Wedding Invitation madness

I'll be the first to hold my hands up and admit I have taken my foot off the pedal recently when it comes to wedding planning. Don't get me wrong, I can't wait to marry Mr. Ree and have a fun filled day surrounded by our nearest and dearest as we say our vows as man and wife. But there's only so much enthusiasm one can muster for 'wedding talk' beyond a point.

Time is ticking on though so I have to pull myself together (which is no mean feat when you're working two jobs and trying to fit in time for family, friends and Mr. Ree of course!) Apparently we're meant to send out 'Save the Date' alerts to our guests. I'm not entirely au fait with this, I just presumed we told our friends the wedding date and sent out an invite. Badda-bing-badda-boom, done!

Or not.

I have learned that 'Save the Dates' are important, so it's another thing on the ever-growing to-do list. Whilst researching all this, I checked out a few websites and stumbled upon something else that I had overlooked.

Wedding Invitations.

*Cue Dah-dah-DAAAAH! music*

We were at a wedding show recently and there was suppliers for everything you can imagine, seriously..

Wedding balloon people, it's a thing now.

I had a look at wedding invitations there and didn't like any of them. They were all pastel, diamantes with a bit of ribbon. I don't like pastel. I really don't. This got us thinking about what we DID want. Step forward Google and it's every-expanding wisdom.

Here are some of my favourite wedding invitations which I hope to pull some inspiration from:

1. Mario Wedding Invitation -  The attention to detail on this one makes it my favourite. Such a clever design and nostalgic to boot. What's not to love?

2. Comicbook Invite - Anyone who knows Mr. Ree and I knows how much we love our comic books. (It's only a matter of time before we buy another much-needed bookcase) The fact that the graphics are customised just makes it cooler in my eyes.

3. Pacman - Waka waka waka waka! Now it's in your head, you're welcome.

4. Photobooth Invite - Granted these have been out for a while, but think of all the fun you could have with the concept. You could do it in costume, get friends and family in on it, get some fun props that show off your personality. Your imagination is the limit!

5. Ouija board invite - This is something a little darker, but it'll definitely be something that your guests will remember!

6. Viewmaster - This doesn't strike me as something that would come cheap, but if money was no object... Really cool idea, and who didn't love playing with these when they were kids? (and beyond!)

7. Ticket invites - This is an idea we were mulling over when we first got engaged. Let's face it, for a festival/carnival themed wedding, you won't get cooler invites than these!

8. Scrabble - Always a favourite chez Ree, think of the fun you could have with this concept? Plus it wouldn't cost the world to do either.

9. Message in a bottle - This is a fun idea for a nautical themed wedding, not sure if I'd have the patience to get the note out without being tempted to break the bottle though. Patience is a virtue...

Bonus Invite - OK, this one made me giggle. I love movies, love movie posters and fair play to the couple for recreating it. But I just don't think these work, unless you either go all out or have some fun with it, a la Bride of Frankenstein or something.

In short, looking around at different types of wedding invites ultimately left me a little more confused. I think the most important thing is to choose invites that you both like. They might not be everyone's cup of tea, but mine sure as hell won't be pastel.

Wedding resources

Getting married is meant to be an exciting time. I remember when we announced our engagement to our families and friends, it was a hub of joy and excitement. It wasn't long after we got engaged that my family and I excitedly bought loads of wedding magazines. Discussed pros and cons of what time of year to get married. What dress styles did I like? Ivory, Cream, Champagne, Colour or a variant of white?

However, the novelty of flicking through the glossy pages of wedding magazines quickly wavered. I had spent €5 on a shiny paged brochure of all things wedding related flogging their wares. It was then I realised that the wedding industry was bigger than I had ever thought possible. (Seriously, Google 'wedding' and you get 1,150,000,000 hits!)

Recently we attended a wedding show with many different vendors offering a multitude of services. I thought releasing doves, fireworks and free flowing champagne were considered personal touches to your day. Instead it has exploding into so much more. We were presented with customised glasses, balloon people, a meat wagon, sweet tables and so much more. All these added touches cost money, whether or not they would make your wedding day better or enhance your marriage? I wouldn't bet on it.

There seems to be a lot of pressure put on your wedding day as 'The Best Day of your Life'. Personally, I don't agree. I think it is a very important day when you and your partner vow to love and care for each other in the paradigms you set for your marriage, but expecting it to be the 'The Best Day of your Life' puts unnecessary pressure on a day where you should just relax and have fun with your guests. The best day of your life may be when you travel somewhere you've always wanted to go, succeed in your career goals or hold your child for the first time. Everybody is different.

People must be buying stuff like this, wedding flip flops for life yo!

Shit happens. Your dress might get dirty, guests might be late, someone who is not the bride might wear cream, someone (or several people) may get drunk and make fools of themselves. Is it really going to matter in the long run? Really?! Let your wedding day reflect you. Who cares if felt flowers aren't traditional? Or Lego isn't considered appropriate table decor? Don't want to wear white or a similar shade? Then don't. Just because something is considered 'the done thing' doesn't mean you have to do it. It's a long way down that rabbit hole so look before you leap!

After wasting money on the glossy wedding mags, I soon realised that I could get the same information and even more ideas online, for free! I read reviews, looked at forums of real brides up for discussing their experiences. No glossy magazine can do that. So why do we buy them? Well, when else are we going to? It's an exciting time, and it's hard not to get carried away with all the giddy excitement, but don't forget to explore all resources. Chat to family and friends, get information from real brides, talk to colleagues. These kind of resources are priceless.