So you have decided to accept his offer and become his bride. Now you need to decide who is going to share this momentous day with you.

The guest list has been prepared and now you have to design your wedding invitations. Here are some suggestions that will help with this sometimes-difficult task.

If children are also to be included, consider including them in the invitation to their parents, e.g. Mr and Mrs John Citizen and family. (Or you could name their children individually. If they are older say Teenagers you might consider sending them their own invitation. This has the added advantage of making them feel important and grown up and they will love you all the more.

If however you decide that you don't want children at the service you must be specific so that no misunderstanding happens and no one is offended. Make sure you make this quite clear on the invitation e.g. "Sorry adults only." If you would on the other hand consider children at the function but not the service, you could make a not of this somewhere such as the response card or again on the invitation.

Lots of your friends of course are probably still single, and you may not know if they have a partner, this is covered by add "and Guest" on either the invitation or perhaps on the outside of the envelope, giving them the alternative of being accompanied. Your envelope could be addressed for instance, " Mr, John Citizen and Guest"

Please don't forget that on average up to 10% of the people that respond in the affirmative will not in fact come to the wedding. Another 20 odd percent will not make it to the function. If you are planning a catered sit down style dinner you will have to account for this. Or you may consider a buffet style meal.

Sometimes people decide that they will want some people to come to the reception but not to the service and vice versa. Then of course you will need two types of invitations. One that includes reception information and the other that does not.

You will find that there will be people who don't reply by the reply date. Some of your close friends might consider that you would understand that they would be coming. If someone on your list does not reply, don't be hesitant in giving him or her a call. They will love you for it and it will help with you plans.

This is very important, you must organise the printing of your invites at least four to six weeks ahead of when you plan to mail them. Check you calendar and get this right. I know a little of how the printing industry works and you will most likely have problems. Double check everything and then check it again before you hand it to the printer.

This will be your wedding programs, your invitations, response cards, envelopes and anything else you might decide on. This applies whether you're having them done professionally or if you are printing them yourself. Be particular with the spelling.

Make sure you have spare envelopes and cards because you will make some mistakes. There are usually some errors made in addressing them.

Give people at least a month to six weeks notice; make sure you post the invitations at least this far ahead of the wedding date. Make it quite clear that you would like a reply at least three weeks before the wedding day. This gives your expected guests plenty of time to reply and allows you better time frame to settle on the final arrangements.

It is imperative that you let your guests know what the dress code is. If you plan outdoors or somewhere different like the beach or in the mountains, they will want to dress accordingly.

Remember there are a million things that need to be done, and just as many that can go wrong. Proper planning is the thing that will make your dream come true.

For more information on wedding planning GO HERE

Helen Reid has been married to her childhood sweetheart for over 30 years. Has been acknowledged as expert in cake decorating and has a deep interest in craft and art. Has wide experience in catering and function planning and the hospitality industry.