Wedmin

Today was devoted to wedministration and a few other bits related to our house move. In essence we are now at the business end of the planning. Deposits having been paid we're now reaching the point where second installments/ balances are needing to be settled. Naturally I have lost track of the various suppliers and deadlines that are needing to be met and thus today I have had to scour inboxes to find out who needs what by when. This information has then been transcribed into my wedding diary which contains all the relevant dates and contact numbers.

It was also D-day when it came to deciding on who gets invites and for what part of the day the invitations are offered. Surprisingly I found I didn't hit my maximum in terms of numbers for day and evening invites combined. I am allowed up to 75 guests in total for the evening but I only reached 70. That said my maximum for the day is ideally 50 but I am issuing 60 invites for the day to people who may realistically attend. I am also issuing 12 euphemistically termed 'courtesy invites' - these are day invitations that I am sending to people, mostly abroad, who have already advised us that they are unable/ unlikely to attend. Of course if any of them change their mind my numbers are completely blown but it's a chance I feel I have to take.

Today I have also been in touch with the two vicars concerned regarding the reading of the banns. The one who will be conducting the service has already arranged for them to be read in his parish the first three sundays of august. The one in the parish in which I now live is not being quite as helpful but I'm hoping will be of more assistance when I can speak to him on his return from holiday.

I have arranged my trial appointment with the hairdresser for my hair and make-up and I have agreed with my Mum to attend the appointment to offer a second opinion. I am very excited about this and for reasons that I am unable to elaborate on I need to have my trial a fair bit in advance of the wedding. The date has thus been set for 2nd August - exciting!!!!

Finally I have completed and sent to print the information insert for the invitations and supplied my Mum with about 95% of the addresses she needs - the others I have sent out requests for. The printers had completed the job within minutes of me sending the document over so watch this space for the invites coming out in the next week or so - if you're one of my guests that is!

91 days to go...

The great stationery debate

Today the stress has finally got to me. The financial pressure we are now under with the house, the wedding and the honeymoon manifested in a mini breakdown which has caused me to have a face like a 'slapped haddock' for most of the day. Irritatingly I quite liked James' turn of phrase when he described me thus. The upshot is that when I came home I decided I needed to bury myself in the fairytale world of weddings. My chosen topic for tonight was stationery. In comparison to the Save the Dates which were easily sorted and are standalone the rest of the stationery is set to be far more complicated as Bridezilla-to-be here is intent on co-ordinating. In plain speak I want the invitations, the order of services and the menu cards to tie in. I also wouldn't be averse to having a matching guest book. When it comes to the place cards and the table plan though, I have something else up my sleeve.

The easy bit is the colour. Without a doubt purple must predominate, but at the same time I want the invites to look clean and feminine (sorry James). Tonight I have immersed myself in the websites of everyone from bespoke stationers, to personisable cards, to hobbycraft and I am precisely no further forward in my quest to source the perfect products. I haven't even decided if I want to make the cards (by 'I' read 'Mum', as I have far too much in the way of craft on my plate at the moment) or have them made. The easy, but expensive option, is to have them made. I say that option is easy, in fact it's remarkably difficult as it relies upon us finding stationery we like, at a price we can afford (currently that would be the stationer paying us for our custom!). As yet I've not seen anything that stands out to me as a must-have design.

Perhaps the obvious answer then is to create my own. Unfortunately I have never been blessed with creativity. I have mocked up a couple of invitations but I worry that they will look fussy and/ or budget. It's not even as though they are the inexpensive option when the cards and envelopes I like could set us back £13 for 8 and that's before adding on extra for the embellishments, not to mention the time that would be involved creating the many tens of invitations that will be required. The invite is the first impression most people will get of the wedding and I want it to be a good one. It's not about having the best or the most novel, it's about having an invite that will reflect our personalities and the theme of our day. Who knows what I'll decide on but whatever it is I think it needs to be soon!