Thank goodness for the confetti guest list! Paul and I had a long list of people we wanted to invite, and thanks to the planning tools on this website, we could keep track of what was going on with them all…
But first things first, we needed invites. We decided to make them ourselves, as ‐ thanks to our miniscule budget ‐ funds were limited. However, we still needed to get an idea of what the they would look like…
As usual, we scoured the internet, magazines, and even paid a visit to the local card shop to see what was on offer. We decided to go with our Celtic theme, and use green and gold, which is turning out to be our colour scheme. But where could we start? Heather, the most artistic of my bridesmaids, is very talented and came to the rescue. She and her mum, Jan, said they’d give us a hand… and it was a good job they did! They showed us how to use rubber stamps to create a Celtic strapwork design for the centre of the cards, and they helped us stamp, emboss, stick, cut and fold until all 100 invites were finished!
Once they were made, Paul and I sat down with each of our families and made a list of everyone we wanted to be there. Luckily, there weren’t too many for our venue (which is the main advantage of hiring a village hall!), and so we didn’t have to leave anyone out. We put all of the guests on the confetti Guest List ‐ here you can include details for every person, such as contact details, addresses, the date you sent the invite etc. There’s also a section for noting replies, so we’ll be able to keep a record of who’s attending.
Next, we had to choose the wording for the invites, which was quite tricky. Luckily, there’s a good feature here on confetti called Wording your Invitations which gives loads of different examples of what to say. We wanted to be quite formal, but we also wanted to be the hosts ourselves. I know it’s traditional to have the bride’s parents as hosts, but we thought that ‐ since we were paying for most of it ‐ we’d like to host the day ourselves. We finally settled on the phrasing, and printed copies of the inserts on our computer. It sounds like a really simple way of doing it, but once they were put together, the invites looked really professional.
After hours of addressing the envelopes, and licking and sticking stamps, they were ready to go! I walked down to the post box (which is right outside the flat ‐ how cool is that?), and when the moment came to drop them into that square hole, I really didn’t want to let go of them. Would they get to their destinations OK? Well, they wouldn’t get there at all if I didn’t post them, so in they went!
It was a huge relief to get the invites done. When they were sent, it felt like the wedding was really happening. All we have to do now is wait for the replies…
If you’re going to create your own invitations, make sure you have plenty of time and energy (and help!). We quite enjoy crafty things, but it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, and in the long run, it might be worth investing that extra hundred quid to have someone do them for you. We still have the Order of Service, Menus and Table Plans to do, and the flat is already like a paper mill!
One very important tip ‐ when you send the invites out, make sure you include a list of local accommodation, and directions to the venue(s). Some of your guests will have a long way to travel, and may want to stay overnight. They’ll also want to know exactly where they’re going, so some good directions will make things easier.
Now we just can’t wait to see who’ll be joining us on the day!
