Gettin' Hitched Rocks
  • Websites
  • Stationery
  • Bespoke designs
  • Advice & inspiration
  • Contact us
  • About

Gettin' Hitched Rocks

Advice and inspiration for stress-free wedding planning

  • Websites
  • Stationery
  • Bespoke designs
  • Advice & inspiration
  • Contact us
  • About

Stress-free wedding planning: Problem Pal

Stress-free wedding planning: Problem Pal

Share
Facebook Twitter Google + Pinterest
Stress-free wedding planning: Problem Pal

I want to walk down the aisle to something unconventional… and I’m worried people will judge me!

I want to walk down the aisle to something that will make people laugh. I’m not a serious person and I’d much prefer to walk down to the Imperial March from Star Wars and make my friends giggle than something stuffy and serious like Here Comes the Bride or Greensleeves.

I also don’t like being the center of attention. I know it’s a bit unavoidable at a wedding, but I feel like playing something funny will make me feel better about the whole thing!

The problem is, when I mentioned entering to a funny song to my mum, she immediately shot it down. She said it would be all anyone would remember of the day, and if I was worried about drawing attention, an unconventional song would draw more scrutiny than something traditional.

My boyfriend thinks the Imperial March idea is funny and he’s happy for me to walk to whatever I want, but he did agree with my mum that people will talk about it and judge it because it’s not traditional, while they probably won’t notice a traditional song.

I’m not sure what to do. I don’t like the idea of my mum’s family judging my wedding right from the entrance music but I do want to hear something that means something to me rather than something generic as I walk down the aisle.

Read more
6th of November, 2020 Leave a comment
0 Facebook Twitter Google + Pinterest
Stress-free wedding planningStress-free wedding planning: Problem Pal

Our friends sent invitations out for our wedding date before we could!

Hi Problem Pal. My partner and I could really use some advice on what to do.

We’re planning to marry on the 17th of April at our dream venue; we were lucky to get the date with all of the 2020 weddings being moved, and we put down a non-refundable 50% deposit right away to secure it.

We’ve been getting things organised but we haven’t sent out our invitations yet; we were planning to print them next week after we confirmed the timings with the church.

This week, we received a wedding invitation in the post from some friends who got engaged last year – for a wedding on the 17th of April!

We’re not the closest of friends with them; this is probably just bad luck rather than anything deliberate. But we do have a lot of mutual friends in common who we really want to be at our wedding.

I haven’t said anything to our friend circle yet. One close friend suggested splitting the day between weddings or asking half the friends to go to one wedding and half to the other, but I don’t think that would feel right.

I’d be fine re-scheduling our day so everyone could come to both weddings, but there’s no dates available at our venue for the rest of the year. We’d need to find a new venue, which we don’t want to do, and lose the 50% deposit, which we can’t afford, or delay our wedding even longer.

We’ve also paid deposits for the car, the band, and pre-booked the church; all the contracts say we’d have to pay a fee to move the dates, or lose the deposits if we cancel all together. It adds up to a lot of money!

We’d hugely appreciate any suggestions on what we can do.

Read more
9th of October, 2020 Leave a comment
0 Facebook Twitter Google + Pinterest
Stress-free wedding planningStress-free wedding planning: Problem Pal

Everyone asks the same questions about my wedding – and I’m sick of talking about it!

I’ve been planning my wedding for six months and I’m already SICK of talking about it!

I feel like my wedding is dominating every single conversation I have.

Everyone I talk to, from my friends to my co-workers, asks about my wedding. And it’s always the same things! It’s like being in Groundhog Day, having the same conversations over and over!

I appreciate that my friends are just interested in what really is a big part of my life just now, but I’ve hit a point where I’m boring myself.

I don’t feel like I’m getting a chance to actually catch up with anyone, I’m just talking on auto-pilot about the same things, rather than having real conversations with my friends.

I feel like I’m two more questions about my dress away from screaming! Or eloping!!

How can I tell people I don’t want to talk about my wedding without being rude?

Read more
12th of September, 2020 Leave a comment
0 Facebook Twitter Google + Pinterest
Stress-free wedding planningStress-free wedding planning: Problem Pal

My in-laws HATE everything about my wedding – and me!

There are seven words no one planning their wedding wants to hear: ‘you could at least offer a soup.’

I’ve helped couples navigate tricky social situations from wayward wedding guests on Problem Pal before, from guests who didn’t RSVP but thought they could still rock up, to guests who took it upon themselves to invite other people to the wedding, but this is the first time I’ve heard of wedding guests who aren’t involved in the planning criticising everything about the wedding – and the bride.

If you have high blood pressure, you might want to give this one a miss. It will make you angry.

Read more
15th of August, 2020 Leave a comment
0 Facebook Twitter Google + Pinterest
Stress-free wedding planningStress-free wedding planning: Problem Pal

How can I ask my friends to be involved in my wedding without accidentally pressuring them to say yes?

How do you ask your family and friends if they would like to give toasts at your wedding without pressuring them into it?

There are a few people who I’d like to give toasts and readings at my wedding but I’m worried if I – the bride – ask them, they’ll feel obligated to do it, even if they don’t want to.

I’d especially love my mum to give a speech on the day but I don’t know how comfortable she’d be doing it. She’s been nervous doing public speaking before and I hate the thought of her spending the day worrying about the speech instead of enjoying herself, but I know she’ll feel she has to say yes if I ask her.

While I could ask someone else, it’s really the only part of the day she could be involved with, since she’s not giving me away. I don’t want her to feel left out and I’m really torn on what to do.

Read more
18th of July, 2020 Leave a comment
0 Facebook Twitter Google + Pinterest
Stress-free wedding planningStress-free wedding planning: Problem Pal

Help! I HATE my engagement ring

I hate my engagement ring. Haaaaaate it. It’s gaudy and huge and not my style at all.

I never thought I was the kind of girl who’d care about carots and jewellery, but this is just so wrong. I can’t imagine wearing it for the next fifty years. And seeing other people’s engagement rings on Instagram makes me want to cry.

This should be something I’m excited about and want to show off – but when I look at it, all I can do is wonder how my fiancé got my taste so wrong.

I know there are much worse problems in the world and this feels like such a superficial thing to be upset about, but it’s really dampening my excitement at being engaged.

Should I say anything? Should I ‘lose it’ somewhere? Or am I doomed to a life with the world’s ugliest ring?

Read more
20th of June, 2020 Leave a comment
0 Facebook Twitter Google + Pinterest
Stress-free wedding planningStress-free wedding planning: Problem Pal

My grandmother died 30 days before my wedding — what should I do?

What should you do if someone you love dies in the lead-up to your wedding?

It feels like an impossible position – carry on with the wedding, when you’re in anything but a party mood, or delay it and risk losing deposits, suppliers, and other guests.

That’s the problem Grief-Stricken wrote into us about. (Before lockdown, I should add!)

Hi Problem Pal. I don’t know what to do.

My grandmother passed away a few weeks ago, out of no where. We’re all surprised and absolutely devastated.

I’m meant to be getting married next month but I just can’t imagine going ahead with it at the moment. It feels disrespectful to have a big party right now, and I know none of my family will be in the right frame of mind for it.

But, if we don’t go ahead, we’ll lose all our deposits, and I’m not sure we’ll be able to afford to have the wedding we had planned if we have to pay for everything twice.

I know my fiancée wants to go ahead. She’s being super supportive and saying it’s up to me, but I can tell she’s upset at the thought of having to get a different, cheaper venue. It took us a long time to find and we made a lot of decisions around it. If we had to start again, it would be like throwing it away and planning a whole new wedding.

I want to have the wedding we had planned, but it doesn’t feel right to have it now, so close to the funeral. What should we do?

Read more
23rd of May, 2020 Leave a comment
0 Facebook Twitter Google + Pinterest
Stress-free wedding planningStress-free wedding planning: Problem Pal

Problem Pal: what to do when other people invite guests to YOUR wedding

Hello Problem Pal. My fiancée and I are in an awkward situation and we hoped you could give us some advice.

We have a good friend, Tahani, who likes throwing big get togethers with friends she knows from all different walks of life. We never spend time with her alone nowadays, we only ever see her in a big group.

Because of this, we’ve become friendly with some of her other friends, Chidi and Eleanor. We’re not close enough friends to spend time with them without Tahani – we don’t even have their phone numbers! – but we get on well when we chat at parties and we’re friends on Facebook.

Now to the problem: our wedding venue has quite limited space. When we were working out our guest list, we didn’t even think of Chidi and Eleanor. We had a hard enough time fitting in our family and close friends, never mind friends of friends!

But we invited Tahani – and Tahani has assumed Chidi and Eleanor are coming. She’s told them all about the day and even talked about car pooling with them!

She told us about it casually – like it wouldn’t even be a question that these people who we’ve hung around with maybe five times in total would be coming to our wedding – and now we don’t know what to do.

I feel awkward about it and think maybe we should find some room for them from somewhere to avoid hurting any feelings, but my fiancée doesn’t want to give up space at our small wedding for friends of a friend.

What should we do?

– In The Bad Place (Guest List Planning)

Read more
28th of March, 2020 Leave a comment
0 Facebook Twitter Google + Pinterest
Stress-free wedding planningStress-free wedding planning: Problem Pal

Problem Pal: how to ask for cash for your wedding – without seeming greedy

Already Owns Enough Toasters has written into our Problem Pal advice column with a worry a lot of couples have:

Can you ever ask for money for your wedding or will everyone think you’re being rude?

My fiancé and I have been living together for a long time and we already have everything we need.

We’re getting married in France and we don’t want our family to have to bring presents with them. And we don’t want to haul them back, either!

Can we ask for money without it coming across the wrong way?

Yes. Yes you can.

Read more
29th of February, 2020 Leave a comment
0 Facebook Twitter Google + Pinterest
Stress-free wedding planningStress-free wedding planning: Problem Pal

Problem Pal: I’ve finally found the right venue, but there’s no right date

Right Place, Wrong Time has written into our Problem Pal advice column with a problem that will sound familiar to anyone who’s looking for their perfect wedding venue.

My fiance and I have been looking for a venue for our wedding all year. It feels like we haven’t had a weekend where we’ve done anything but drive out to stately homes or talk to hotels about packages, but none of them have been right. We can’t imagine having the wedding we want at any of them.

Until…! Last week, we finally found the perfect venue! It’s exactly what we’ve been looking for – and it’s even in our budget! The problem is, when we asked them about dates, they said they didn’t have any more until the end of next year – and they didn’t have any spring dates for the next two years?!

I want to cry. I don’t want to look for another venue but I don’t want to put my wedding off for years either. What should I do?

Read more
9th of November, 2019 Leave a comment
0 Facebook Twitter Google + Pinterest
Newer posts
Older posts

About Gettin’ Hitched Rocks

About Gettin’ Hitched Rocks

Hi! I'm Mell.

I started Gettin’ Hitched Rocks to keep you whelmed while you plan your wedding, with wedding websites that do the wedmin for you and send automatic RSVP reminders to the people who need them, and matching stationery, so you can carry the design you love, with your personality shining through in every detail, across every part of your wedding, from save the dates to thank yous — and everything inbetween!

Stay whelmed with our free resources, interviews with real couples on what not to do, our regular Problem Pal advice column, and stress-free wedding planning advice.

Keep in touch

Twitter Instagram Pinterest Bloglovin RSS

Get the free guide

House collection designs

Gettin' Hitched Rocks Collection: Hartfield website and stationery bundle

Instagram

Your wedding should feel like YOU.⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ If Your wedding should feel like YOU.⁠⠀
⁠⠀
If you love our designs but the colours and fonts don't quite fit your day, we can customise them for your wedding.⁠⠀
⁠⠀
We can change the background and text colours of our website or stationery designs to fit your wedding for £35, and re-layout the design with a new font for £50.⁠⠀
⁠⠀
Find out more about customising our designs - or about commissioning a bespoke design if you'd like something completely different - on our website.⁠⠀
⁠⠀
(Link in bio.)
There's no wrong way to get married.⁠ ⁠ It's i There's no wrong way to get married.⁠
⁠
It's important to work out what your priorities are for your budget and what things you and your partner most want for your day.⁠
⁠
For Sammi and Simon, it was an incredible, iconic venue that could host different parts of their day - and look phenomenal in their photos. At the start of their planning, they didn't know if they'd be able to host 10 people or 100 - but the venue mattered more to them than fitting in friends of friends they could celebrate with another way.⁠
⁠
If you're having to downsize your wedding, or facing a choice between going ahead with your chosen venue or losing the deposit all together, it's worth reading our interview with Sammi and working out - like she did - what your priorities are.⁠
⁠
(Link in bio.)
An order of service tells people what to expect.⁠
⁠
Your wedding ceremony isn't going to be like anyone else's. Maybe you're having an hour-long religious ceremony with hymns - that people need to know the words to! - or a half hour celebrant wedding with a ring blessing, that people may never have seen before.⁠
⁠
An order of service is a space where you can lay that out.⁠
⁠
An order of service gives you a space to explain not just what will happen (and how many biscuits your guests will need to bribe their kids with, to keep them quiet) but what its significance is; why a reading matters to you, or why you picked a song to enter to.⁠
⁠
And it's a space to introduce people to your wedding party, and your partner, if they might not know them well.⁠
⁠
It's a chance to give people information they might need - whether that's the fact you're having a phone-free wedding or the wifi password. (No judgement.)⁠
⁠
And it's something your friends from different walks of life can chat about as they get to know one another, and take home with them as a souvenir of your day.⁠
⁠
Find out more about on-the-day wedding stationery and why it's worth considering for your wedding on our blog.⁠
⁠
(Link in bio.)
Couples often ask me what they need on their weddi Couples often ask me what they need on their wedding invitations.⁠
⁠
If they need to list their full names. Their parents' names. If they're inviting people cordially or jubilantly. What the etiquette is for addressing envelopes.⁠
⁠
What I always tell them is: you're inviting your friends to a party. Just give them the details.⁠
⁠
No one's going to be offended you didn't follow obscure etiquette rules from the Georgian era, that they'd need a history lesson to decipher properly. They're just going to be excited to be invited to your wedding.⁠
⁠
Don't overthink it. Say what you mean. Like, 'We hope you can come celebrate with us!' Or, 'We'd love you to join us!'⁠
⁠
Pinch our wording examples (link in bio) or get in touch for help wording wedding invitations that feel like you.
What do you need to have on your wedding invitatio What do you need to have on your wedding invitations?⁠
⁠
✔️ The names of the people getting married. (That's important.)⁠
✔️ Where and when the wedding will be. (That's important too!)⁠
✔️ Your wedding website address and log in details.⁠
⁠
That's it. That's the list.⁠
⁠
Not only can you fit everything on a postcard and save a fortune - you can also save yourself a lot of stress by having the rest of the details on your wedding website.⁠
⁠
You can customise it for every guest, hiding details about your ceremony and sit-down meal from your reception-only guests.⁠
⁠
You can leave your RSVP form to collect the details you need, so you don't need to count and recount how many people want the vegan option or dig through RSVP cards for the names of plus ones.⁠
⁠
And your wedding website can even send SMS reminders to get your RSVPs back on time!⁠
⁠
Find out more about how our wedding websites work (awesomely) on our website.⁠
⁠
(Link in bio.)
📣 To help keep you whelmed while you plan your 📣 To help keep you whelmed while you plan your wedding, we're now offering copywriting and proofreading services.⁠⠀
⁠⠀
Planning a wedding can feel like you've taken on a second job. Focus on the fun bits (hello cake samples!) and let us handle the rest.⁠⠀
⁠⠀
For £235, we'll write everything you need for your wedding website.⁠⠀
⁠⠀
• We'll give your guests details for three hotels at different price points.⁠⠀
⁠⠀
• We'll write clear directions on how to get to your ceremony and reception venues from planes, trains, and automobiles.⁠⠀
⁠⠀
• We'll write all the details of your day - and your story.⁠⠀
⁠⠀
• We'll make sure everything is clear to your guests, so you're not bombarded with questions.⁠⠀
⁠⠀
⁠⠀
Or, if you want to write up the details of your day yourself but want some reassurance that the Ts have been crossed and the Is have been dotted (not to mention placed firmly after E wherever necessary), we're also offering a 'check and send' proofreading service.⁠⠀
⁠⠀
We can proofread what you've written for your wedding website, correcting typos and offering suggestions for improvement, for £25.⁠⠀
⁠⠀
Check out our website designs and find out more on our website.⁠⠀
⁠⠀
(Link in bio.)
It's one thing to know your wedding is your day an It's one thing to know your wedding is your day and you should do what makes you comfortable; it's another to actually feel comfortable with unconventional choices.⁠
⁠
As much as I'd like to say you should never have anyone at your wedding who'd judge you for breaking tradition and putting your own spin on things, families can be a lot more complicated than that. You might have to deal with some judgemental aunts or a mother who s i i i i i ghs when you tell her something you're excited about.⁠
⁠
How do you deal with that? How do you balance bringing your personality into your day against worries about being judged that you can't shake off, no matter how much T Swift you listen to?⁠
⁠
That's what we're digging into in this month's Problem Pal advice column.⁠
⁠
(Link in bio.)
This is the dirty part of wedding planning no one This is the dirty part of wedding planning no one talks about: you get sick of talking about your own wedding.⁠⠀
⁠⠀
It dominates most of your conversations. You talk about it with the people who are a part of your day and need to know the nitty gritty details, but also the casual acquaintances, who turn to it as an easy way to make conversation for a few minutes before a meeting.⁠⠀
⁠⠀
If you're starting to feel like you don't talk about anything else, we have some wording you can pinch to - politely - move the conversation on to something else on our wedding planning advice column.⁠⠀
⁠⠀
(Link in bio.)⁠⠀
This month, we're donating 5% of every sale we mak This month, we're donating 5% of every sale we make to @s_lawrencetrust, to support the incredible anti-racism work they do across the UK.⁠
⁠
Set up in memory of Stephen Lawrence, who was killed by racists while waiting for a bus, the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust helps young people from disadvantaged backgrounds study and gain work experience in architecture - honouring Stephen's dream of becoming an architect - and helps businesses recruit more diverse talent.⁠
⁠
They're truly incredible and well worth your support.

Popular posts

  • How to plan a STRESS-FREE wedding

  • Wednesday Wedspiration: romantic wedding readings that AREN’T cheesy

  • How to word your wedding invitations (and why you shouldn’t stress about it)

  • 7 reasons why you NEED a wedding website

  • The best ideas you should steal from my wedding – and what to avoid

Twitter

If you love our designs but you'd like to change the colours or tweak the fonts to make them feel more like you, we… https://t.co/h9j1dMwPOb
Reply Retweet Favorite
If you're having to downsize your wedding, or facing a choice between going ahead with your chosen venue or losing… https://t.co/rkZ21z6pt5
Reply Retweet Favorite
An order of service tells people what to expect. It's a space to give them the information they need about your we… https://t.co/mdc8lnE0of
Reply Retweet Favorite
Couples often ask what they need on their wedding invites. What I always say is: you're inviting your friends to a… https://t.co/WqJM8TtcWx
Reply Retweet Favorite
What you need on your wedding invitations: ✔️ Names of who's getting married. (That's important.) ✔️ Where and whe… https://t.co/NhvU22nufb
Reply Retweet Favorite

Tags

Advice column Free printable Guest post Mini-series Problem Pal Real weddings Wedding planning problems Wedding reading Wedding website Wednesday Wedspiration

Problem Pal

  • I want to walk down the aisle to something unconventional… and I’m worried people will judge me!

Recent posts

  • I want to walk down the aisle to something unconventional… and I’m worried people will judge me!

  • What is on-the-day wedding stationery?

  • Our friends sent invitations out for our wedding date before we could!

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Bloglovin
  • RSS
  • Gettin’ Hitched Rocks
  • Contact us
  • About
  • Privacy policy

Copyright © 2019 Gettin' Hitched, Ltd.
International House, 12 Constance Street, E16 2DQ

We use cookies to make this site rock. Find out more