DIY Invitation Disaster

What is the worst thing that can happen when you make your own wedding invitations? You make a mistake, that’s what. And not just any mistake. Nooooo. A monumental mistake.

I got MY WEDDING DATE wrong!

To be fair, it was just the year (I wrote 2013 instead of 2014), but after several rounds of proofreads and at least five proofreaders each time, NOT ONE PERSON PICKED UP THE ERROR.

I kid you not!

Here’s the long version:

I used the same card-stock as we did for our Save the Dates and then had some lace to make little mini buntings on the invitations. So, I sat down and started making them. Then they changed…

I decided against the bunting because I wanted to keep the red twine or raffia (I think it is called), from our Save the Dates.

So, I went with a simple invite with lovely font. It was all bundled together with a little reminder card that sits on your mantel and with the RSVP. Then, when I brought them in to work to show off, a friend noticed the date was wrong… of the wedding!!!

Yep, I had written 2013 instead of 2014.

So, I restarted the main invite, after having words with my proofreader.

I freaked out immediately because I didn’t have enough card stock and there just wasn’t enough time to get more. Well there had to be time because either way there were no invites going out so I had to wait the extra day to get some more card-stock sent out. I was saved by Discount Wedding Papers. I called her in a panic and she was so lovely to get them out to me express so I would receive them the next day. I am so thankful! I got double what I needed because whilst unlikely I didn’t want to have the same thing happen.

As I was remaking the invites my soon to be sister-in-law pointed out another mistake that no one had noticed on the little cards that were going to be on the mantel. I was mortified and angry all rolled into one. So off I went to create them all over again too… thank heavens I got extra card-stock is all I kept thinking.

Whilst doing what was now my third invitation set I changed the design. I got rid of the formal invite and put it all on the mantel piece card. This way it was A less work and B looked cute and something different to what most people send out. I still had the red raffia in it as I was bundling it with the RSVP in a cute little package.

So it was 8 weeks before the wedding now and I have finally finished all the invites and I ready to tie and pack into envelopes when, yes it is exactly what you think… my heart raced and fell into my stomach all at once. I felt my face get hot and then I just cried… an error! Another one – again. I had five different people look at it this time, five! How did no one spot it? How did I not spot it? My RSVP had 2013 on it instead of 2014. I should have spotted this because I made that error weeks ago.

It is 8 weeks from the wedding and my invites were wrong again! I phoned a good friend and vented and cried and yelled and argh’d and grrrr’d my little heart out and she stopped me and said “”Choose. Don’t sit there worrying yourself about it, you have two choices… make then again and have them out even later than you wanted or send them out with the error on the RSVP date” I hung up the phone kinda angry at her for being so blunt about it but then realised she was right. I have cried and worried myself so much on these invites I had to just make a decision and stick with it.

So I did… I sent them out with the error. It wasn’t the wedding date it was just the RSVP and just the year at that. So I did it, and I felt so much better almost instantly.

I wonder how many people have noticed and are just polite enough to say nothing.