but nothing compared to what we have right now. Are you getting inquiries from people all over? You know, you're in Westchester, New York, right?

Yes. Okay. So, and I know that you have travel of about 30 miles built into your package, and you can go beyond that. What are some of the further out distances you've traveled to so far? Or are you getting inquiries for how far geographically we get? A lot of increase for Southern New Jersey, which is by the water.

Mm-hmm. Um, and we've driven up to two hours each way so far. Okay. So right now I'm in the process of finding someone, at least one person that's based in that area, that can take on some events if the event requires only one 90. Right? Mm-hmm. A huge help. Yeah. Now, are you on TikTok too? I recently just started on TikTok.

I did, I have my personal TikTok and I just posted a video and it also went viral there, so I guess I have to post there too. Now You have to, I, I love that you do a post and it goes viral. That's, you should also open up a marketing division too, in addition, right. Are you involved with planners at all? Do you get inquiries from planners reaching out, or are you finding it's mostly the brides or bridesmaids?

The moms, it's mostly the brides or the relatives. Mm-hmm. But, uh, recently we getting more traction with winning planners and content creators as well. Okay, letting content creators, what are the content creators reaching out for? Are they hooking you up with potential clients? Mm-hmm. Okay, that's good.

Yeah, so they just, 'cause they've seen me on social media and you know, if they have someone booked for a certain date and if they, sometimes they ask them, do you know someone. Um, so if they see me, they just recommend me, which is awesome. That's great. Yeah. And you've got a great business name at the wedding Nanny, so yeah.

Thank you. That was smart. Thank you. Thank you. I just changed the name. It wasn't Annie Boutique. What was that? It wasn't Annie Boutique previously. Oh yeah. No, I think that was a good call. You down the road. You could be franchising this. Yes, there's, there's plans about that already. That's awesome. And then I guess another question would be, are you currently hiring nannies?

It sounds like you are. Yes, I am looking to hire two people in Jersey. Okay. With like strategic location and obviously with the great experience and everything, the filters, background checks. And I also need two people in Long Island, hopefully can find someone really good. Okay. This is exciting. I'm so happy for you.

Thank you that this is taking off the way that it has. I think it was funny, I feel like it was the same day that I had gotten home from the wedding with the little kids and I think I was on Instagram, as you do when you get home from a wedding, and I saw one of your posts and I was like, it's such a great idea.

And I like that you have, you know, the branded shirts so it's clear you know who you are. Go ahead. I think it's fantastic. So, we know that you're hiring for some nannies in the South Jersey area and in the Long Island area, and that you will travel So far, you've traveled up to two hours. Um, but it sounds like you'll probably provide quotes just based on where people are.

Where can people find you? Tell us about your Instagram handle and your, your new TikTok account. So, my Instagram handle, it's the wedding Nanny n yc. Mm-hmm. And they can also find the link for my website in my bio, which is www.theweddingnannynyc.com. I love it. Mm-hmm. Well, thank you so much for taking the time.

I think, like I said, I think you provide an awesome service. I feel like people should definitely check you out. The one thing we didn't talk about is price. What would you say, what's kind of the price range for someone to hire your services? So let's say for the eight hour package, which is the most popular.

Mm-hmm. It's six 50 for the eight hours for one nanny. So depending on each couple's needs or how many children there are, most times it's two nannies. Okay. And that right now it's currently 55 an hour for the additional nanny. Okay. Yeah. And I mean. Yeah, that's, that makes absolute sense. I feel like that's money well spent for that peace of mind.

And, uh, just the freedom. I have an 8-year-old son, so I just, I know. Okay. What is involved with keeping an eye on children and, you know, making sure that they're safe and having the right Entertained. Yeah, entertained and like, and a wedding for the most part is an adult event, so it's not catering around children.

So, and I think it's really awesome what you're doing. Thank you. So hey, thank you again. I will post in the show notes, links to your website. You've got a nice website, it's got FAQs in there and your contact information. You're doing a great job obviously on Instagram. And I just wanna thank you again for coming on and I want to wish you continued success with your business and I think it's awesome.

So thank you so much. So thank you so much, Alison, for having me. Yes, absolutely. Alright, have a great day. Thank you, you too. Alright, bye.

Thanks for listening to a second helping. 

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