Save the Date Etiquette

 

It’s time to send out your save-the-date. Which officially makes everything seem more “real” since it’s the first time all the info—date and place—appears in one spot. Beyond your Instagram post, your save the date is the very first glimpse your guest will see of your wedding day.  It’s the perfect time to set the tone for what’s to come.  Along with sharing need-to-know details, save-the-dates are a great way to get people excited.  Now all of your friends and family can start making plans to attend, booking hotels, and vacation dates.  Avoid these save the date mistakes by following save the date etiquette as you start spreading the news.

 

 

Not Including Enough Information

Make sure to include necessary details like your names, wedding date, and location to make it easy for your guests to make travel arrangements.  Including the URL for your wedding website is an additional way to communicate important information. 

A Disconnected Design

Designing your save-the-dates early on, before you’ve had an opportunity to consider your wedding style and aesthetic, often results in a disjointed wedding stationery collection. This can be confusing for guests.  Before you send out save-the-dates be clear on the mood of your wedding and communicate that through the style of your stationery. 

Forgetting Last Names

Many modern save-the-date designs show first names only which looks clean and very striking. However, some guests, particularly your parents’ friends, won’t be familiar enough with you as a couple to know who the save-the-date is from.  If you decided to go with a design that features first names only, don’t forget to add last names on the return address, so they know who it’s coming from. 

 

Including Registry Info

Registry information should be reserved for the wedding website and shower invitations only.  However, it is appropriate to include the wedding website URL where guests will have access to registry information.

Timing of Mailing

Ideally, you should send out your save-the-dates 6 to 12 months before your wedding.  If you have a long engagement, wait until you’ve settled on a date and your venue is booked before sending them out.  Remember, for destination weddings and wedding dates that fall on a holiday weekend, I recommend mailing save-the-dates 9 to 12 months in advance.  

Skipping the Save-the-Date

If you decide not to send save-the-dates, be prepared to have a number of guests not be able to attend.  In our modern-day, people’s weekends book up quickly, and far in advance, especially for holiday weekends and summer dates.  Is your engagement is short or are most of your guests local?  Then it’s ok to skip the save-the-date and move right onto designing your wedding invitations.

 

Not Proofreading

Misspelled words or poor grammar instantly bring down the elegance of a printed piece of stationery.  If English wasn’t your strongest subject, get a second set of eyes on them before approving for print.  I suggest reading the wording out loud to help catch mistakes.  Part of my nearly foolproof printing process includes a print release, signing off that all pieces of the wedding stationery have been approved for spelling and wording. This step works well in eliminating errors.  

Ordering too Many

As with wedding invitations, not every guest needs their own save-the-date.  Save the date etiquette dictates that you only need to send one per family or household.  The exceptions to this rule are: Children over 18 years old living at home with their parents should receive their own save-the-date.  Unmarried couples not living together should each receive their own if they are both invited guests, not a plus on.  And adult roommates should all receive their own, so long as they are all invited guests and not someone’s plus one.

Not Following Up with an Invitation

The most important advice for save the date etiquette?   Only send them to people you plan to invite to the wedding.  Solidify your guest list before sending out save-the-dates, as changing your mind later isn’t polite.  Additionally, if you send a guest a save-the-date and they tell you they can’t attend, they should still receive a formal invitation in the mail.

If you are ready to order your save-the-dates for your upcoming wedding, we create custom designs for couples looking for stylish one-of-a-kind designs.   We specialize in well-branded weddings from save-the-date, to wedding invitations, to wedding day paper.