Inviting trouble....

I just got a phone call from a mother of a bride (MoB) , it appears the family was about to break up over invitations to a wedding.

The woman was wondering how many invites were needed and when to send them.

This is a simple problem. Briefly, do as your mother suggests; you'll need a few more invites than you think, and you should get them in the post before everyone books their holidays. After that it is all just complications.

The practicalities are that you need to decide on your design and layout for your invites as soon as your date, time and venues are booked and then order your invitations. This can be anything from a year, to three to six months before the ceremony. The more time you give yourself, the less rushed it will be.

If you're going for a professionally printed invitation; get a printers proof. There is usually a charge for each proof you order and it takes around a week to produce. If you don’t like what you see, you’ll need to make changes and order another proof.

To calculate the number of invitations you need, count one invitation for each couple (married/partnered or living together), and one each for families with younger children. Also you need an invitation for each single guest, (these singles may also be the grown up children of families already invited - the ones aged 18 years old or older and still living at home). For example, in a household with a set of parents and two children (one child 16 and and a 20 year old), two invitations would be sent. One sent to the parents with the name of the 16 year old on the line below the parents’ names, and one to the 20 year old.

Add approximately 25 invitations to your order: 10-12 reserves for misspellings etc, plus a dozen extras for last-minute guests (and, there WILL BE last-minute guests.) Don't forget to add at least 25 to 50 additional envelopes in case of mistakes in addresses (if you have too many,and since they're good quality, you can always use them for your Thank You notes later).

The key question leading to the family break up was: when to send the invitations.... I suggest you aim to post your invitations six weeks before the wedding.

If you wish - send them sooner I've got one here beside me that I got in February for a wedding at the end of December this year (yes, I even go to weddings as a civilian - not just as the photographer or bridesmaid!)....