Mark Those Calendars! Save-The-Date Cards Say When

As many as 90 percent of engaged couples are now sending save-the-date cards four to six months before their weddings to ensure their guests know to set aside that special day!

Save-the-date announcements come in many forms — if you can dream it, chances are your stationer can do it. Just remember that the style of your save-the-date announcement will set the stage for the rest of the communication that will follow — formal invitations, shower notices, place cards, and more.

Our savvy Charlotte wedding planners say save-the-date magnets are the current rage with many brides who are looking for something that will leave a lasting impression and is an eye-catcher. When someone receives a magnet, he or she will usually place it on the refrigerator, so it doesn’t get buried in the pile of mail that may not be looked through again. If your save-the-date notice is in front of the milk or ice cream, invited guests will be reminded of your wedding day hundreds of times before it arrives!

Personalizing with pictures have couples often moving up their engagement photo sessions so they can design their save-the-dates using that perfect shot. Another twist is to add childhood photos of the bride and groom.

Wedding planner Ivy Robinson, of Ivy Robinson Weddings and Events, says some brides are using more nontraditional ways of making sure folks save their dates. She recently helped one whimsical bride, who had decided to make yellow her predominant wedding color, create tins filled with yellow Lemonheads and save-the-date information cards. Robinson was confident that the lucky guests who received save-the-date candy would be sure to mark their calendars, knowing they could look forward to a fun-filled, festive celebration.

Be sure that you have finalized your guest list before sending out your cards — you don’t want to ask people to save the date and then find out you have to trim them from your list! So, with that in mind and your selection of the date, your “save the date” announcements can be one of the first and most fun things you do as you begin your wedding planning! ~MJ