Invites, Envelopes and Stamps, oh my!

Time is officially racing by at warp speed! We are mere weeks away from the wedding and this is quite possibly they busiest September of our lives!

This month alone, we have our engagement photoshoot, meeting with our solemniser to plan our wedding ceremony, Hens and Stags, Fittings, Hair and Make up trials and probably lots more besides!

A few months back I wrote a blog about wedding invitations. So it's only fair that I show you a little sneak preview of what we sent out to our guests. Ta-da!

Photo shamelessly nicked from Sue Fitzpatrick

We didn't want to go down the traditional wedding stamp route as the one for this year just made me cringe. The couple just look so awkward.

You're fooling no one, lads!

I know that most people probably wouldn't even look at the stamp, but you become completely enraptured in the little details for your wedding day. With this in mind, we scouted the An Post website trying to find something a little more 'us'. We then popped into the GPO to see what was available. Because we're such literary fans and enjoy films, including horror, how could we resist these bad boys?

 

We had been warned by couples who had trotted down the wedding planning route that in time, we would argue about something wedding related. Never in a million years did I think it would be over envelopes.

ENVELOPES!

I don't think I'd ever looked twice at most envelopes. But in my mind, only cream ones would do. Mr. Ree pointed out my previous opinion on envelopes, but now I had a colour scheme to erm.. defend? In the middle of our argument I stopped mid-sentence and said "We are fighting over envelopes." It was at that point, I knew that the wedding planning had taken over.

We laughed about it, now referred to as 'Envelopegate' and got it sorted. But it will go down in history as the most ridiculous argument we've ever had!

So what's next Chez Ree? We've to sort out our wedding ceremony next and finalise choices across the board. No-one ever said planning a wedding was easy!

Paperwork, Invitations and Attire, oh my!

We have officially been flat out here chez Ree. The WEDDING DAY is looming, well not looming exactly but it's fast approaching!

Friends of ours had advised us to get all the small jobs done as even they will stress you out closer to D-Day. This has now left me in the position of comparing swatches, trying to decide between wooden or paper boxes and Google has been completely exhausted with wedding related searches. (Sorry Google!)

If Google was a cat

Last week we registered our intent to marry, so the State is aware that we're intending on having our nuptials in Ireland. (With Alpacas! But more about that later)

I was convinced that I would forget something when we went to meet the registrar. Even though they had kindly sent us out a letter with a checklist, I still got my long suffering parents to rifle through the family files until the right birth cert was found. (Who knew there was more than one type of birth certificate? I didn't!)

After we had all the correct paperwork, off we went to the Registrar's office (and somehow managing not the 'stray' into the Science Gallery!) We then went upstairs to wait with some other couples. While we were waiting to go in, a couple were called forward and a third man joined them. It set my mind racing! When did plural marriage become legal in Ireland? How did I miss this? How modern and risqué! Mr. Ree was quick to burst my bubble and point out it was probably a translator. Even still, people watching and creating wild back stories for people will continue to be a hobby.

The Registrar we met with was lovely and very helpful. She went through our paperwork and wanted to check that we were in no way related. We assured her that we were definitely not swimming in each other's gene pools. She took photocopies of our passports (which contains the most horrific picture of me. Seriously!) All in all, the whole process took about 10-15 minutes and was relatively painless. For a list of all the bare necessities, click here.

It's all real now!

A very good friend of ours has also agreed to make the invitations for us. We went to a Wedding Fair earlier in the year and hadn't been blown away with the selection. I have never had any particular affinity with doves, flowers or birdcages* before, so I didn't see the point in including them in our wedding day. Cue an email of video game imagery, cartoons and toys being sent to our pal, and to his credit he didn't flinch. Probably because he knows what nerdy things we're into. With some wedding suppliers we have dealt with, they're not sure how to deal with more 'specialised' requests and tried to steer us down the more traditional routes. Needless to say, we didn't go down those garden paths.

* As an aside, I always thought the symbolism behind a birdcage and linking it with a wedding was bizarre. Wedding doesn't equal entrapment surely? Or perhaps I'm overthinking this..

The last thing we need to work out is what everyone is wearing on the day. I have to hold my hands up and admit it's the one can I've been kicking down the road. I'm at the point where I don't mind what the bridesmaids wear, as long as they're comfortable. Ditto the lads, but the only rule I have is: No gold, and no pink! Although I've been asked by guests if there are colours they're not allowed to wear. I find it shocking that some brides tell their guests what the can and can't wear. The mind boggles! Needless to say, I quickly quashed the questions (Mm.. Q alliterations!) regarding colour schemes. I think the only way I could be upset is if someone wore a big flouncy wedding dress, tiara and arrived in a carriage. I have my gúna almost a year now and I'm pretty sure no one will be wearing the same outfit. If there is, I'm not getting changed!

For more up to date wedding related giddiness, check me out on Twitter @LisaOree

I can totally understand why there are wedding planners in the world...

With less than five months to go til the wedding day, the reality is beginning to hit.

We've been booked into our hotel for a menu tasting, have to finalise wedding invitations and been 'confirming' things. It really doesn't seem like that long ago since I brought home a shitload* of wedding magazines and we started making lists of venues we liked. I'm glad that we organised some key aspects of our wedding shortly after engaged as I feel like I'm running out of steam!

Don't get me wrong, I'm enjoying the wedding planning. But it's trying to allocate time to do it. When I'm in 'getting shit done' mode, I'm on fire! But then there are the duvet days, when I just want to stay in my onesie all day and just veg out on the couch. These are the days that I sometimes wish I had a wedding planner.

In my mind's eye, the wedding planner is like the grown up's version of a Fairy Godmother. She is knowledgeable, sage and completely calm. She wouldn't be getting frustrated if she couldn't find the right type of flowers and stuff (It's not happened to me yet either, but watch this space!)

Nobody gonna mess with the Fairy Godmother!

It's funny, but when I first started picking out things that I liked and putting it into a wedding folder, I could see why people enter into the career as a wedding planner. It's an exciting time, creativity is rife and there are all kinds of possibilities laid out on the table.

When you have those initial decisions made and deposits are put down there's always a little niggling feeling of doubt. No matter how much you feel like this is the right decision for you both. Is the colour scheme going to work out? (Apparently colours can be 'seasonal' - who knew?!) What food will suit everyone? Sweet Jesus what if the dress doesn't fit?!

You could easily worry yourself into a nervous wreck, but I have to catch myself and do this to myself - mentally speaking!

A wedding is one day. One. Is anyone really going to notice or care if there is no apparent colour scheme, or if steak isn't on the menu, or if I'm sporting bingo wings you could perform a flying squirrel leap with? After all, a dog marriage is for life. I don't think I'll look back and sweat the small stuff.

So even though I have my days of "I really should get cracking on ~random wedding task~" I don't know that I would happily give the reins over to someone who doesn't know all my quirks and in-jokes. Until then, we'll just keep on trucking, we're very nearly there!


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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.