There seems to be a lot of confusion over save-the-date cards: are they required or are they overkill? Especially for couples on a budget, this seems like it might be an unnecessary expense (and more paper resources being used up – for the eco-friendly couple).
The good news is: The wedding police are not going to be visiting if you don’t send them. There. I said it.
The goal with these cards is to give people advance notice of your wedding date, especially if they will need to travel (and make travel arrangements with work, bookings, etc.), if the wedding takes place over a holiday or a long weekend for example (cases where people might have other arrangements, events, etc.). The more notice they have, the more likely they will come to your wedding.
It is a nice courtesy, certainly, but many brides are choosing to send people an email with the date, or put something on Facebook, or even (gasp!) phone friends and family instead. No problem with that!
If you would like to send save-the-date cards, know a few things:
· They need to go to everyone who will for sure be invited to your wedding (even if they already know about the date like your parents). If you have a guest list of “maybes” then don’t send save-the-dates (because they will then be expecting an invitation). Usually written on there is something like “Invitation to Follow”.
· They need to be in the mail at least 6 months before your wedding. That gets extended to 8-12 months in the case of destination weddings (with greater time given for particularly expensive or far away weddings).
· Try not to send anything out until you are certain of the date and location of the wedding. By six months in advance you really should have these locked down anyway!
· They don’t have to match your wedding invitations (but it’s always a nice touch). They can be informal and DIY. I do like the idea of a photo save-the-date though because this is a great place to showcase that engagement portrait that you’ve commissioned!
· It’s a good idea to set the invitee expectations. If you are planning an adult-only affair, then now is a great time to let folks know. If you are allowing “guests” then include them when you do the addressing. (and as with invitations, they should be addressed by hand).
Here’s one awesome trend that I really love. Save –the-date MAGNETS! People are probably going to put these on their fridge anyway – why not make the card a magnet right from the get-go?
(Warning: shameless plug coming!) We carry a selection of save-the-date cards & magnets available through our invitation store. If you were thinking of sending these cards out – with 20% off the listed prices, now you can do so with limited impact to your budget!
