I was so not prepared going into this how many components there are to think about with planning the wedding in general. But I think we are doing well... we're coming up to a month of being engaged, the venue is booked, the wedding insurance is arranged, the registrar is booked (for 2pm in the afternoon).
I'm currently in guest list hell (which is apparently a stage which all couples go through and do come out the other end - so so hard though, looking forward to coming out the end).
Time to look at stationary.... well I say time, me being me I've been looking and learning for a while now so here is where I am currently at...
I had great success with my "Will you be my bridesmaid?" invites. I loved the personalised designs of these ones which I found on a wonderful shop on Etsy called:
GabrielleKearney
Practically Perfect Design
Gabrielle herself was truly delightful and very accommodating. She sent all the beautifully personalised cards to each of my bridesmaids and flower girl directly and she couldn't have been more helpful and polite, I would recommend her to all. I want this wedding to be filled with little individual (not expensive, but personal) elements and these were just the perfect starting block. These are the two designs I went for in the end:
Next on the list is SAVE-THE-DATES: some don't find them
necessary, but I have loved them since I first received one and I particularly like the magnet ones. Here are the two I have in the running right now....
Both, again, on Etsy. But it started with the ring and it is pretty much my favourite place to shop, maybe I'll get a feature if we get everything from there! The look we're going for is rustic, with a lot of influence from nature and a home-made feel. Some things will be actually home made and some will just look so. But I want everything about it to truly represent us and be individual. I'm also not one for necessarily matching things, but more complementary things. I've got through the sample of the top one and it is gorgeous and amazing quality and sold by a lovely lady called Ann who is again so accommodating and helpful. The bottom one, I have just made initial inquiries as to whether there is the option to have it at a magnet. I really like both the tie the knot ribbon on the first one and the calendar design on the second, so I am currently torn. For info both of these are completely customisable, from colour to text to font.
Next on to FULL INVITES. Here's the ones we need:
- DAY INVITES (with hopefully a bit more room for detailing)
- DAY RSVPs
- EVENING INVITES
- EVENING RSVPs
I'm trying to keep the invites as simple as possible to keep the cost to a minimum. We're literally looking at two sides for a day invite and one side for an evening with a link to our personalised website for more details (that which you would usually find on the multiple inserts), I do however like traditional RSVPs through the post, but that is of course something completely down to personal choice. The wedding website I have found is free of charge and very customisable. It's called
Getting Married.co.uk has lots of useful features for every individual couple to fit a variety of needs. I have sorted the template for our website for now but will not make it live until it is finished. I used to be really against personalised sites as I thought of them as being a little self involved and over indulgent, but I really think it is how you use it, and with this one each page it is completely customisable so you don't have to go off on a gushy mission, as with the ones which I am not keen on, you can use it as a very practical free addition to your invitations. Hurray for that!
I really like the use of trees in the main invites and I have so far ordered one sample set, which I loved but my fiancé found "too busy" so I have gone back to the drawing board again this evening and plan to order samples of all of the following so that we can compare and contrast together and hopefully reach a decision on a design which we both like. Here are the ones which I've picked to get samples of:
One thing I would say is that I am surprised at how few individual invites seem to be available in the UK. From all the on-line research which I have done all of the above are being shipped from America, is seems very bizarre. It seems that the only options which I can see which are produced in the UK are either overly traditional or quite cheaply made or completely hand made. Would love to know what your experience is on this and whether you have had any more luck than me in finding interesting British producers...
Would love your advise on any of the above or stories of your experiences....
Happy planning!
xxx
