Everything About Wedding Save the Date Cards

Everything About Save the Date Cards
By Jeff Fain

Save the date cards are miniature announcements that precede actual invitations, and their main use pertains to weddings. They’re informal, concise, and pave the way for the actual invitations, much later on. Since weddings are events that require participation and attendance of the extended families on both sides, it can be quite hairy to ensure that they’re all there. In order to allay any potential problems with attendance, save the date cards are sent from 6 to 9 months in advance, but 12 months is appropriate if the wedding coincides with special holidays and/or it’s a destination wedding.

Save the date cards can take the form of any message medium, and often do. They sometimes correspond in style to the wedding invitations, or they take the form of refrigerator magnets, brochures, postcards, booklets, or tri-fold letters. The medium is up to you, but the shortness of the message usually lends itself well to magnets or small cards.

Since save the date cards are a recent phenomenon, it’s helpful to include an addendum along the lines of ‘invitation to follow’. That way, invitees will not mistake the card for the actual invitation because the real invitation will have more details, be more elaborately designed, and more prestigious in general. In other words, your guests won’t think you and your spouse are cheapskates that are as scant on information as you are on cash.

The wording of save the date cards never strays far from a central outline. The names of the couple, date, city, and addendum, ‘invitation to follow’ or ‘formal invitation to follow’ are the only required elements. The save the date card looks like a succinct verse on a small minimalist-style card.

Save the date cards are a simple courtesy to your guests so that they can make travel arrangements and clear busy schedules. The preliminary predecessor to your wedding invitations can also get out the word in such a way, with so much advance time, that any of the guests can then start helping you prepare, decorate, do the bridal shower, or assist in numerous other ways with the actual wedding. They’re minor cards that foreshadow the real invitations to follow. It’s still wise to have your save the date cards give hints about the season, theme, location, or tone of your wedding. For example, if it’s a destination wedding in Paris, Hawaii, Bali, or California, then include landmarks or symbols of each locale.

A final note is to have your guest list 100% finalized before sending the save the date cards.

Jeff Fain is an author for Dependable Printing. Please visit Dependable Printing for a great selection of wedding invitations, wedding anniversary invitations, bridal shower invitations, save the date cards, and much more.

Wedding Save the Date Cards and Invitation Ideas

Silver Jacket Invitations Kit $34.00	“Save the Date” Magnet Kit $35.50	Chocolate Border Invitation Kit $32.99
Gold Deckled Invitation Kit $48.00	Gold Hearts Invitation Kit $48.00	Gold Swirl Invitation Kit $34.99

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