Let’s all let out a collective breath because someone has finally decided to tackle this non-existent conundrum plaguing brides everywhere! I Do Tattoos has solved the dearth of something blue with their line of eight hand-drawn temporary tattoos designed for I Do Tattoos by talented artists right here in the United States. U! S! A! U! S! A!

Why should the bride choose a temporary tattoo over other something blue options? I Do Tattoos answers:

1. IT’S UNIQUE
You’ve worked hard to make your wedding day reflect you. A garter or blue handbag does nothing to help you express your personality. (SICK BURN, GARTER LOVERS!)

2. GREAT VALUE
It’s much more than Something Blue. It’s a keepsake and a photo frame too. Your chosen design is carefully screen printed in a beautiful, scratch-resistant silver ink. It is elegantly framed as a permanent keepsake. (A PERMANENT SCREENPRINT OF A TEMPORARY TATTOO, HUH.)

3. NO COMMITMENT
I Do Tattoo is only temporary! Save the commitment for your groom. (BECAUSE AQUAMARINE EARRINGS ARE SUUUUUCH A COMMITMENT! WHY WON’T THOSE EARRINGS LEAVE YOU ALONE??)

4. FLEXIBILITY
Your tattoo can be hidden underneath any style of wedding dress. So there’s no chance of disrupting the flow of your gown, jewelry and headpiece. Or, if you like, wear it for all to see! The choice is yours. (THANK GOODNESS FOR THAT!)

5. FUN
On your wedding night, imagine his delight when he discovers your tattoo in a “secret” hiding place! (HOW CLASSY IS IT TO BE ABLE TO SAY YOU WORE YOUR ‘SOMETHING BLUE’ ON YOUR BUTT!)

I kid… sort of. When I asked The Beard whether he though temporary tattoos for brides was a silly idea or a cute idea, he answered “Why can’t it be both?” Why, indeed? It’s obviously not my top choice for something blue — I wore a blue bridal garter handmade by a good friend, which according to I Do Tattoos was not expressive of my personality, whoops! — but if a bride chooses to wear something blue, she can wear anything from a blue handkerchief stuffed into her decolletage to a blue bridal bandanna to a blue tartan sash. And that anything can, of course, include a temporary tattoo applied directly to a bridal buttock on the morning of the wedding.

But now that you’re getting married, you need to decide whom to ask to attend you and in what capacity. That’s where things can get tricky. You may not really know what jobs there are, what sort of person is best suited to said job, or even whether you want these roles filled at all. The fact is that while you will need witnesses for legal purposes (anywhere from one to three people, depending on state law if you’re in the US), those people are not required to hold particular titles or wear matching clothes…but most of us do have those witnesses or other close friends and family members stand by our sides.

Fear not! Here’s a brief rundown of bridal attendants, common and un, in a typical western-style wedding. Read on to get a better idea of what your options are and how to best meet your needs in putting together a bridal party.

MOH: The maid or matron of honor is typically the bride’s best friend or sister. In addition to standing closest to the bride at the altar, the MOH is expected to: hold the groom’s ring (if there is one) until the bride needs it during the ceremony, hold the bride’s bouquet during the ring exchange, arrange the bride’s train at the altar (if she has one on her gown), plan the bridal shower and/or bachelorette party, and act as a general sounding board for the bride throughout the wedding planning process. She may also help out with any DIY projects the bride has planned and go along on wedding errands. Oh, and it’s becoming more common now to have the MOH give a toast at the reception, as well.

The fact is, though, that a great deal of this is optional. If distance or time or lack of skill in a certain area makes it impossible for the MOH to perform one or more of these ‘duties’ that doesn’t change her place in your heart, and shouldn’t change her place by your side. Choose the person you most want standing by your side as you pledge yourself to your love. Oh, and that does include making the title Man of Honor, as well. I attended a wedding once where the bride had her brother as her honor – and only – attendant. That was the right choice for them.

Best Man: What the MOH is to the bride, the Best Man is to the groom. He plots…er…plans the bachelor party if there’s going to be one, stands next to the groom at the altar, holds the bride’s ring until it’s time to put it on her finger, makes a toast at the reception, and is often entrusted with the job of making sure day-of payments get to vendors. Some quite old-fashioned wedding guides have the Best Man doing everything for the groom short of actually marrying the bride, but in practice it’s mostly stand, hand, toast, and wish the happy couple well.

As with the MOH, it is, of course, quite possible for the best man for the job to be a woman. You grooms out there, if your best bud happens not to be male or if you have a sister you’re particularly close to, don’t hesitate to ask her.

Bridesmaids: Most often, this is a bevy of identically-dressed women who join the MOH in standing next to the bride at the altar. Frankly, this job is almost entirely decorative and honorary. Mind you, I would never in a month of sundays suggest choosing bridesmaids according to their looks! If you choose to have them, pick people of either sex who are quite close to you.

These people may or may not, depending on distance, talents, time available, and personal inclination help you out with errands and projects for the wedding. And of course there’s no law stating that they have to dress alike. That’s entirely up to the bride. If you decree a particular outfit, then they wear it. If you give them parameters, they need to go get something that fits them. If you tell them to choose what they will, you need to trust them to pick something appropriate. The blunt truth is that showing up on time wearing what you ask them to wear is pretty much their only required duty. Anything else they may or may not do is up to them.

Groomsmen: More or less bridesmaids for the groom. These are guys the groom is close to who show up on time wearing what they’ve been asked to wear, from custom formalwear to choosing something clean out of their own closets. Again, the groom may ask women to fill this role, if he chooses to do so.

Of course, sometimes the groomsmen double in another role.

Ushers: These may or may not be the same people as the groomsmen. If you’re having a large wedding and have a lot of guys you’d like to include, this is a perfect role for some of them. They dress to match the groomsmen, and their job is to escort guests to their seats at the ceremony. When they have finished the job, they retire to their own seats and become guests from that point on. Again, ushers do not all (or at all) have to be men. That’s simply what has been traditional. The rule of thumb is to have one usher for every fifty guests. If you’re having less than a hundred guests, chances are you won’t bother to have ushers at all. And, as I said before, many times the ushers are just the groomsmen.

Junior Bridesmaids/Groomsmen: Is there a child in your life who has hit that awkward stage where it’s no longer cute to have them as flower girl/ring bearer, but they aren’t adults yet? Want to include him or her? Call them junior attendants. They can wear what the adults wear, if appropriate, or a slight variation on the theme. All they have to do is stand at the altar and be as decorative as they know how…but it might mean a lot to a thirteen-year-old to be included.

Flower Girl: Usually a small girl who follows after the bridesmaids in the processional strewing flower petals in the bride’s path. Of course, the flower girl can be a flower woman, a flower boy, or a flower man. Some couples even have a beloved dog perform the service. Flower girls, however, are about as optional as can be. Also, be aware that choosing a very tiny child or a four-legged friend may require quite a bit of flexibility. Small children can develop stage fright at inconvenient times and Fido may not understand why it’s not okay for him to relieve himself on his way to the altar.

Ring Bearer: The counterpart of the flower girl. Usually a small boy who carries a fancy pillow which may bear the actual rings, or (more often now) some sort of symbolic rings that will not be used in the ceremony. Again, if you have a favorite small nephew or niece, or good friend of either sex or any age that you’d like to include in this way, have at it. If you haven’t, don’t be afraid to simply exise the role.

Oh, and keep in mind that even inanimate ring bearers can cause trouble, if they so desire. My brother the alpaca rancher and his bride chose to have the lady’s beloved teddy bear, Bailey, act as ring bearer. He carried the real rings and the Best Man carried Bailey. When the time came for the rings to be exchanged, Bailey entirely refused to give them up. I’m quite sure it wasn’t that the ribbon on the pillow got knotted or anything. It wasn’t until the Best Man swore at the bear in Korean that the rings came free and my brother was able to marry his love.

Later on, someone checked Bailey’s tags and discovered that he had been made in Korea.

Just a cautionary tale from the Twilight Zone that is my history.

Pages/Train Bearers: These were typically small boys in very fancy clothes who helped the bride with her train as she processed to the altar. I say ‘were’ because they have pretty much fallen out of use since the early part of the last century. If, however, you happen to be having a very grand wedding gown with a terribly long train and have a large number of children who wish to be included in the excitement, you could consider ressurrecting the idea.

Readers/Soloists: Attendants? Maybe not. But many people give these jobs to people close to them who aren’t going to be standing at the altar. After all, you may choose to have just one formal attendant but want to include your favorite cousin or another close friend in the festivities. Make sure these people have good voices, clear diction, and aren’t inclined to stagefright.

Keep in mind that each and every one of these roles is entirely optional. So long as you have the legally required number of adult witnesses on hand to sign the license, it doesn’t matter if you have just yourselves and your officient at the altar, or a cast that would put a Broadway musical to shame. And while certain roles are expected to be carried out by men or by women or by children, the fact is you can fill any role you like with any person you prefer…and some can be handled by animals or inanimate objects, if you’re willing to put up with a few odd looks and sighs from those who Just Don’t Get It. Consider well and don’t be afraid to vary the theme.

The best way to decide isn’t by gender or age or expectation, but by looking into your heart and choosing who will make you happiest.

Of course, you will be wearing something (unless you are having a full-fledged naturist ceremony), but what is actually necessary? What’s optional? What do you really have to wear on your wedding day?

Wedding gown. Any fairly formal dress worn by a woman when she’s getting married. Today it’s usually white with a train, but that’s a fairly new tradition…as traditions go. Once upon a time, as in pretty much any time before the late nineteenth century, only very wealthy brides wore white, and before that, the wealthiest brides showed off the family fortune by using the most expensive dye stuffs they could manage. During most of the Westward Movement in the fledgling days of the United States, the most popular color for wedding gowns was actually plaid. Well into the twentieth century, a bride over the age of about twenty-five would never have dreamed of wearing white because she was ‘too old’ for such a youthful, innocent color. A second time bride would certainly never have considered white as an option, because white was for virgins.

Now the rules have relaxed in terms of who wears white. As Miss Manners repeatedly admonishes us, the state of the bride’s hymen is not our business. I agree firmly with her. If you look your best in white, or you want to wear white to ‘feel’ like a bride, by all means have at it, no matter what the state of your pocketbook or sexual history.

Unfortunately, by making white open to every bride, there has been a certain touch of pushiness to make sure every bride wears white whether she wants to or not. So do you have to wear white?

The answer to that is a resounding no. Do you look better and feel more festive in red? Blue? Pink? Purple? Green? Houndstooth checks? Well, then wear it. Whatever you choose to marry in is a wedding dress or wedding gown, depending on formality. And for that matter, you don’t have to wear a dress. You can choose a skirt and blouse, an elegant pant suit, a bikini, or a barrel on suspenders (braces, for our British readers), if you so desire. Legally, it makes no difference whatsoever. In terms of taste, well, that’s a different matter, but I leave that up to your personal thought processes. You know best whether wearing a bright orange dress will horrify or delight your social circle more…and which reaction you prefer to elicit in the masses.

Matching shoes. Some brides like the polished look of shoes that match the shade of their wedding gown perfectly. If that’s what you want, then dyed to match shoes are prtty much your option. Go to it, and enjoy your seamless look. It’s classic and classy.

Just keep in mind that matching is optional. It’s also perfectly correct and kind of fun to match your shoes to the bridesmaids’ dresses, your flowers, or that perfect red dress you were wearing when you met the groom. Metallics are fine. Bright colors are unexpected and quite delightful.

Choose your shoes according to your taste and the level of formality you intend for the day. Just be sure to get shoes you’ll be comfortable in when standing for a long time, and for goodness’ sake, break them in well before the big day! You don’t want blisters on your feet all during your honeymoon.

Reception Dress. Unless you’re from a culture where the bride changing her clothes multiple times during the celebration is traditional, chances are you’ve heard of this (if at all) only during the last couple years. It’s become a strong fashion trend among those with…well, the money to do it. The concept is supposedly that the bride will wear something so elaborate during the ceremony that she needs something lighter (and often shorter) to dance the night away in. Of course in practice, that isn’t always how it works out. Just recently on a wedding planning show on WETV, I saw a bride talking about her wedding gown which was moderately elaborate, and her reception gown which was pretty much entirely composed of crystals on a fabric backing and weighed in at sixteen pounds. It may have been spectacular to look at, but that’s an outfit that would get awfully uncomfortable awfully quickly.

This dress is, of course, entirely optional. If you have the cash and the desire, then have at it, and have my blessings. If you lack either, then just forget the concept exists. You don’t need it.

Reception shoes. Unless you plan to change your dress, I heartily encourage you to choose comfortable shoes for the wedding that you can feel good in through the reception. It’s up to you, of course, but one important thing to keep in mind is your hem. If you wear three-inch heels during the ceremony, then change into flats to dance in, you’re suddenly going to have a gown that’s dripping over the floor where those three inches used to be, leading to the potential for disaster on the dance floor. Choose a heel height you’ll feel good in for the whole celebration, or choose two dresses if you want to change shoes drastically.

Veil. Once upon a time, in certain cultures, a veil was an important part of wedding regalia that could not be ignored. In Ancient Rome, for instance, all brides wore flame-colored veils. It didn’t matter how old or young, what economic status, how many times they’d been married, or what their personal taste might be, they all wore the veil. Veils continued on and off, here and there, for several centuries. Then veils fell out of common use for most women, and veils as wedding regalia also fell into disuse. Brides wore whatever sort of hat or head covering was common to their geographic location and social status.

Then came the Neo-classic style that sprang up at the close of the eighteenth century. Suddenly, veils became big fashion news again, along with draped fabrics and a sudden downturn in the amount of underwear women wore. Since veils were fashionable, women wore them for their weddings. The odd thing is, when veils went out of general fashion, this time brides kept wearing them.

What does this mean for you? Well, it means it’s entirely optional whether or not you wish to wear a veil. It has not ‘always’ been done. It also means that if you were concerned about it being a statement of patriarchal dominance, you can stop worrying and decide on your own preference. The veil at this point is merely an outmoded fashion statement that got weirdly entrenched in one aspect of life. You’re just as married whether you choose to wear one or not, and it doesn’t say anything about who’s in charge of the new household.

Going Away Outfit. This is something that has fallen out of favor in the last forty years or so. It used to be that when the bride and groom left the reception, they were expected to immediately start off on their honeymoon, so they needed to be in traveling clothes. After the cutting of the cake and the bouquet and garter tosses, the bride and groom would discreetly disappear to change out of their formalwear. Once changed, they would leave the reception in a hail of rice or rose petals, and head for the train station or airport in nice new outfits. The bride would usually wear a corsage to mark the occasion. I think in all my life I have seen one bride and groom do this.

These days, the bride and groom are often the last people in attendance at their own reception. More and more couples choose to spend the wedding night at home or in a local hotel or B&B, have brunch with the families and out of town guests the next morning, and then head off to wherever they may be going. In that case, why change into traveling clothes? Why go to the expense of a new suit for each of you?

On the other hand, if you plan to start the honeymoon right away and feel like adding a cool, retro touch to your celebration, there are far worse things that you could do. Just don’t forget that corsage!

Picture from British Cosmo Bride/Photo by Nick Scott

Unless you’re going to city hall to tie the knot, your wedding will probably be anything but simple. Hosting a party for 50 or 100 or 500 people is always going to be somewhat complicated. Your favorite venue may not be available exactly when you want it. The caterer you adore may not normally offer the vegan options that will placate your mother’s side of the family. And it can sometimes feel like everyone from your bridesmaids to your FFIL can’t make a single decision without consulting you!

AAAARGH!

The good news is that while weddings are almost always chaotic, you can take steps to make yours a little less so. Here are a few tips that may help you stay sane as you walk boldly toward wifehood (or husbandhood, for that matter).

Pay your own way
Taking gifts of matrimonial money from loved ones often means taking their input under consideration as well. Just like too many cooks ruin the soup, too many meddling relatives can ruin a wedding. Footing the bill yourself means that you can do your own thing without feeling an ounce of guilt. Of course, you should say no nicely, but by all means feel free to say no!

Don’t DIY
Who hasn’t considered sitting down and whipping up two hundred handmade botanical paper invitations? But before you get your flower press out, consider this: The weeks and months between “I will” and “I do” fly by in the blink of an eye. What seems totally doable now may not seem as doable when you have a ton of other to-dos on your plate. Pros are your friends!

Choose a coordinator
I’m not saying you have to spend big bucks on a professional day-of coordinator by any means. A responsible friend or relative with a comprehensive timeline can ensure that you don’t spend your wedding day overseeing the operations of the caterer, the band, the baker, and the florist while simultaneously getting ready and avoiding your future spouse’s prying eyes. Not having to keep track of everything means less to worry about.

Ditch the favors
My informal poll revealed that almost all of your guests will prefer edible favors, but I can guarantee you no one will bat an eyelash if you do away with the bombonieres altogether. It’s one less expense and one less thing to obsess over.

Opt for easy outfits
As tempting as it is to spring for a huge bead-encrusted, poufy gown or a traditional morning dress ensemble, remember that you’re probably only going to wear your wedding day duds once. Choose comfortable clothing that is both easy to put on aaaand easy on your budget. There are plenty of gowns and suits out there that are classically attractive and quite formal. Remember, elegance doesn’t always require embellishment.

Buy online
Shopping online for invites, ceremony accessories, and even your florals is like walking into the world’s biggest superstore and being told that every price you see is negotiable. If you’re not married *rimshot* to the idea of going shopping with mom and your MOH, you can save yourself a ton or time and money. Naturally, I must plug my book here: iDo lists some of the best wedding vendor and retail sites out there!

Nix the mega-menu
No one has ever starved to death because they weren’t fond of the reception meal, so don’t think you have to satisfy every tummy in attendance. Some people don’t like beef, fish, or the vegetarian dish…so let them eat cake! Limit your menu options to a few dishes, and don’t worry about impressing anyone with haute cuisine. People’s favorite dishes typically involve basic comfort foods, so you really can’t go wrong with something as basic as a Thanksgiving dinner. On the other hand, if you know you’ll have lots of vegetarians in attendance, lose the meat altogether and serve something nearly everyone will enjoy, like a choice of pasta dishes.

Obviously there are hundreds of other ways you can simplify your wedding, from holding it on a Sunday morning — mmmm, brunch — to limiting the number of attendants to cutting the guest list. A reception can be simple AND chic, so don’t think that cutting down on the chaos has to mean serving sloppy joes and Coors Light. Simplifying is about making things easier on you and your spouse-to-be, not going for bare bones broke on the simplicity scale.

Now that I’ve had my say, I’d love to hear how those of you who have planned weddings or are already married have kept things simple!

Well, you’re in luck. You have me to cut through the sales talk and sentimentality and give you the skinny on what is actually needed, what’s a fun optional extra you might want to consider, and what’s outright wrong on toast with a cherry on top.

So let’s talk stationery.

Let’s face it, planning a wedding means a paper trail that spans from here to eternity and back again. Every time you turn around, someone is telling you about another paper product you cannot do without. From save the date cards (no, I absolutely cannot bring myself to use the acronym) to post-nuptual thank you notes, there’s a lot of mail involved in the process…and mail is not the only paper you’re going to be choosing.

What do you really need? How do you choose among the other possibilities? Let’s break it down and look at them one at a time.

Save the Dates: Optional extras. Less than twenty years ago, nobody had heard of this idea, and yet people managed to make it to weddings, even ones that were far away. If you want to send them out in your excitement, please be my guest. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to share your good news in a pretty way, and most of us can use another fridge magnet or two, anyway. If you are on a tight budget, though, or are looking for ways to leave a smaller carbon footprint with your nuptuals, this is a great place to start cutting.

The one situation where I would consider save the dates a Very Good Idea is if well over half of your guests will need to arrange flights to get to your wedding or if several days’ worth of activities will require them to arrange to take vacation time to be with you.

Invitations: Basic necessity. Any party more formal than ‘hey, why don’t we get a pizza and then go see a movie’ pretty much requires some form of invitation. The good news is that – depending on the level of formality of the event and your personal tastes – an invitation can take nearly any form you please. In fact, if you’re having a small wedding (less than fifty people) and decide to hand write a note to each guest on simple letter paper, Miss Manners will very likely shake your hand and need to dab discreetly at her eyes with her hanky. If you’re having more people than that or your handwriting is as illegible as mine is, chances are you’ll have invitations printed. Just keep in mind that if you choose oddly-sized invitations, ones with delicate things like seashells attached, or place the addresses in ways the postal machines aren’t expecting, you are going to pay extra to get them delivered. Be sure to consider that when budgeting for postage.

Reception Cards: Depend on the situation. If your wedding and reception are at the same site, and everyone invited to the reception is also invited to the ceremony, there is no need for reception cards. If, however, the wedding and reception are in two different locations, you need to make sure everyone knows that and gets to the right place at the right time. If the ceremony is only for immediate family but you want all your friends at the reception, you can’t send your friends an invitation to the part they aren’t invited to. Judge this one according to your circumstances.

Escort Cards: Depend on the situation. If you’re inviting quite a few people who do not have significant others, but would like them to bring a guest of their own, then escort cards are useful. Your guest can give it to his/her guest so that person has the information at his/her fingertips, too. If you haven’t done a lot of ‘and guest’ invites or aren’t encouraging your guests to bring guests of their own, then you don’t need these.

Maps: Almost invariably needed. Look, unless you’re having six of your best buds over to watch you get hitched in your living room where you all spend every saturday night and then heading out to your favorite watering hole for a celebretory drink, chances are someone on your guest list doesn’t know how to get to either your wedding, your reception, or both. Do your guests the courtesy of including directions. It’s a kindness.

Shower/Bachelor Party/Bachelorette Party Invitations: Not your problem. Since these are parties you don’t throw for yourselves, it’s up to your honor attendants to decide a) whether these parties are thrown, and b) how they are handled. You can drop hints about whether you’d like them at all or what form you’d like them to take. You can answer outright questions from the hosts, but you leave the details up to them. And that’s one less thing to worry about!…isn’t it?

Registry cards: Wrong, wrong, wrong. Chances are, the store(s) where you register will give you these cards and tell you to put them in your invitations. Honey, just toss them in the recycling. Registry information is only properly spread by word of mouth. People who want to know where you’re registered will ask either you, a member of one of the families, or a member of the wedding party. People who don’t want to know should not be bothered with the infomation. Remember, wedding gifts, while both traditional and welcome, are not, strictly speaking, required at all. To include registry information in your invitations (even for a bridal shower) is to indicate that you expect gifts. No matter how much you do expect gifts, it’s not polite to let others know you’re expecting gifts.

Programs: Optional extras. If you’re having a lot of audience participation in your wedding or plan to include a lot of religious/cultural traditions that the majority of your guests will not recognize or understand in your wedding ceremony, then a program is a courtesy. If all you’re explaining with it is the cast, chances are most of your guests don’t actually need the information. Most weddings I’ve been to where programs have been handed out…wound up with someone having to clear away a whole bunch of programs people didn’t bother taking out of the church. They can, however, act as handy emergencey fans in hot weather. Again, if you’re looking for a place to cut either the budget or your effect on the environment, this is a good place to do it.

Place Cards: Depend on the situation. If you are having assigned seating, of course you need place cards. If you are allowing guests to choose their own seats, there’s no use for place cards. Decide who’s deciding the seating and make your choice from there.

Menus: Optional extra. Some people put a menu card at each place setting to tell the guests what food is coming. Others don’t feel the need. There’s no right or wrong here, and again, this is a great place to cut expenses and environmental impact.

Cocktail/Dinner napkins: The only true optional aspect of this item is whether they will be paper or whether you will acquire or rent linen ones. Choose between paper and linen according to the formality of the event. Many halls will include basic linen rentals in their reception packages, so check with the site about that. If you want to, you can get paper napkins printed with your names and wedding date on them, often to match your invitations. If you’re having an informal enough reception to use paper, I suggest just getting plain ones in a color that looks nice with your decor. Not only will you save some money, you can use any leftovers without someone giving you grief about how many you over-ordered when you’re still pulling out your ‘Paul and Diane, Forever In Love’ napkins for every pizza bash six months later.

Wedding Announcements: Depend on the situation. If you’re inviting everyone you love to the wedding, you don’t need announcements. If, however, you plan on having a fairly small, intimate celebration but then would like to share the news with a lot more people, announcements can be useful. Announcements are also a great way to spread the news that you’ve eloped.

Thank you notes: Basic necessity. People are coming to your party. They’re bringing you gifts. Some people who aren’t coming to the party are still sending you gifts. This means you need to do them the courtesy of thanking them properly. Yes, even for the gifts that you can’t imagine what on Earth possessed them to choose that. Choose pretty note paper and write letters to everyone, or pick thank you cards that match your invitations and write a personal note. Whatever you do, do NOT use any sort of form letter thank you. These are people who love you, these are people you invited to spend one of the most important days of your life with you, these are people who at minimum looked at your registry list and chose something off of that. The least you can do is write a quick note to say that it arrived safely, you are grateful that they cared enough to send you something.

As with any other aspect of your wedding, your stationery can add to the overall look and feel of the day. Choose thoughtfully, and you’ll wind up with what you really want and what you really need, no more, no less.