Do I Need a Save The Date?
As a wedding stationer for countless couples, many have have asked if they need to send out Save the Dates. So let’s first discuss what are save the dates. They really are just like the name suggests; they let your guests know to save your wedding date on their calendar. This is also the first impression they will get about your wedding. For destination weddings in particular they are nice because they allow your guests ample time to book their flights and make arrangements to attend.
So do you need one? Really it’s a yes and no. Save the Dates are truly not NECESSARY but are nice to have. With everything that has changed in our world over the last 2 years, it’s nice to give people something to look forward to. You also then provide plenty of advance notice so they can plan ahead and make arrangements for travel or babysitters, etc. Save the Dates not only are important for destination weddings, but also are helpful for weddings that fall on a holiday. This allows your guests to adjust their plans for the holiday gatherings to attend your wedding.
When do I send them? You will typically send your Save the Dates between 6-9 months before your wedding date. At that point in time you already likely have the main details you need to share (venue and date). You can even add your wedding website info on it (if you have one) so guests can learn more about you as a couple, the main event and other important details as you plan them.
If you are planning a destination wedding that will require your guests to travel internationally, then the sooner the better. If your engagement period allows this, you really want to provide 1 year of advance notice. For international traveling, some of your guests may need to get passports and will need that extra time to prepare. Even if you don't have an exact venue or date, including details like the city and the month and year should be plenty of information for them to start planning. For holiday weddings, you can also follow the rule of 1 year, but really just as long as you are letting your guests know well in advance, they can make alternative arrangements for the holiday so they can share in your wedding day with you.
Do they have to match the invitation? - They can, if you like! Here at fioribelle we have a number of semi custom invitation options which include the save the date. However , if you are still not set on a theme or color scheme for your wedding invites, we can create a custom save the date card with a simple design that will likely match the rest of the correspondence. Many couples like to use their favorite photo or a photo from their engagement photo session (if you did one) and choose simple wording to convey the date and place of the upcoming wedding.
Who gets a save the date - That’s the easy part. You will send a Save the Date to anyone who will get an invitation to all of the wedding events. You can include your entire guest list or you can send it to the definite group of invitees. Some couples aren’t able to finalize their guest list if you are sending it out well in advance, if that’s the case you could send the cards to everyone who you are certain about inviting. You can always send another batch later once you’ve made some final decisions too! But really it’s up to you! Send away!
I sent out a save the date already, can you design matching invitations? Yes! I would be happy to incorporate design elements and colors from your save the date and use them to create a one-of-a-kind suite for your wedding
If you’d be interested in working together to create a one-of-a-kind Save the Date and more for your wedding day, inquire about my Custom Wedding Invitations here!