Common Mistakes About Sending Save The Dates
How amazing is this proposal? So we know the proposal happened and the wedding planning is on. The first thing you should start doing is figuring out when you would like to have your special day.
Will you and your closest friends being flying to Greece for a destination wedding? Or perhaps you will be holding an intimate backyard wedding at your parents home. Either way you need to set a date and a location. After that you can begin to shop around for your Save The Dates.
Now before you pick out a design and fill in all your information, keep scrolling to check out six common mistakes about sending your Save The Dates out.
1. deciding you dont need to send save the dates
If you want your guests to show up, then we highly recommend sending out Save The Dates. Especially if you would like your out of town guests to attend. This gives them enough time to book their flights, get a good rate on a hotel and just make travel plans in general.
Personally, we would have to arrange for someone to watch our dogs, water our plants and possibly take care of our children if they werent invited. If we only had 2 months to plan for this, then more than likely we would just be sending a gift. We bet that Elisha and Wesley sent out their Save The Dates with plenty of notice. They went with The Biltmore by GeekInc Design. We are loving the real gold foil. So fancy!
2. sending out your save the dates before you book your venue
3. being vague about who is invited
- Wedding Chicks
When To Send Destination Wedding Invitations
If youre planning a destination wedding, you may want to give guests a little more notice so they can figure out travel arrangements. Consider sending your invitations 12 to 16 weeks before the wedding, keeping in mind that you may want to book a block of hotel rooms for guests or recommend other accommodations at your destination.
Do You Send Save The Dates To Everyone
You should send your wedding save the dates to people you definitely plan on inviting because once those save the dates are in the mail, you can’t unsend them. Save the dates are considered a pre-wedding invitation that informs your guests of your wedding date and lets them plan ahead, so only send them to people on the final guest list.
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Do You Have To Send Save
Its essential to send the save-the-dates to everyone you want to attend the wedding. Dont depend on word of mouth as some people might forget about the wedding accidentally.
Note that if you send someone a save-the-date, it would be distasteful if they suddenly get uninvited. Secure your guest list with your partner to ensure who and how many to invite.
Save The Date Etiquette 101
âPassport to Romanceâ by Paperless Post
Because save the dates are relatively new within the category of wedding stationery, they are refreshingly unbound by much of wedding etiquette. Of course you need to send one to every guest invited to your wedding ceremony, but otherwise you are free to get a little creative with your design. You can take a look at the save the date templates on our website for inspiration, but the most traditional formulas are fairly simple and take care of a few key functions. Here are the basics for what to include and how to word your save the dates:
1. Ask your guest to save the date
2. Give the date
3. Provide the city
4. Announce the upcoming invitation
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Can I Send Electronic Save The Dates
Traditional wedding etiquette dictates that save the dates should be printed and sent via snail mail. However, times have changed and for couples who are planning with a really tight timeline or an extremely large guest list, online save the dates can be a quick and easy solution. For formal weddings, though, printed save the dates are still best. If you’re going the online route, there are plenty of websites with thousands of templates to choose from so you can find the save the dates that best suit your wedding style.
When To Send Out A Wedding Invitation
The ideal timeframe for sending out wedding invitations, Kentris says, is about eight to 12 weeks before the wedding date. This gives your wedding guests enough time to RSVP. However, Kentris adds, if you sent out save-the-dates then it is safe to send out the formal wedding invitation a bit closer to the day.
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Not Making It Personal
Your save the date invitation doesnt have to exactly match your colour scheme or wedding theme you may not even know what it is at this stage. Just make it personal to you and your husband to be to ensure your guests will never forget your chosen date! Perhaps a photobooth picture of you both? Or you with your pets? Whatever immediately says us will be fine.
When To Send Wedding Invites
Finding the right time to send out wedding invitations can be a difficult balancing act. The general rule of thumb is to send invitations 8 to 12 weeks before the date . You can set a date on the card for guests to RSVP by so that you can get a headcount, but prepare for some guests to fail to meet that deadline. If youre concerned that you need more time, send out your invitations 16 weeks before the wedding at the earliest.
Wedding invitations and RSVPs are important for a number of reasons. Not only do you want your closest guests to make it to the wedding, you also need a guest count to tell the venue for tables, chairs, and seating arrangements, and to tell caterers and other vendors so that you have the right amount of food, drinks, and so on.
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When To Send Wedding Invitations With No Save
If you choose not to send save-the-dates, feel free to send your wedding invitations out a bit earlier than if you had. In the 8 to 16 week range, you may want to lean more towards 16 weeks before the wedding for invitations if you did not send guests a save- the-date. This way, guests have a little more warning and more time to plan.
When To Send Save
These little cards can be sent as early as six to 10 months out. If youre having a destination wedding, you may want to send it a year before the event. It allows guests to mark the date on their calendars, ask for time off work, plan vacations around it, and save money if funds are tight.
If your plans are set more than a year before the event, wait a few months, or your guests might not put it on their calendars. Dont wait until too close to the wedding, or you may have a lot of RSVPs returned with regrets.
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How To Create Save
Since save-the-dates are less formal than your official wedding invite, you have a lot of different options on how you can create your save-the-date. There really is no formal save-the-date etiquette when it comes to designs or format.
If you are planning a more formal wedding, then a classic invite in an envelope could be the way to go. Other couples enjoy getting creative, sending a postcard or even a magnet that guests can stick on the fridge.
Some couples may wonder if an email invite will suffice. Email invites are certainly easy, convenient and cost-effective, but they also have some downsides. Invites, especially those sent through invitation websites, often get caught in spam filters. It’s also possible that some of the email addresses you have for your friends and family are old and no longer valid. Finally, not everyone checks their email regularly, and your invite could quickly become lost in a pile of other email.
If you want to ensure the most visibility for your save-the-date, then a physical mailing is probably your best bet. Also, a snail mailing gives you the chance to show off your gorgeous engagement photos.
Unique Save The Date Ideas
Save the date invitations are usually simple in their wording, only containing information about the date in question, the couples names and perhaps a location. Hence, after a while, regardless of different design and paper choices, they can all start to look quite similar. For those who want to stand out from the crowd, unique save the date ideas will set you apart.
For that personal, homely touch, you can make edible items such as jars of jam for example, and your save the dates can be printed on sticker labels and attached to the jars. This could also be applied to any food items like cookies or sachets of tea blends or home made granola. Save the dates could also be made into gift tags in this case and tied onto an item thats gifted along with the invitation. The arrival of these items in the post will definitely make for a memorable, unique save the date.
This isnt limited to food items, perhaps for a beach wedding, you could collect seashells to send to your guests to increase anticipation for the future trip away. The shells can be a placeholder to attach the card to for a unique save the date idea for destination weddings
SUMMER SAVE THE DATES IDEAS
Nautical symbols and materials e.g. anchor, rope
AUTUMN WEDDING SAVE THE DATES IDEAS
Reds and oranges, from burnt sienna to Burgundy
Shades of brown such as chocolate and coffee
Hints of sage or forest green
Birds
Insects like dragonflies or bees
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Don’t Worry About Staying On Brand
Vega also recommends that you dont put too much pressure on having your theme finalized before creating save-the-dates. Many couples feel that they have to send out save-the-dates that match their wedding decor or wedding colorsthis is not true, she says. My advice is to choose something that displays your personality, or maybe a favorite place that you have been or something fun. Do something opposite and don’t give away the wedding goods just yet!
Sending Save The Date For 2022
Posted in Plan a wedding0
Anyone else feel silly for sending save the dates for 2022 with all the provinces currently in different lock down restrictions? Ours is a destination wedding two provinces away which is why I want to send them sooner than 8 months. And not to mention with all the post ponements from last year and this year I want to inform our guests ASAP.
on April 18, 2021 at 13:47
- Laura Frequent user On April 18, 2021 at 13:47
I think it makes sense to send them out for 2022! In fact, the people doing my invitations/stationery are strongly advising that people with 2022 weddings send out save the dates much earlier than normal, even over 12 months in advance if you want to. They’re saying this because 2022 is now going to have even MORE weddings than expected with people postponing from 2020 and again from 2021. They are seeing a lot more people doing weekday weddings, and weekends jam packed with events as people hope for more in 2022. It definitely doesn’t hurt to send things early – even if they just leave it on the fridge or put it in their calendar now and then forget about it, at least they’ll have it marked down before they get scheduling conflicts from other events!
We are planning to postpone our August 2021 wedding once our venue allows us to pick a new date and then will be sending new the save the dates/change the dates ASAP. I already have 7 weddings to attend in 2022!
Reply
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Sending Electronic Save The Dates
One of the main reasons to send digital save the dates is convenience. Traditional save-the-date cards require ordering, proofing, printing, waiting for delivery, addressing, applying postage, and physical mailing, all of which can take weeks.
Since most online stationery sites are so easy to navigate, you can select and pay for your design within an hour flat, all with a few clicks.
Who Should Receive A Save
Everyone who gets your save-the-date should definitely be on your final wedding guest list. Once you tell someone to save your wedding date, there’s no turning back. Take care in determining your save-the-date list, especially if you haven’t settled on a final wedding budget and/or venue yet. If you don’t have all the details ironed out and aren’t sure how many people you can invite, then send your save-the-dates only to your top-tier guests. You can always create a B guest list for those you’ll send a formal invite to if you have enough space.
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How Early Is Too Early For Wedding Invitations
Many brides want to send out their invitations early so that they can confirm their numbers with vendors, but sending wedding invitations too early can be a mistake. Often, guests end up leaving the invitation in a pile of mail and forget to respond, or they cannot commit to a date so far in advance. In other cases, they may RSVP yes and then forget about it because so much time has passed between their RSVP and the actual event.
As we stated above, anywhere from 8 weeks to 16 weeks before the wedding is an acceptable time to send invitations. Sending out invitations earlier may seem like a good idea to get planning done sooner, but ultimately it may make finalizing your guest list numbers more difficult.
Are Save The Dates Necessary
Save the dates are a convenient way to give your guests a heads up on your planned wedding date so that they can say no to other commitments, plan for travel , and lets guests know that they are definitely invited to the wedding. If you dont send save the dates, you run the risk of having people miss your special day because they werent given time to plan ahead.
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Take Into Account Your Guests Outside Of Your Area Or Country
One thing that you should remember is that the exact date of when you should send out your save the date invitations should be a personalized according to where most of your wedding guests are living.
You need to consider your family members and other loved ones who live far away so that they can make the necessary travel arrangements. These are things such as book hotel rooms, organize childcare if they have children too young to travel, and go to travel plan registry information centers to beat the crowd. They may even turn your wedding event into a holiday weekend if they receive plenty of time to plan.
