Aside from the usual pomp and ceremony that is often associated with wedding day etiquette, customs, and traditions, there are other rules and formalities that are considered to be polite protocol, especially when it comes to sending out the first piece of wedding stationery that your guests will receive. The save the date card is a pre-invitation designed to announce your nuptials so that guests can get in the celebration loop and start making arrangements to join you on your big day.
When writing your save-the-date cards, in preparation to pop them in the post, there are a number of important factors to consider.
Update Address Book
One of the first things you need to do before sending out your save-the-date cards is to make sure your address book is up to date with the correct addresses. You don’t want your cards coming back in the mail when you have the wrong address. Have you lost touch with someone that you really want to be at your wedding? You can always do a people search to locate their current address. You can do a search on different factors such as name and the last location you remember. The more information you have, the more likely you will find them.
Common Courtesy
Although it’s not compulsory to send save-the-date invitations, it is important that you exercise common courtesy by letting your guests know about your impending wedding plans and arrangements as soon as possible. Personalized Atelier Rosemood wedding stationery stylishly gives your guests the necessary heads up on your nuptials to ensure they are free and available to attend on your special day.
Compile Your Guest List
Unless you’re planning to marry the life of your life in a secret ceremony, you’ll probably want to have some guests in attendance on your wedding day. If your dream wedding is a lavish affair, you’ll have more freedom when compiling the all-important guest list. Limited numbers will require you to decide which guests make the A-list and who is a standby.
Don’t send out save-the-date cards to anyone on your B-list until you have confirmation from your A-listers. Once you mail a save the date card, you are obligated to follow on with an official wedding invitation too. The recipient of the save the date card will expect that you will send a personalized wedding invitation at the appropriate time. Not sending a wedding invitation is considered to be as rude as uninviting a guest to your wedding!
Choosing the Perfect Save The Date Cards
While it’s considered classy to have a save-the-date card that matches your personalized wedding invitations and wedding thank you cards, it’s actually not essential that they match. Even if you’re not in the slightest bit artistic or creatively minded, it’s still easy to create stylish wedding stationery if you select a theme and a color palette and carry through a repeat design or matching motif.
However, the primary purpose of a save-the-date card is to announce your wedding plans in a memorable manner. Sometimes this is best done with a customized save-the-date card, a unique, one-of-a-kind design. Your perfect save-the-date card should reflect your personalities as individuals and as a couple and be personalized with essential information. If you get favorable comments from friends and family members to whom you have sent the save-the-date cards, you’ll know you have picked the perfect design.
What To Include On Your Save The Date Cards
A save-the-date card is designed to announce your plans to tie the knot and provide your guests information on the wedding venue and location. You can also include a link to your wedding website if you have one and a brief note stating that the wedding invitation will follow shortly.
For a formal wedding that extends over the course of an entire weekend, it’s polite to include a day-to-day itinerary in the envelope with the save-the-date card. Let your guests know what events you have planned – Friday night welcome cocktails and nibbles, Saturday wedding ceremony and reception, and brunch on Sunday. Also, don’t forget to include details of the dress code.
The save-the-date card for a destination wedding should include information about the wedding venue, hotel details, and all travel arrangements.
Allow Plenty Of Time To RSVP
If you want to ensure that your closest friends and favorite family members can celebrate your wedding day with you, it’s recommended that you send out your wedding alert and save the date cards in good time. Wedding etiquette rules generally suggest that you post your save-the-date cards six to eight months before your wedding day. When sending your personalized wedding invitations, it’s important to make sure that they are in the post eight weeks before your special day.
To attend your wedding, some people may need to make a variety of lifestyle arrangements, including travel, childcare, pet-sitting, and time off work, so it’s polite to give them plenty of time to decide if they can come to your wedding and RSVP.
The Destination Wedding
If you and your beloved have decided to have an exotic destination wedding and want friends and family to join you on your special day, you’ll need to give guests plenty of extra notice. As soon as you’ve chosen your dream location and wedding venue, start compiling your guest list and pick out the perfect personalized Atelier Rosemood stationery for your wedding. It’s good etiquette to send your save-the-date cards nine months to a year in advance. This provides sufficient time for guests to book flights and reserve a hotel room. The same etiquette rule also applies if you decide to get wed on a major holiday date like Christmas Day or New Year’s Eve.
Featured Image by B. Schmidt from Pixabay