A wedding doesn't have to be expensive.
I know that's a radical thought for those who truly believe the day isn't complete without gilt edged invitations and everyone marinaded in alcohol funded by the bride and groom. There are so many different types of wedding simply BECAUSE the couple saying their vows are different.
The essential thing to remember is to keep control. It's YOUR day. Not Mum's, not Gran's, not that aunt who insists you pay their bus fare from Northland or the cousin who's told everyone but you that she's offended you didn't make her a bridesmaid.
You and your partner. YOUR day from start to finish.
My parents married five months after meeting and I've grown up knowing they did it on one month's salary. Mum's dress was a hundred pounds in a sale, Dad's suit was hired, the flowers consisted of one live posy from a local florist and the rest were handmade - carnations pinned to lapels through silver foil covered in ribbon. Mum tells the story of how she buttered bread in her dressing gown for the buffet her parents funded at the local village hall and my grandfather paid for a limo as a gift. There were fifty people gathered together at a month's notice and everyone had a great time.
That was 25 years ago and Mum still has the dress in her wardrobe in the faint hope that one of her daughters fancies dressing as a pavlova one day. It's probably not going to happen but the dress looks amazing as the background of this website and in my header page.
Now I know the idea of thrift won't appeal to everyone. We're all different and that's the way it's meant to be. Some of us would love to leave all the finer details to a wedding planner who takes charge to the point where we just show up on the day and blink in surprise at the wonderland they've created from art deco fern fronds and confetti. If that's you and money's no object; go for it and good luck to you. For the rest of us, such luxury might be a little unrealistic on the smell of an oily rag and the last five year's savings. So we look for tips and tricks to lessen the pain.
I know that's a radical thought for those who truly believe the day isn't complete without gilt edged invitations and everyone marinaded in alcohol funded by the bride and groom. There are so many different types of wedding simply BECAUSE the couple saying their vows are different.
The essential thing to remember is to keep control. It's YOUR day. Not Mum's, not Gran's, not that aunt who insists you pay their bus fare from Northland or the cousin who's told everyone but you that she's offended you didn't make her a bridesmaid.
You and your partner. YOUR day from start to finish.
My parents married five months after meeting and I've grown up knowing they did it on one month's salary. Mum's dress was a hundred pounds in a sale, Dad's suit was hired, the flowers consisted of one live posy from a local florist and the rest were handmade - carnations pinned to lapels through silver foil covered in ribbon. Mum tells the story of how she buttered bread in her dressing gown for the buffet her parents funded at the local village hall and my grandfather paid for a limo as a gift. There were fifty people gathered together at a month's notice and everyone had a great time.
That was 25 years ago and Mum still has the dress in her wardrobe in the faint hope that one of her daughters fancies dressing as a pavlova one day. It's probably not going to happen but the dress looks amazing as the background of this website and in my header page.
Now I know the idea of thrift won't appeal to everyone. We're all different and that's the way it's meant to be. Some of us would love to leave all the finer details to a wedding planner who takes charge to the point where we just show up on the day and blink in surprise at the wonderland they've created from art deco fern fronds and confetti. If that's you and money's no object; go for it and good luck to you. For the rest of us, such luxury might be a little unrealistic on the smell of an oily rag and the last five year's savings. So we look for tips and tricks to lessen the pain.
The illustration is an invitation set sold on Amazon which contains 50 invitations and mailing envelopes, 50 reply cards and envelopes, 50 ribbon and pre-tied bows and all for under US $20. All you need is a mate with neat handwriting and you're home and dry. You don't have to use the above. Amazon has heaps of different ones but so do many local craft shops, art stores and online retailers.
A family friend got married when I was ten and I remember my mother sitting at the dining table with a fountain pen and a list of names and addresses, slogging through hundreds of invitations. They looked awesome when she finished and her friend bought her flowers because, let's be honest here; how often are your guests going to get their gold leaf invitation down off the mantelpiece and fondle its soft curves, just because you spent five bucks a-piece on them? You know as well as I do that it'll go in the kitchen drawer until just after the RSVP date passes and then they'll ring or text you instead of using the special reply card you included for their convenience.
Hey, I'm not knocking it; if it's your heart's desire to commission an original painter to do cameos of you and your future partner and emboss them and hand press their beautiful textures into custom made frames, just make sure I get one please. If not and you're struggling for cash, nobody will judge you a failure for some gorgeous shop bought invitations with nice writing in them. Another idea I saw was a lady who wasn't confident with her handwriting and printed names on delicate craft paper and glued them onto the invitations. There was so much fluffy detail on the invites, nobody noticed. Job done.
DON'T SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF because you know realistically that none of it will matter at that moment when you and your partner say, I DO. You won't care who's watching, who had an opinion over whether your invitation looked shabby chic or just chic; all you will care about is threading your partner's shaking finger into that ring while family members sob into supermarket tissues and tell embarrassing-naked-baby-stories.
Think of your wedding invitations like a call to arms.
Remember that bit in Lord of the Rings where Pippin lights the beacon to signal that Gondor called for aid? That's your invitation. It doesn't have to be amazing, it just has to exist. I don't recommend you light it; but just keep it in perspective.
#brides #groom #specialmoments
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