I, Loveaudrey, hereby swear never to take a wedding invitation for granted ever again.
Should one arrive on our doormat, I will skip with glee to retrieve it. I will stroke the fine envelope and admire the penmanship employed to scribe our address.
I’ll savour every second of the opening, slowly peeling back the seal of the envelope, inhaling the papery goodness within as I do.
I’ll imagine the fair bride {because, let’s face it, it’s usually the bride} sat hunched over her precious mountain of invitations, stuffing envelopes and adhering stamp after stamp after stamp.
I’ll recognise her dedication to the task, continuing on even when her tongue was left numb by the repeated licking of the glue used to seal her beloved bridal paper goods.
As I read what’s printed on the card, I’ll relish every detail. I’ll admire the font, the choice of colour and the weight of the paper.
And if the invitation appears to possess even the slightest hint of a DIY detail, if I detect a smudge of glue, or crisp edges that could only have been fashioned by a bride-to-be wielding a craft knife, or if there is ribbon or twine that has been tied lovingly by hand, I swear I will double my efforts and linger even longer to appreciate the magnificence of such efforts.
As my eyes scan the text, I’ll acknowledge the thought that will have no doubt been put into selecting the words on the page, the sentences that express the very essence of the object. Someone is getting married and they want us to share that moment with them.
After all this, I will respond swiftly with my R.S.V.P. I will include a personal message expressing our gratitude and excitement. I’ll tell the bride-to-be and her groom that their invitations are exquisite {whether they be to my taste or not}.
Because invitations take hours.
There is blood, sweat, and tears.
There are spelling mistakes, paper cuts and stamps.
Lots of stamps.
And because, if the sender is anything like me, she’ll have hesitated in front of the wide mouth of the post box, the stack of invitations clasped tightly in her hand, and felt a mixture of nerves and excitement and anticipation as she finally let them fall.
‘This is it,’ she thinks, ‘it’s really happening’.
Loveaudrey xxx
Awww! This is so beautifully written, capturing all that is glorious about the debacle (!) that is “wedding Invitations”. Wonderful 🙂 xx
Awww this made me well up a little – it’s almost poetic and oh so true!
xx
Amazing and definitely oh so true. I do not envy you the horror that is trying to get RSVP’s out of the inconsiderate folk you invite. Those who don’t bother because you should just KNOW they are coming. Those who keep forgetting. Those who thought they’d already told you on the phone/when they saw you. Those who just can’t be arsed.
And then you get the wonderful RSVP’s through who temporarily make you forget the horror of the other inconsiderate so and so’s!
yep, sounds about right.
x
This has actually made me cry! That’s all I can say! xxx
What a lovely post. I can’t wait to get planning our wedding, it’s the “little” things like invitations and the the trimmings I am looking forward to creating the most!
xx
The last line gave me goosebumps… ‘This is it,’ she thinks, ‘it’s really happening’. Ahhh!!
xx
So poetic indeed, love the way you write!
We spent last night trying to decide on wording and layout for our invites, so this was a very timely post for me. It currently feels like a joint project, thanks to my boy’s love of graphic design, but I’m sure it will come down to me hand stamping/tying/addressing etc. Not that I’m complaining (yet!), the ‘shopping for stationery supplies’ part makes me v. excited indeed!
Thank you ladies! I’m so glad you enjoyed reading.
Despite all the hard work and stress, I really enjoyed this part of wedding planning. I feel a little sad that I no longer need to pour over stationery supplies and ogle pretty paper goods. Although, there’s still the order of services to do I suppose…
Loveaudrey xxx
Love this post and I esp like your final sentance. You’re right, it is a sense of occasion… You have convinced me lovely lady. Thanks for your help xxx