Wedding Save the Date Cards & Magnets
When the initial excitement of your engagement has sunk in, Save the Dates are one of the first things a bride and groom pick out together and send before the invites. Your save the date sets the tone for the entire wedding, so it is important that you get the right card or magnet. Whatever you choose will be in your guests’ homes up until the coveted invitation arrives, so make sure you get a product that your friends and family will cherish.
What Are Wedding Save the Dates?
A save the date is a small card sent through the mail to a potential wedding guest. It’s similar to an invite: it tells the guest when and where the wedding is, and who’s getting married. But they’re not traditionally used as formal invites, which are sent closer to the date of the wedding.
The biggest are around the size of a greetings card, but they come in lots of shapes and sizes (e.g. 10cm by 10cm, or 16cm by 16cm). Some are square and some are rectangular, and you can even buy fridge magnet save the dates.
There are varieties which are folded, and others which aren’t. Which you pick depends entirely on your preference, and on what kind of wedding you want to have.
What Are Save The Dates For?
The point of a save the date is in the name. They allow guests to save up and take time off work so that they can attend your wedding. They are sent four months in advance, or eight months in advance for a destination wedding.
If you don’t send a save the date, then guests may be surprised when an invitation arrives. They may also not have enough time to book the day off work, or saved-up money to attend.
Because a save the date is the first thing you send to a potential guest, they also set the tone for your wedding. If you want a rural wedding, for example, then you can pick a design to suit. You can also pick a save the date in whatever colour you choose for the theme of your big day.
Why Order Save The Dates from Bride & Groom Direct?
Bride & Groom Direct is an online store that specialises in wedding stationery: things like save the dates, wedding invites, Thank You cards and more. So, you can buy everything you need from us all at once, saving you both time and money.
Better yet, all of our products can be personalised. This means you can have your save the dates printed in more than a hundred designs, in almost any colour of the rainbow. You can have your own names printed on your save the date at no extra cost, and even put your own image in certain designs.
If you’re interested in one of the designs below, but you still aren’t sure whether you’d like to order it or not, we offer free samples.
FAQs: Do I Need Save The Dates for a Wedding?
Some couples choose to send only an invitation rather than both an invitation and a save the date. That’s because they each serve similar functions: they tell the guest when and where the wedding is, and give them time to prepare. However, there’s an important reason to send both.
The main reason is that the two work together. The save the date gives advance warning, allowing the guests to book time off work long in advance. The invitation then serves as a reminder, and alongside an RSVP, also lets you know who will and won’t be attending.
If you sent only an invitation, you wouldn’t give your guests time to prepare. You could send the invitations further in advance, but this puts pressure on the guests to respond quickly because of the RSVP. And if you sent a save the date on its own, your guests may not consider themselves formally invited, and wouldn’t necessarily respond to let you know if they’re coming or not.
When Should Save The Dates Be Sent for a Wedding?
Save the dates should be sent out far in advance of the wedding day. The idea is to give your guests time enough to prepare, so for a local wedding, 4 months in advance is an acceptable time frame. You then send your formal invitations at a date closer to the ceremony.
For a destination wedding, you should send out your save the dates between 8 and 12 months in advance instead. This gives guests time to both book time off work and save up the money needed to attend.
Sending save the dates too early isn’t a problem while sending them too late is. So, if you want to have them arranged earlier than 4 months in advance, that isn’t a problem. But later than that, and your guests won’t have enough time.
What Should You Include on a Save the Date?
A save the date shouldn’t be overcomplicated. All it needs to tell your potential guest is when the wedding is, and who’s getting married. Some also say where the wedding will be held, but this isn’t strictly necessary.
You don’t need to send an RSVP with a save the date. The RSVP should be sent with the formal invitation instead. If you aren’t planning on sending both a formal invitation and a save the date, you should send your RSVP with whatever you do send.
If you’re worried about designing your own save the date, don’t be. Our designs come with template text which ticks each of these boxes. All you have to do is put your own names in—it really is as simple as that.
Do You Send Save The Dates to Everyone?
Sending a save the date to each guest you intend to invite is best practice. It is possible to inform certain guests in person or over the phone. But sending a save the date to every date is preferable because:
- There’s less chance of forgetting to invite somebody
- There’s less confusion on the guest’s part as to whether they will be invited or not
- Nobody will feel left out
- Some guests may want to keep their save the date as a memento
Save the dates are also one of the cheapest forms of wedding stationery. This means that there are only minimal savings to be made by sending save the dates to some guests but not others.
How Much Do Save The Dates Cost?
Save the dates shouldn’t be expensive. They’re simple cards which are bought in bulk. But what can make them expensive is if they’re personalised: they don’t just allow you to write your own names or message on them, but actually have these things professionally printed on them.
However, at Bride & Groom Direct, we offer personalisation of our products free of charge. You can have your own names, your own message, your own picture and choose your own font all for the cost of a normal save the date. Our prices start at just 50p per card for a basic design.
Better still, we even offer free save the dates, no strings attached. All you have to pay is standard UK shipping.
