So you’ve Been Invited to a Wedding

Planning a wedding is a trying time for every couple. I, for one, looked at my husband-elect during the planning process and wondered if I could really spend the rest of my life with a man who couldn’t tell the difference between a very slate-like blue and a cool blue-toned gray. As you can surmise, responding to a wedding invitation incorrectly, giving a gift inadequately or dressing inappropriately, and thereby making this stressful time more difficult than it has to be, is a sure-fire way to have your friend/cousin/sister screaming at you and her mother/your aunt/your own mother bad mouthing you to anyone who compliments or congratulates her on anything concerning the wedding.

“The centrepieces are lovely.” “Yes, it really is too bad Mary didn’t tell the cashier that she was purchasing something from the registry.”

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Wedding Planning VIII: Wedding Invitations

Many couples today are following the trend of making their own wedding invitations using do-it-yourself kits, and why not, you can buy any pone of the multitudes of pretty designs, write exactly what you want and conform to no man – all at a fraction of the price of sending them out to be professionally done. For me, finding the perfect wedding invitation kit was almost as emotional as finding the perfect wedding dress. It took me forever to make a decision, fearing that I would settle for one style only to find one I liked better the next day. Of course this fear was realised every time I stepped into the wedding isle of my local craft supply store to pick up another item for the wedding. Eventually I had to say to myself, “the invitations you picked have pleased your mother, the toughest battle has been won,” and stop worrying that a more perfect option would or had come around. Aside from this inevitable circumstance, the whole process was a primarily positive experience. I would recommend this option to any bride on a budget. Continue reading

Registering for The Dream

My fiancé and I had planned on registering for our wedding gifts at two different stores from the beginning of our wedding planning venture. We love cooking and entertaining so we knew we wanted to register at a one of a kind, one hundred year old kitchen and entertaining institution located in the heart of our quaint hometown. This poses an immediate problem as several of our guests won’t be coming from our distant hometown. To solve this problem we decided we would register at a national chain store in addition to the boutique shop with only one obscure location. For many reasons, including the old, ‘this used to be better,’ we decided to not register at the small town store and register only at the national chain department store. This large well known store is The Bay, it was one of the first department stores in Canada, and therefore, just about every city has at least one. They also boast being “Canada’s biggest and best gift registry.” These facts left us feeling pretty confident that we would be able to find everything we had ever wanted or needed with this one store – we were sorely mistaken. Continue reading

Wedding Planning VI: Bridal Registry

With our wedding less than four months away, the time for the really exciting and stressful aspects of planning a wedding has arrived. The one wedding preparation my fiancé and I have been eagerly awaiting since the night he proposed is registering for our wedding gifts. Continue reading