James and Rox got engaged in January 2010. He’s a 6ft 3in Brummie, and she’s a Yorkshire lass who tops out at 5ft 2in on a good day. They were together for seven whole years before James proposed, so either Rox has the patience of a saint, or he was well worth the wait. Sadly, it’s the former. James will be representing the boys every week up until the big day in August.
Rox and I received the last of our RSVPs at the weekend, a mere two months after the expiry date. Don’t worry, I’ve already ranted in a previous blog about tardy replies so I’m not going there again. The reason I bring it up is because we now know precisely how many guests can make our wedding, and it’s left us with a bit of a dilemma.
You see, a few more people than we expected are unable to come. Ordinarily this would be a cause for great celebration, as all wedding-related money-saving opportunities are, but our numbers have now dropped below an agreed threshold with the caterers so it’ll affect the price per head. Our reception venue adopts a DIY approach - they provide the stunning location, and we source the food, booze, entertainment etc. This was perfect for us, because it meant we could then cherry pick our preferred suppliers instead of being obligated to use a venue’s expensive in-house teams. It’s created way more work for Rox and me, but it’s also meant that we’ve made some real savings.
So when we first engaged the caterers back in August last year (wow - that feels like a lifetime ago), they agreed to a reduction in their price per head providing we didn’t drop below a certain number of guests. Well unfortunately we have, and suddenly our negotiating skills don’t look too clever. In fact, the impact on the price per head is so significant that it’s actually worth us inviting eight more guests to get back over the minimum threshold. So that’s what we’ve done.
Last Saturday, Rox and I plumbed the depths of our rubbish memories in an attempt to conjure up some long-forgotten friends that we could realistically invite to our wedding without it seeming really weird. I even suggested a couple of old girlfriends, but unsurprisingly that wasn’t very well received. Note to self: it is never appropriate to suggest hooking up with ex-girlfriends, even if they might be able to save me some money. Schoolboy error.
Eventually we agreed on the B-list. In truth we felt pretty awful that we hadn’t invited these people in the first place, and decided that they all should have made the cut to begin with. And I’m not just saying that in case they happen to read this – honest.
So that really is it now; we’ve nailed our invite list. Unless of course any of the latest invitees can’t make it either, in which case we’re screwed. Either we’ll have to bite the bullet and accept the hike in the food costs, or we’ll be down to the C-list. We’ll be scouring Facebook for anyone we’re even vaguely acquainted with just to make up the numbers. I can see it now, “Hi it’s James, remember me? No? We used to play together at nursery. No? Never mind. What are you doing the first weekend in August, and do you have a plus one?” Rox and I aren’t too keen on having practical strangers at our wedding, so fingers crossed for the B-list.
W Day: 137 days and counting
Catch up on James’ 22nd week of wedding planning (and links to earlier weeks) here.
