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Everleigh House

The journal

Planning advice, honest numbers and the quiet details of a wedding, from the people who design its invitations.

Engagement

How to announce your engagement, and who should hear it first

Children and parents first, in person if you can, then close friends, a message and the internet. The newspaper wording, the party and the save the date.

27 October 20268 min read

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Gifts
Wedding gift etiquette: how much to spend, and how to ask for money
Between £50 and £100 for a couple you are close to, and less for one you know less well, by YouGov’s surveys. Money, honeymoon funds and thank-you notes.
27 October 20268 min read
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Ceremony and reception
What goes in a wedding order of service, page by page
The cover, the ceremony in order, the words of every hymn and reading, the wedding party and a thank-you. How many to print, when, and two sample orders.
27 October 20268 min read
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Parties and events
How to plan a hen do, from the first message to the last payment
Who organises it, who covers the bride’s share, when to start and a budget the guest with least to spare can still say yes to, at home or abroad.
27 October 20269 min read
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Travel
When to book your honeymoon, and what to sort before you fly
Booking dates for long haul, Europe, a safari and a cruise, the name to put on the tickets, a minimoon or a later trip, and insurance from day one.
27 October 20269 min read
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Fashion
What to wear to a wedding in the UK, from black tie to no dress code at all
Every code a British invitation uses, read for women and for men, with the colours to leave at home, the hat rules, and what to do when the card says nothing.
27 October 20269 min read
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Beauty and wellness
When to book wedding hair and make-up, and how to plan the morning
Book the artist up to a year ahead for a summer Saturday, have the trial two to four months out, and count the morning back from the time you leave.
27 October 20269 min read
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Planning
How to plan an event, step by step, from the date to the thank-you notes
Eight steps in the right order, a checklist counted back from the day, a budget split and a timeline, for a birthday, an anniversary or any party.
24 October 20269 min read
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Planning
How far ahead to plan a party in the UK, and when to send the invitations
Start dates, venue bookings and reply dates for seven kinds of party, with what 50th birthday venues ask and when to book a work Christmas party.
24 October 202610 min read
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Planning
Where to spend your wedding budget, and what nobody will miss
Photographs and film first, then the food and comfort your guests feel, then the cuts nobody notices: a clear order for the money, line by line.
12 October 20268 min read
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Style and trends
Wedding trends for 2027: what will last, and what will date
Twelve trends from The Knot, Pinterest, Bridebook and Zola, the numbers behind each, and a plain verdict on which will still look right in twenty years.
12 October 20269 min read
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Planning
What a UK wedding costs in 2026, line by line
Two national surveys side by side, the average for each supplier, the real cost of one more guest, and a budget method with room for surprises.
12 October 20269 min read
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Planning
A UK wedding planning timeline, from 18 months out to the day after
What to book, send and sign at 18, 12, 9, 6, 4, 3 and 2 months, with the legal notice, the reply date and a plan for engagements under a year.
12 October 20269 min read
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Guests and etiquette
The wedding handover: what your caterer and planner need, and by when
Final numbers, meals, allergies, children, suppliers, the seating plan and the order of the day: a dated handover checklist, and how to gather it once.
12 October 20269 min read
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Planning
Wedding website or digital invitation: do you need both?
Paper with a site, a free site alone, an app or a designer: what each one costs, where the replies land, and four questions that settle it.
12 October 20269 min read
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Guests and etiquette
How to send wedding invitations by WhatsApp, and keep them formal
The messages to copy, when to send each one, and how to remind people kindly, so an invitation sent by WhatsApp still reads as formal.
9 October 20266 min read
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Guests and etiquette
Digital wedding invitations for older guests and relatives
A digital wedding invitation can work for older guests with a little care: what to tell them, who can help, and a printed backup for the one or two.
9 October 20267 min read
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Planning
What to include on a wedding invitation, and what can wait
The five things every invitation must say, the details that can wait for later, and a checklist that shows where each one belongs, on paper or on screen.
9 October 20267 min read
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Wording
Adults only wedding invitation wording, said kindly
Let the names do the work, add one warm line, and word each exception so that every parent can see the rule. Adults only wording that stays kind.
9 October 20267 min read
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Wording
Plus one wedding invitation wording: who gets one, and how to say so
Name every partner you know, write “and guest” only when you mean it, and reply kindly when someone asks to bring a date. Plus one lines to copy.
9 October 20266 min read
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Wording
Wedding dress code wording, in one line your guests will thank you for
Name the code, then add one line about the place. A UK table from white tie to garden formal, with dress code lines your guests can act on.
9 October 20267 min read
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Planning
When to send save the dates, and what to put on them
Send your save the dates once the date and the town are fixed, usually six to twelve months ahead. What the guides say, and five lines you can copy.
9 October 20268 min read
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Planning
Wedding RSVP meal choice wording, and the allergy question to ask
One plain meal question for each guest, one open question about allergies, and what to send your caterer. RSVP wording you can copy as it is.
9 October 20267 min read
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Destination
An Amalfi Coast wedding invitation, and what your guests need to know
The airport, the road, the boats, the steps and the heat: the lines a coast wedding needs, when to send them, and a palette that stays easy to read.
9 October 20267 min read
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Style and trends
Winter wedding invitation ideas: light, warmth and snow
A warm palette, kind lines about the early dark, the weather and the Christmas trains, and winter wording your guests can read once and act on.
9 October 20267 min read
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Style and trends
Chinese wedding invitation etiquette: red, gold and double happiness
Red and gold, the double happiness character 囍, whose names to print and how families choose a date: Chinese invitation etiquette, explained.
9 October 20267 min read
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Style and trends
A pearl wedding theme, built around one family heirloom
What pearls mean at a wedding, the colours that flatter a real strand, and how to wear, carry or show an heirloom so that it leads the whole day.
9 October 20267 min read
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Wording
Wedding invitation wording for divorced parents and blended families
Who to name, and in what order, when parents have divorced, remarried or died, with lines to copy for each family and every step-parent.
8 October 20266 min read
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Planning
When to send wedding invitations in the UK, and when to ask for replies
Send your invitations about 12 weeks before the day, earlier for guests abroad, with a reply date your venue can work with. A UK timeline, step by step.
8 October 20267 min read
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Style and trends
Front-page news: how to make a newspaper invitation that people read
A newspaper wedding invitation can be digital or printed. How to set the masthead, columns and headlines, and what to write in each part of the paper.
6 October 20266 min read
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Destination
A Lake Como wedding: what your invitation must tell your guests
Airports, boats, the last crossing home, passports and the Italian paperwork: what to put on the invitation, when to send it, and how it should look.
6 October 20267 min read
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Wording
One invitation, two languages, no one left reading a translation
Bilingual wedding invitation wording, made simple: which language leads, how to keep names and dates the same, and who must check the translation.
6 October 20268 min read
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Style and trends
Animated wedding invitations: what to check before you choose
Six checks for any invitation that opens on a seal, a door or an envelope, from how long it takes to whether it works from a WhatsApp link.
4 October 20265 min read
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Guests and etiquette
Is a digital invitation proper enough for our wedding?
Usually yes, even for a formal wedding. When paper still wins, what a few printed cards cost, and one sentence that settles the family.
4 October 20267 min read
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The house
Can a digital invitation feel as special as paper?
Three things make a paper invitation precious. Here is how a screen can keep each of them, what it does better, and the one thing it cannot do.
14 July 20266 min read
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Wording
Wedding invitation wording examples, line by line
Lines to copy for every part of the card and every kind of day: the hosts, the request, the date, evening guests, a second marriage and gifts.
2 June 20268 min read
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Style and trends
How to match your wedding invitation to your venue
What to borrow from a country house, a city hotel, a garden, a beach, a chapel or a villa abroad, what to leave out, and how to brief any designer.
21 April 20267 min read
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