Tips for Sending Save the Date Cards

Now you might think this should be quite straightforward but as with everything when you’ve not done it before you’re likely to have some questions.  And I do see lots of couples asking questions about Save the Date.

So here are my straightforward tips for you:

What Even Is A Save The Date?

Good question.  It’s a heads up to your guests that they can expect an invite to your wedding.  A Save the Date card gives them notice to reserve your wedding date in their diary.

It’s usually a single side of card, typically like a postcard and doesn’t have to cost you a fortune.

Do It Early

As soon as you have your date confirmed, it’s best to send out your save the date cards.  The more notice you give people the better especially if it’s on a week day.  So ideally you’ll get your save the dates out at least a year before your wedding.

Day Guests Only

Sending a save the date card indicates to your guests that they need to reserve the whole day for your wedding.  So don’t send them to guests who you will be inviting to the evening party only.

You can have a ‘Save the Evening’ version if you really want to but this often feels like an unnecessary expense to me.

Don’t Forget The Obvious Details

Make sure you include the location of your wedding, especially if it’s not in your home town. Guests generally assume that you’ll get married near to home but obviously this doesn’t have to be the case.

This is particularly important if your guests will need to travel and potentially will need to book accommodation too.

If you’re getting married abroad, the more notice you give people the better as they’re definitely going to need time off work and it’s going to cost them more money.

The time of your ceremony isn’t essential info at this stage so don’t worry if you don’t have that yet. The other key thing to include are obviously your names!

Always Follow It With An Invitation

It’s really important to think carefully about your guests list before you send out the Save the Date cards.

You should always follow a Save the Date with an invite to the full wedding.  So don’t send a Save the Date to someone who you might only invite to the evening reception.

What About The Kids?

If you’ve already decided that you are not inviting children to your wedding then it’s worth including that in your Save the Dates.  Couples who need to arrange childcare will really appreciate the extra notice to get this lined up.

You can read more here about having a child free wedding.

I hope these tips help you to easily get your Save the Dates sorted and posted.  There’s loads more planning advice on my blog.  And you can see details about my planning services here if you think you’d benefit from some professional support to plan your wedding.

Louise