How important is it to send out save the dates? Well, it’s the way you introduce your wedding, it’s a great place to use your engagement photos, and it gets people to your wedding website. Yes, your save the dates serve a lot of purposes!
For all of you with summer weddings, now is the time to get going on them! Here are five questions, tips and ideas to help you get started:
1. When should I send out my save the dates?
Hitch Design Studio recommends sending out your save the dates about six months before your wedding date, but for international and destination weddings, even eight months to a year ahead of time is a good call. Start the design and planning process early.
2. How do I word my save the date?
Wording could go something like this:
Save the Date
Saturday, June 21, 2014 for the wedding of
Lisa Harper & Gregory Taylor
Formal invitation to follow
Optional to include, depending on the formality of your wedding: your wedding website, your full names (or your nicknames–your preference), names of the hosts, location of the wedding (especially if the wedding will not be held in your hometown or if guests need to make major travel arrangements).
3. Do most people include a photo on their save the dates?
Yes, most save the dates include a photo of you two. It gives a more personal touch. And who wouldn’t want to hang your photo up on the fridge, right? (Just be sure to book your engagement photos early in case you want to use them on your save the dates.) In the case that you don’t want to use a photo on your save the date, there are other really cute options!
4. How do I know what style to choose for my save the date?
What are your colors? Magnets or postcards? Horizontal or vertical? Formal or casual? Hitch can certainly help with those things, but to get started, consider this: match your save the dates with your wedding look and feel to create a continuity that will make the big day be seamless. Hitch calls it “branding” your wedding–when everything from the save the dates, to the invites, to the centerpieces look coordinated.
5. Get Creative: Maybe you want more than a postcard and want to include details like lace, burlap, crystals, patterns, photos, etc. Any detail that’s attached (glued or taped) will need to be put in an envelope, but adds a little of your personalities even before the big day arrives. It has a cool factor.
Benefits of each option:
- Sending a postcard: You can include a photo and it’s less expensive (only costs the price of a postcard stamp to mail).
- Sending a magnet: It stays on refrigerators longer than the average save the date and comes in a foil-lined envelope. Cute!
- Sending a photo card that’s larger than 4.25″ x 6″: Those dimensions are the largest a postcard can be. So, if you prefer to send a larger photo, or include crystals or burlap, etc. anything glued on, this larger save the date makes an impact and is the perfect stage to set for your wedding day. It needs an envelope and a regular postage stamp.
Good luck! Save the dates are a perfect introduction to your wedding day.
For more ideas, look at our Pinterest page or our website!
By Renee Halgerson, Owner/Designer, Hitch Design Studio