It can be difficult to get your head round your wedding guest list to begin with.  Thinking about who you need to send all those save the date cards to can be mentally exhausting, so here’s our guide for choosing your guest list.

The people who you decide you want to witness your marriage and subsequent celebration is very important so you should treat the guest list as a priority and pay it due attention.  As well as being one of the most important things you have to decide on for your wedding day, it can also be one of the most difficult too.  Wedding save the date cards obviously need to be sent to immediate family in most cases but deciding on the remainder of the guests is another matter.

The best thing to do is to make an initial list of people on both sides who factor in your lives.  Don’t neglect anyone who has recently become a part of your lives – you don’t have to have known someone for years for them to be special to you.  As well as your individual friends, don’t neglect shared friends too.  Once you have a list of everyone, split it into two columns of who you want to attend the ceremony and those guests who will be invited to the reception.  Consider your budget and the balance of people you are inviting.

You will have to make some difficult decisions, let down certain people and maybe even cause a few arguments too.  What you need to remember is that this is your day and you have the right to send save the date cards to whoever you choose.  It’s not always easy but persevere and you will be surrounded by special people on your wedding day and have the most amazing time with those that you love.

A bridesmaid has many duties to the bride in the lead-up to the wedding – even more so for the Chief Bridesmaid or Maid of Honour.

The bride’s head will be full of things that need doing, deadlines, budgets, colours, dresses…the list is endless.  So, if you are a bridesmaid, you can play a big part in helping to keep the bride calm and organised in preparation for her wedding day.

First up, act like a bride yourself and know what needs to be sorted.  This usually means that save the date cards will need to be one of the first things that are organised, so that everyone is informed of the intended wedding date and can make sure that they keep it free.

Next up, ask the bride what you can do to make her life easier.  She won’t want you to make decisions for her, but phoning round and getting quotes on her behalf will be a huge weight off her shoulder.  Offer to go with her to any appointments and view potential venues, dresses, accessories and anything else that she can think of – especially if the groom-to-be is unable to make any appointments.

One the save the date cards are in the bag and people know when and where the wedding is going to be, you can get on with the very important task of organising a hen do!  Take hints from the bride, speak to the other girls who will be taking part and organise something truly memorable.

Save the date cards can be one of the very fist things that you sort out for your wedding day – making sure that all-important date in every one’s diaries!  The difficulty can be in finding save the date cards which are perfect for your big day.

I have seen many different designs over the years- flowers, ribbons, palm trees, animals, kids…  and all of them have really reflected the couple that have sent them out.  A friend recently went through weeks and weeks of looking for something that was very ‘them’ but really couldn’t come up with anything (she’s a designer by trade so was always going to be hard to please!)

She eventually resigned herself to designing her own and used small squares of mirror with the details etched upon them.  They cost her a small fortune in materials and then they all had to be either hand delivered or packaged very carefully before sending!  But, the end result was that she adored her save the date cards / mirrors, and that’s what’s important.  Whether you buy them, make them, beg, steal or borrow them, you know when you’ve got the right ones and can get down to the business of writing to all of your guests with your happy news!