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Men are now stepping up their game when it comes to planning their wedding with their mates in tow. The disconnection that men once felt from planning their own wedding is slowly dissipating offering some relief for their significant others from the overwhelming stress and hustle. Women are just too familiar with the extremely labour-intensive planning process, especially when they want to have a unique experience and not just book an ordinary venue package deal. This special teamwork will undoubtedly involve some head butting, but essentially a ride to remember too.
In the past, wedding vendors only had to deal with unpleasantries from bridezillas, but in modern times we have also seen the rise of groomzillas. The latter being quite terrifying in their own ways, but not as emotionally packed as their female counterparts. Together, they create an undefeatable team eager to have the wedding of their dreams. An array of factors have played a role in influencing men to finally be proactive and not just contribute financially or pay for their wedding. It would be fair to say that the media has had a major role in it from subtle articles and blogs to reality television shows like BBC Three’s Don’t Tell The Bride, along with the rising awareness of gender equality.
All You Need is Team Work
Wedding planning will be 80% expenses and 20% decision making and even the easiest task of choosing wedding invitations can turn into a roller coaster ride. Selecting wedding stationery may sound like an easy feat, but with the endless designs and styles available, the modern bride will need her groom to help and will expect nothing less.
So how do you go about choosing the perfect invitations and stationery?
1. Communicate Your Ideas
You and your bride will obviously have different opinions and style preferences based on your personalities. Tackle this step by brainstorming and writing down how you both want your invitations to look like. Your taste, as well as your bride’s matter as your wedding, belongs to both of you and they should be reflected in the stationery you choose. Be proactive and listen carefully. Talk openly about your thoughts and feelings, and a compromise will be made at the end if needed. There are various areas of planning such as entertainment, menswear and transport that you can get involved in too so don’t be shy to take some control and speak up.
2. Do Some Research
There are a multitude of wedding invitations and stationery companies around the world that cater to couples locally and internationally. Each one of them specialize in something different and each will have something different to offer besides price. Look for those that can provide you with a custom design if not from their own collection. Think about what sort of stock and printing finish would best highlight your wedding announcement along with your theme color and this would help you narrow down styles and designs to choose from. Keep in mind how much you are willing to spend or if you are on a budget.
3. Get Quotes for Comparison
To make sure that you are still working within your allotted budget for wedding invitations ask stationery vendors for quotes based on the specifics of your design either custom or similar to what they already have. Many also offer package deals with great inclusions and you can use this to compare prices and finally decide on who to go with.
Considering that the average cost of wedding invitations would be somewhat around £3-10 per guest, it would be wise to have a breakdown of costs for your invitation set and on the day stationery to avoid surprises that can dampen the mood. It is a fact that 50% of couples on average go over budget when sudden changes have to be made, so put extra money aside if possible.
4. Get Samples
Once you have an idea of what you want your invites to look like make sure to get paper samples with print finishes even if generic. This would be an excellent next step for you to help narrow down on what type of paper, print finish and design work for you. If you are wanting an entirely custom design made then these samples can also help put the design you are envisioning together. Many offer samples for free and others refund the cost of samples when you finally place an order with them.
5. Stay Ahead of the Game
Rushing is the road to unnecessary overwhelming stress and problems. Never wait for the last minute to order your invitations and on the day stationery as a lot of processes are involved from placing an order to receiving it. There is a huge risk of making mistakes or overlooking errors and not all wedding invitation businesses can produce stationery in just a matter of days, while deliveries can sometimes be delayed. Don’t ruin your wedding planning experience because of this and lock in your orders as soon as you have venues and dates booked in.
We are seeing more and more men around the globe becoming actively and happily involved in every aspect of wedding planning, including key aspects such as choosing the wedding invitations and the venue. If in the past, wedding stationery selection was deemed a woman’s job or too feminine a task for men, today we see a large number of grooms taking the initiative to surprise their partners with creative ideas and romantic efforts.
And it makes perfect sense why. The wedding invitation is one of the core fundamentals of any wedding and to see which explains why so many get really excited about getting to choose that special invite. This is a promising indication that modern couples are more open and excited about the entire process together.
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This content is sponsored by Annabel Monaghan.
Photo: Shutterstock