Save the Date Etiquette: 5 Tips To Get You Started

With a rock on your hand and a wedding to plan, have you even thought about sending your save the dates yet? Once you’ve established your wedding date, location, and guest list, it’s time to get your guests in the loop on what the plan is. Consider your save the dates as a little heads up, so they can clear their calendars in time for all the fun that's to come.

Before you get started, we have a five tips to help make sure you do it right AND keep your sanity. Because as much as we love perusing through all the cute designs out there, it can seem totally overwhelming. So take a deep breath and read all our helpful tips below.

1. Not Sending Them At All

Mistake numero uno. Sure, you could skip them all together, but here’s the thing...If you don’t give your guests a chance to save your date, odds are they won’t be able to make it at all which would be a real bummer for everyone. This is especially important if you’re planning a destination wedding or a weekend long event. Now there are exceptions, like if you have a really short engagement (6 months or less) then you’ll want to send out your invites as soon as freakin possible.

2. Sending Them Too Late or Early

Timing is everything! Sending them out late really defeats the purpose of sending them at all, while sending them too early could mean your guests will probably put your wedding on the back burner and forget. So, when is the perfect time to send them? Around 6-4 months before the wedding date. This will give your guests plenty of time to make arrangements (book flights, ask for time off work, etc) and thus increasing the likelihood they’ll be able to attend.

3. Electronic vs. Paper

We’re not going to lie, we're team paper all the way. If you’re in the fence then here are a couple things to consider: First, electronic invites are considered very informal for an important event like a wedding, but they do work for smaller events like your bachelor/ette parties. Second, even in this day and age not everyone is tech savvy so you really have to consider all of your guests in this scenario. A paper save the date guarantees that all your guests will see it, which is the ultimate goal. Plus, they'll probably throw it up on the fridge as a reminder, especially if there's a cute photo on the front.

4. Stressing over the Design

Let’s be real here, your save the dates do not have to match your wedding theme or your wedding invite. Why? Because odds are you’re still playing around with the look of your wedding. So save yourself the stress and just keep it simple. If you're still concerned about it not matching, then go with a cute photo save the date.

5. Adding Your Registry

Ditch it. Since your save the date is all about getting your guests to mark their calendars, you don’t need to worry about adding the gift registry just yet. Some might even consider that poor taste, so just stick to the basics. All you should include are your names, the date, location, and your wedding website (have you seen our free sites?). The rest of the deets + gifts can be saved for your formal invite later on.