Save the Date Etiquette

Save the Date Cards are announcements that inform your guests of your future wedding in order to keep your special day free. They are essential in the following situations: if many of your guests are traveling to your wedding, your wedding takes place on or around a holiday, you are planning a faraway destination wedding, or your wedding will take place in a seasonally busy or tourist locale, where the flights and hotels perhaps book up early.

They are generally sent at least 4-6 months prior to your wedding but, if you are planning a destination wedding it is strongly recommended that you send them 12 months in advance, if not longer. For seasonally busy and tourist locales or on or around a holiday it is best to send them 9-12 months in advance. Your guests will then have ample time to make all the necessary arrangements needed to be a part of your special celebration and may even extend it into a vacation of their own.

Use your imagination. Save the Date Cards are not meant to be formal. There are many design options available. You can have them be magnets, brochure style, post card size, multiple layers, booklet style, match your wedding invitations, you can add a picture of you and your fiancé, or embellishments to add a personal touch.

Here are some guidelines on what your cards should state; your names, date of wedding, city or town and state of where the wedding will take place. Also, because Save the date Cards are a recent trend and many that have not attended a wedding recently may mistaken them for the actual invitation be sure to include something along the lines of, “Invitation to follow”, “Invitation and details to follow”, “Invitation will follow” this is usually placed at the bottom of the card. (If you have a wedding website don’t forget to include the address for your guests to view.)

If you need to keep your guest list to a minimum, make a list of close family and friends whom you want to make sure will be able to attend and mail them a Save the Date Card, you do not need to send Save the Date Cards to everyone you are inviting but, every guest that receives a Save the Date Card must also receive an invitation.

It is recommend you provide your guests with additional information to help facilitate their planning such as airline, car rental, hotel, information on things to see and do in the area and surrounding areas, special events, theatrical shows etc. Go the extra mile and acquire group discounts by calling specific companies and seeing if they offer group discounts.

Have fun planning your special day!