Wedding invitations are late getting to us so we can mail them to our guests..HELP!!!!!!!!!?

Question

Okay...I have a huge dilemma! My fiance's step mother was in charge of making our invitations and now we are only about 3 weeks away from our August 4th wedding date. She still hasn't mailed our invitations to us...We are both very stressed about this and I don't have any idea how to handle it. It is to the point where him and I are arguing horribly about this now and I don't think I can handle much more without having a breakdown. Can any of you offer any constructive advice? Serious answers only please! I'm about to lose my mind so if anybody can come up with SOMETHING I would appreciate it. Also, it's too late for us to order anything. I need a quick fix for this. Am I just overreacting?

Answer 1

Oh wow, I would have been on their case at LEAST two months ago!

Crunch time. Gather all your wedding party together sans stephorror. Get a computer with a printer and make out your own invitations while the wedding party starts addressing the envelopes. Get the invitations from Staples, Office Depot, Target, or some craft store.

Or talk to an invitation maker and see if they can assist in a rush order.

Or see if you can push back the wedding a month or two without penalty. Then boogie on getting the invites out.

How rude and lazy of your stepmother. What excuse does she have to slack that much? Is she always this unreliable?

Answer 2

You are NOT overeacting. One thing though, TRY not to blame your fiance, and if the arguing is primarily over the invites, STOP.
As far as mailing them, of course you should. Are you able to pick them up from your future mother-in-law, even if it means a 2-3 hour drive? If so do that, and mail them as quickly as possible. If not, you may not have enough time to order any, but you can make them yourself. Most office supply stores have invites and software to make on your computer. You may not get the paper or decor on the invite that you originally wanted, but at least you do have the option of making your own. The software should contain ways of wording the invites. If not, go to the library. There are many books to help you word the invites. Once you figure out your wording, font and color, it takes little time to print them out. If you want some sort of "Tissue", in the invites, again, office supply store or stationary stores, such as places that you could order invites. Again, I realize it may not be ideal, but it works in a pinch. You can also add personal touches to make it as much yours as the originals should have been. Ribbon, etc. from craft stores. In the meantime, and some would consider this poor manners, start calling as many people as you can, invite them and explain about the mix-up. Call it that, a mix-up. Don't get into the whole story for now. If possible, if asked what happened, try to leave the anger out when explaining. By leaving the anger out, you are not putting your guests in an uncomfortable position.
I hope this helps.

Answer 3

First of all, take a deep breath. And another. You are getting married, it's supposed to be super exciting! Take a moment to think about that.

Now: Have you talked to your soon to be mother in law yet? Why are the invitations so late? Is she still planning on mailing them? If so, take a few hours and call everyone on your guest list. If they haven't heard you're engaged, it's a great time to tell them. Let them know there were some problems getting the invitations printed in time, but you'd love for them to come. You can give them some of the details. They'll usually tell you if they think they can make it.

If she's completely dropped the ball, call your guest list and apologize for the delay. Let them know that you are in the process of getting invitation done, but there were some glitches along the way. Tell them you'd still like them to come. Again, you can give them more details when you call them.

Most people won't be upset that they haven't received an invitation if you call them and let them know it's coming. Plus, it helps with get a count for the food and everything else.

If she doesn't make them, and you don't have time to do a kit or hire someone else, talk to your bridal party. I am sure they'd love to help you out with this. You could also talk to other close friends or other relatives.

I believe things are going to turn out fine. Try not to stress. :-)

Answer 4

I just got done today making my message in a bottle invites. I printed out my own invitations on fine parchment paper I got from an office store (10.00) and rolled them up, put them in a glass bottle that had sand (free from the beach) and small shells, you can even get those from the dollar store if you can't find them on the beach. Stuck the invitation in the bottle and I am going to hand deliver the invitations:) It took me an hour to so to do all this once I had the stuff for them to make them!!!!

I would say you could cheaply make some "Save the Date" Cards just so people could have something before the date comes so they will be available but 3 weeks is not very long at all!!!!!!!!!

Also you can get invites that are really cute from wal-mart or any office store that comes with everything you need for 20 bucks,you can just print the information on them using your computer!!!! Good Luck!!
Just remember- you can make them look just as good by doing them yourself. The people you order from do the same thing you would do, use a computer!!!! That's how they make their money.
Relax, you can get these mailed out in a few hours:) Or hand deliver the ones who are close:):)

Answer 5

Why are they late getting to you? Has she just not done them, is she still doing them? I would just call and ask her when she expects to be through with them so you know whether you need to go a different route. If you don't have them in your hands by tomorrow, I would do them yourself. It's not too late to get them done elsewhere. You can go to Michael's, Wal-Mart or even your local party store like Party City and buy the boxes of blank wedding invitations that normally come in packs of 50. They include the invite, envelope, response card, envelope and I believe reception card. Just print them yourself. Or you can go online to places like www.rexcraft.com or any online invitation site, pick out the invitation, call them and give them the wording over the phone, have them email or fax you a proof of what the invitation will look like, approve it and then choose expedited shipping but if you're 3 weeks away, I'd call your guests and just let them know there was a mix-up with the invites and remind them of the date and assure them they're invitation will be coming shortly. But I would really just call the step mother first to find out what's going on before you spend money on invitations you may not need. Whatever you decide to do, do it ASAP because really you're supposed to send the invitations out 6-8 weeks in advance and allow yourself about 2 weeks to notify your caterer of the headcount.

Answer 6

Your fiance is responsible for asking her if they're ready. It is his step-mother. If they are not, you should think about doing them yourself on the computer. There are also come quick-print places that can get some out for you quite fast. You're not over-reacting. This is your wedding and there are many things to be done and you shouldn't have to worry about this. Let your finance do some worrying for you. And I hate to tell you this, but you'll probably have a few more stressful moments before the big day. Good luck and take some time to breathe.

Answer 7

INSTEAD OF SENDING INVITES OUT, JUST CALL YOUR INVITEES. This may sound stupid, but most likely they won't have time to plan if they only have two weeks notice (once your invites go through the mail). Say that you had some logistical issues with the invites and weren't able to send them out. Say that "we would really appreciate your presence, and sorry about the short notice". Most people give at least two months to get the invites out.

People are busy and chances are, you won't have many guests at your wedding. I don't want to judge, but maybe in the future you should handle these things yourself or keep a better eye on someone who may be distracted.

Seriously, a personal phone invitation is the best way, and you won't have to wait for RSVPs to return.

GOOD LUCK!

Answer 8

If you can go without too much hassle and want to be there, then go. Remember, this is the son's wedding. As important as you are to his parents, he may not feel the same level of obligation to you. Or maybe something else happened behind the scenes, and no slight was intended. Either way, you don't know, so there's no reason to assume the worst. If you can't or don't want to go on such short notice, then apologize and send a nice card and/or gift - whatever you feel is appropriate. This doesn't have to be a big deal unless you make it one.

Answer 9

I agree with most of the others. QUICKLY print some of your own. Send them NOW with a request to RSVP via telephone or email.

If it's not too big of a project, calling the guest may be a good idea too. Gather a few reliable friends to do the calling with the basic info (date, time & location) and a short explanation of why the invites are late.

Good luck :)

Answer 10

ok, you wrote this one hour ago. here goes: call her. ask her what stage of doneness the invites are in. if they are done and are sitting on her kitchen table then, how far away are you from her? can you get in the car with your addresses and drive to her house and stay up until they are all addressed? then you can go yourself in person to the post office with them tomorrow and have them weighed ( most times normal stamps wont work!!) and send them out tomorrow morning. make sure you yourself, in person, see them correctly stamped, filled, closed and sealed, and then mailed. then, tomorrow you can call everyone on your list and let them know, happily, to save the date as there is an invite coming. hopefully most already are aware of the date and of your upcoming wedding. is it possible to have your mom help you with this. i agree with others that you can work it out and people do understand. dont stress. if it turns out that the lady does not have the invites done or cant explain when they will be done, then, read the other posts and go to town. you can !!!! have suitable invites by this time tomorrow in the mail. kinkos may help, if none of the other ideas here dont work for you. just phone people and let them know they are invited. all will be well, you are smart to address this immediately.. good luck.