THE WEDDING GUEST LIST "HOW TO" THAT WILL KEEP YOUR SANITY IN CHECK

IMAGE COURTESY OF STYLE ME PRETTY

The Wedding Guest List. It's been a big topic of conversation in our household, and is still on going! To help make your lives easier, here's a few questions we have asked ourselves about who to invite to our big day. I’ll kick us off with one we got from close friends of ours:

• Would you go to dinner with them, and I mean just them? This one helped us cull A LOT of people
• Will you be friends with them in 10 years?
• Do you see them regularly outside of work, gym, any activities?
• And, most importantly are they absolutely over the moon for you two to get married?

Then there’s the controversial additions:

Plus ones

The on again off again partner, the friend of the friend who will know nobody else at your wedding, the ex of another guest who always makes a scene. You don’t need to feel compelled to hand out a plus one to everybody. If it’s going to keep the peace, maybe consider inviting the partner to the reception, or even just for a boogie and a drink later on in the night.

The Longest Standing Friends

You’ve had them as long as you can remember, but these days it’s a rarity to see them. If your relationship has been drifting apart for years, don’t feel the urge to invite them – the likelihood is that they probably aren’t expecting an invitation to come their way. If you really feel the need to include them, consider an invite to your hens or stag party instead.

Your Parents Friends

Their kids went to school with your other siblings, or they’re part of a group your parents belong to. Either way, your parents are adamant they want their attendance. No matter who they are, if you never see them don’t feel pressured to invite them – unless of course your parents are paying for the wedding, then you’re on your own girlfriend.

Children

It’s your big day, so if that means you want an adults only ceremony, go ahead cut the children out of the picture. Do be sure to clearly state this on the invite, so it’s out in the open and people can make alternate arrangements. And besides, who wouldn’t be thankful for a night off from their kids!?

You were invited to their Wedding

Now, usually it would go without saying that you reciprocate the gesture, however if your friendship has significantly faded since their wedding, or you are limited by numbers, don’t feel pressured to add them to your guest list.

When I hold events, I typically invite everyone I can think of, and I’m careful not to exclude anyone – cause nobody likes to feel left out, right!? But, the buck stops here for your wedding day! If you’re unsure about someone, or if anyone is less than 110% happy for you, don't feel pressured to invite them – it’s a privilege to be on a wedding guest list, and people understand that there after often limitations around budgets and venue capacity. Don’t be afraid to be brutal, it's YOUR day. End. Of. Story.

The Kiwi DIY Bride

It’s a bit of an oxymoron, isn’t it? “Kiwi DIY” and “Bride” just don’t seem to gel the same way as “American DIY Bride”. We fall in love with an item on Etsy and then have our dreams dashed by the horrendous shipping costs, or the most perfect tutorial online is courtesy of items from Home Depot - it’s time to put a stop to that right here and now and embrace our Kiwi ingenuity.

Being a DIY Bride in New Zealand doesn’t have to be hard, it simply calls for a little more creativity and organisation. Some would think I am making things harder on myself by not utilising a wedding planner for our out of town wedding, yet here I am breaking the boundaries (We will see how that goes later down the track), and I want to show you how too.

Once you have the big things out of the way (see previous post here), it’s time to start thinking of a theme. Hopefully you will have a rough idea of what this is going to shape up like given you’ve already booked your venue, and your Pinterest board is probably chocka! If not, you can check mine out here.

At the top of my list to recommend is making your own stationary. I invested in a monthly subscription of Adobe Photoshop to make Save the Date cards myself, and invites are currently in production thanks to a huge helping hand from my Sister in Law to be, Lucy, from Magill Designs (now we have got the hang of Glyphs). If you don’t have a Photoshop expert at hand, YouTube is fantastic reference point for step by step tutorials. I'm using this subscription to make name and table number cards, seat reservation signs, programmes, menus, photo boards, Thank You cards – the list is endless!

If you have lots of time on your hands, you could make paper folds and envelopes yourself, but I will be purchasing these things. Etsy and AliExpress have great options, but if you want to support local like myself, and want a hassle free option that is similarly priced, head along to PINCPocketfolds. Remember to keep it simple, and you won’t have any issues at all.

Thrift shopping is another fantastic way to uncover relics and items for your wedding. From rustic, to chic, to glamorous there are so many perfect pieces just waiting to be dug up. Look at the bigger picture when it comes to some items, would a coat of paint or some floral decoration bring it back to life? For Christchurch Brides, Ferry Road/Woolston area have some absolutely fabulous shops to get you going. Dig around your Grandparents homes too, you might get lucky! I’ve also found some bargains on Trademe, and often save searches so I’m first to jump on bargain “Buy Now” auctions.

Don’t get me wrong, I definitely know how to appreciate a beautiful bouquet of flowers, but for the budget conscious Bride, this can save you a small mountain of cash. You can put your bouquets yourself, or even with your Bridesmaids the night before the Wedding. Christchurch Brides, Moffat's are your go-to flower wholesaler for in season blooms, and the options are endless when it comes to tying them together. Lace, ribbon, hessian, small family heirlooms are just some ideas in this department.

Have you considered making your own Wedding favours? Homemade treats or preserves, scented candles, little succulents – the list is endless. Another fantastic idea is to simply donate the estimated cost of the favours and donate to your favourite charity. It’s a great way to give back and well received by guests.

All in all, anything goes when it comes to DIY. With time on your side, you can afford to chop and change things to better suit your theme and make your day all the more special. My key piece of advice? Accept all the help you can get, and enjoy the biggest party you will ever hold!

If you have any ideas, or want to ask any questions, do get in touch – I’d love to hear from you.

Bridezilla - Be Gone! Your Simplified Wedding Planning Guide

I just LOVE wedding planning. Being organised from day dot has certainly helped keep the stress levels down, and thank goodness, because my oh my have I heard some horror stories in recent times! I’m no expert, but I thought sharing a little of our experience, tips and tricks for keeping our wedding (and event) planning stress to an absolute minimum will hopefully assist you gorgeous Brides and Grooms to be.

First off, keep it simple. You don’t need a 24 page checklist to tick off month by month to plan your big day. Getting the big things out of the way (see below) makes for a far more enjoyable experience, and leaves far more time to potter along as needed.

Planning your big day can turn into a nightmare if you don’t sort the big items first, especially if you are wanting it in peak season. Even planning our wedding over a year out we found we were having to get nifty about securing some things (hello draining the bank account paying in advance). Bear in mind, we are getting married in Queenstown so the options are far more limited, but our “to book” list consisted of these:

• Venue (and rainy day plan)
• Celebrant
• Band
• Photographer
• Videographer (I must admit I only did this last month, but it was a mission finding availability)
• Guest Transport
• Accomodation
• Hair and Makeup Artists
• Flowers
• Cake (and caterers if required)

Secondary to this is of course the Dress, which if not taken off the rack can take a few months to arrive. Now, I never got that crying moment the Brides on TV have, but I think when my dress arrived last month and tried it on, in that moment I realised that this was real.

For us, it was important to get our Save the Dates out well ahead of a normal schedule as our big day is so conveniently tied in with the Motatapu race, and the NZ 2017 Golf Open, so small town accommodation was going to become an issue very quickly.

Once all this was out of the way, we could breathe again. You won’t all be the same, but this whole process has become a bit of a hobby of mine. I’m constantly pinning ideas (@mamatoldme), have favourited searches on Trademe for items new and old, am scouring fashion sites for dresses, suits and shoes – all of which I can highly recommend, especially if you are not having a wedding planner like myself.

Below are some of my favourite blog sites, bursting with inspiration for weddings of all budgets:

Style me Pretty

Paper and Lace

Something Turquoise

DIYBride

Auckland/Wellington Weddings

Just under seven months out and invitations are underway, rings are purchased, and the initial appointment for suits is today.

A lot to digest, but I hope some of you beautiful Brides and Grooms to be have something to take away from this wee post. Let me know if you would like to see more on the progress front, or have any questions for Mama.

Congratulations, Enjoy, and Good Luck!

Kai Carrier - Review and GIVEAWAY!

Having products that enable me and my partner to store food in an easy, accessible way is incredibly important when it comes to our lifestyle. It's a very rare sight to see us at home during daylight hours during the week, and over the weekend we are flat-tack between household chores, renovating and living life with our two gorgeous labradors, friends, and family.

I was told about the award winning brand Kai Carrier by a new Mama who was gifted some pouches to store her homemade baby food. As soon as I saw the product, I fell in love!! As a child, my mother would be forever purchasing snap lock bags and hand washing them - but they would only last so long. At last, the problem was solved with these eco-friendly, BPA, PVC and Phthalate free, storage pouches! 

With the click of the order button, my purchase of the Kai Carrier Pouch Pack was complete. An absolute bargain at $39, this combo pack consists of:

• 5x 140ml pouches with choke proof lids
• 5x 300ml pouches
• 5x Kai'cicle (Ice Block Pouches)
• 5x Snack Packs
• 2x 600ml pouches

If you head over to the Kai Carrier website you will find the range of products available singularly, and in combo packs - some even include handy tools to enable super clean pouches. There is a size to fit all purposes, and are tried and tested by Mama to be dishwasher safe, microwave safe, and freezable - here's a few ideas that might work for you:

• Homemade baby food - what can be better for baby!
• Frozen ice cubes - breast milk, oil/herb mixes, stock
• Soups, sauces, smoothies, recipe bases/stock
• Snacks - vege sticks, bliss balls, nuts, seeds
• Toiletries, travel essentials
• Damp cloths for sticky fingers

Did someone say... GIVEAWAY ???

I am so excited to announce that thanks to Kai Carrier, I have one Kai Carrier Pouch Pack to give away to one special follower. That includes 5x 140ml pouches with choke proof lids, 5x 300ml pouches, 5x Kai'cicle (Ice Block Pouches), 5x Snack Packs and 2x 600ml pouches!!

To be in to win, like Kai Carrier and Mama Told Me on Facebook, find and share the post, and tag a special friend that you would love to introduce to these amazing products. Entries will close Thursday 30th July.

And because you all mean so much to us, we have an amazing offer in place - using the code MAMA, you will receive 20% off all Kai Carrier products, valid until August 31st 2015.

Mama is so impressed, and I know you will be too!!