Invitation Wars

By Penelope Goldstream, getting down and dirty planning her wedding

Taking a cut-throat approach to ditching your family?

It’s now coming to that time of year for me where I need to make some ‘life changing decisions’; the sort of decisions that could potentially make forthcoming family celebrations pleasant or very uncomfortable for me.  The magnitude of this decision is such that it could mean family members either love me or loathe me…I’m talking about the need to devise my wedding guest list!

Its exactly 387 days until my wedding (this may sound like a long time for some but I’ve been engaged for 384 days, so for me my wedding date is fast approaching) but considering the month in which I’m marrying is December and having quite a few overseas guests, it is important that I have ‘some’ idea of who will be getting a ceremony invitation.

My H2B has very kindly allowed me to make the final decision with ‘our’ guest list!  In some respects I feel as if I have created some problems myself as I have chosen a venue with a seated capacity of 60; however if you find your ideal venue then you’ll do whatever it takes to make it work.

Not only do I have to worry about who I will or will not offend by inviting or not inviting; I also need to think about the type of invitation a guest will be receiving.  When it comes to weddings, I’m fully aware that some people would be more than happy with ‘just’ an evening invitation whereas others simply expect a full ceremony invitation or they believe they are not an important part of my life.  Eloping to a wonderfully hot country is becoming ever more appealing now!

“With this type of situation it is important to remember the reason why one gets married” – I hear this quote often but it’s difficult to differentiate when part of the wedding is sharing your happiness with your loved ones.  However I have devised a cut-throat approach which I intend to stick too; if I have not physically seen somebody (except people who reside in a different country) in the past 12 months they are automatically off the list.  Unfortunately if it means upsetting Great Aunt Mildred who I haven’t’ seen since I was 12 in favour for a best friend then c’est la vie.

Lets be honest about the situation, I’m undoubtedly going to upset somebody so I might as well go to town and invite whoever the heck I want too!

Here’s to the long search for perfect wedding…cheers!