On Spring Equinox 2004, my ex-husband (yes, that's right! my ex-husband!) Larry and I remarried. We had been together for almost seventeen years, and had divorced several years ago when our relationship problems seemed impossible to resolve. But we still loved each other, so we figured out what to do to make things better, and are now happier than ever.

In planning our wedding, we wanted to keep it simple, small, and full of meaning. We wanted a ceremony and celebration that would be easy to prepare for and manage. We wanted an intimate occasion, surrounded by our closest friends who would participate with us in intention of our union. And as we planned our wedding, we used same guidelines for health and environment that we practice in our daily home life.

Since most books and articles are about planning big weddings, I want to offer some tips on planning another sort of wedding that can be beautiful and meaningful in it's own way.

* Make it your day. Each wedding can and should be a unique expression of couple getting married. So create day just way you want it, to please two of you.

You should select your design before firming up your ideas on paper and cards etc. Simply because design will largely dictate what paper and card you can use. For example;

If you have a card with a folded insert, you will not be able to use single sided papers.

If design you choose requires a translucent or vellum paper remember to assess your printer’s capabilities, especially if you want to print onto translucents. An alternative is to have translucent blank and overlay it onto printed sheet.

Choose your envelopes now, or at least check out cost. This is something so many brides overlook and budget can take a hard knock at last minute. Most matching envelopes are expensive - there’s no getting out of it – best you can do is to shop around for a reasonable price. Some invitations look okay in a plain white envelope but do try to get matching ones because if you create an invitation to die for it’s going to look fairly ordinary stuffed into a plain white envelope. That is whole point of creating your own stationery, to enable you to have exactly what you want and save money at same time. There are some stunning new colours around at moment which will literally spoil you for choice. Although envelope almost always goes straight in bin, it is ultimate finishing touch to your creation – and first impressions can be lasting. If that is important to you then it might pay to spend extra. It’s also a nice touch for those who will keep invitation as a memento of your wedding.

Square invitations and non standard size invitations are considered oversize and will cost more to post. Check with your postal office regarding any extra charges, taking into account number of overseas invitations you may have to send out.