A wedding invitation is the perfect way to set the mood and style of your day as it’s the first thing your guests see.

Many couples are now choosing to make their own wedding stationery to add that personal touch to their special day. However for some people who have no experience in paper crafts this can be a bit of a challenge!

Oxfordshire based wedding coordinator Vickie Cook of Weddings By Vickie faced this challenge with one of her clients who is getting married this year. Laura wanted to create some very special stationery which coordinated with her pink colour scheme but didn’t know where to start.

Vickie partnered with scrapbooking centre A Maze of Memories Ltd and together planned a way of helping couples to create their own designs with all the equipment and expertise on hand when they need it.

Christina and co-owner Jan at A Maze of Memories Ltd created some sample ideas for invitations based on Laura’s colour scheme and then spent some time working with Laura to create the perfect design. Laura then arranged two evenings for some of her family and friends to join her at the centre for a “stationery workshop” where they made 120 invitations and 240 RSVP and reply cards!

The finished results were fantastic and Laura said “I really enjoyed the workshops with my friends and family at ‘A Maze of Memories’. We took over a few bottles of wine and really enjoyed ourselves! I have now sent all of my invites out and have had so many comments on how lovely and original they are! Not only that – the final cost of making the invites was a lot lower than buying invites from a shop! I enjoyed it so much that I now need to arrange a date with Vickie and Christina for making my ‘Thank You’ cards for after the wedding!”

Based on the success of this evening A Maze of Memories Ltd are now offering classes for brides to be so they can come along and experiment with some ideas and create exactly the style of stationery they are looking for. During the class brides will be taught some basic techniques, offered help with using the equipment and of course be given lots of ideas to get them started.

The centre has a wide range of equipment which can be used at the centre for an hourly fee and their shop is well stocked with over 500 different papers and a wide range of other embellishments.

Vickie Cook, proprietor of Weddings By Vickie commented

“I know this service will be very popular with brides as so many people would like to make their own stationery but are unsure of how to begin. As couples are increasingly trying to personalise their day, thus allows them to have exactly what they want without the bespoke price tag. It is the first kind of class like this in the area and I have no doubt it will encourage many more brides to give it a go!”

For more information on the classes you can visit their website www.amazeofmemories.co.uk or telephone on 01844 208996. Booking is necessary for all classes