You’ve gotten engaged and by now have had a few discussions around your wedding. You’ve come to a decision on a date, you’ve created your guest list and you either have a venue booked or know the area you are going to get married in.
Now, before you continue your journey to “I Do” – you need to let your guests know your date and where you are getting married.
On a side note before we continue, we do recommend you print extras so if you have forgotten to send to someone or want a few keepsakes you have on hand and don’t have to stress about it later.
A save the date and an invitation are two different things and serve two different purposes. Both are important in the process of providing your guests with information relating to your wedding.
Save the dates are sent first and well in advance. They are essentially a teaser for your wedding and a request to reserve the date in your guests’ calendar pending the formal invitations. They provide only the essential information for guests to be able to plan around attending your wedding.
Invitations are sent to now officially invite a guest to the wedding and provide much more detail related to the wedding.
While your save the dates should include your wedding website, it may have a lot of information needing to be confirmed or pieces missing that you hadn’t thought of yet (you may get some questions from your save the date send out you’d like to include in you FAQ’s).
Your invites will include the finalised, full details of the wedding (venue(s), times, dress code, meal options, accommodation, etc.) whether it be on cards or in an updated send out of your website.
Only send a save the date to guests you are definitely having at the wedding. Once they receive the save the date it is expected they will receive an invitation to the wedding. You can send one per household.
Generally speaking, you shouldn’t be sending your save the dates any earlier than 12 months prior to the ceremony date or any later than 6 months prior to the ceremony date. A good timeframe would be 7 or 8 months before the ceremony date.
Do take into account whether your wedding is local or a destination wedding. You need to give your guests more time to prepare if it is a destination wedding. In this instance, do try and include some more information relating to accommodation and travel information on your wedding website to help your guests prepare better.
While it is highly recommended to send out save the dates, you also need to consider the impact of them. If you feel they will be useful for your guests then send them. It can be simpler or better to not send them, especially if you are having a very small wedding or a short engagement period.
Save the dates are simple and to the point. You just need to make sure the essential information you need to send out is on them. This includes:
We recommend that you start clearing the air about who is invited at this stage in your inviting process and address these to the exact guest(s) invited. You may also include your child and plus one policy briefly at this stage to avoid confusion later and allow your guests more time to plan (or if need be, decline at this point as an unofficial RSVP).
Anything that is or feels very specific can go onto your wedding website and that can be attached to your save the date.
Digital ‘Cards'
Printed Cards
Book Marks
Fridge Magnets
Coasters
Candles
Laser Cut Cards
A Chinese Fan
Printed on Perspex or Acrylic
Seed Packets
Cookies
Personalised Tea Bags
Pencils or Pens
Luggage Tags
Bottle Openers
Ceramic Tiles
Framed Prints
Message in a Bottle
Balloons/Lanterns
Passport-themed Printable
Luggage Tag
A Teddy Holding a Card
An Item to Bring with to the Wedding They’ll Use in a Photo Op or as Part of It (be sure to send reminders and have extra if you do this!)
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