So begins
your wedding planning. Obviously the first thing you need to do is start
viewing places for your ceremony and reception, because without those
there is no wedding.

Once you
nailed down your wedding's place and date - then its time to get the word
out. This is especially important if you are having your wedding during
peak wedding season (usually the spring, early summer) or over any holiday
weekend. Keep in mind, that while surely your guests are looking forward
to celebrating with you, they can have conflicts. Wedding season unfortunately
conflicts with graduation season, and long weekends are usually booked
up with vacation plans way in advance.

If possible,
you want to send your save
the date cards out 6-9 months in advance. Lean toward the longer end
of that spectrum if you have guests coming long distance or if you have
a popular wedding date booked.

Now comes
the fun part.

What should
they look like? Do they have to match? Who should I send them to? What
should my save the dates say? How much information do I need to include?
The answer to all those questions is easy. Its entirely up to you and
your fiancée. As long as the most important information is on there
- your names and your date all the rest is gravy. However, to help guide
you through the decision making we offer these words of advice.

What should
they look like?

Save the
dates are your opportunity to get the word out about your approaching
wedding in fun, expressive way. Save
the date announcements can be more casual than your more formal
wedding invitation. However, keep in mind this is your chance to create
a first impression. Your guests will receive your save
the date and start forming impressions on what kind of event it will
be. So we suggest you be unique, but use high quality materials. Nothing
sends the wrong message like flimsy materials.

Some suggestions for unique save the dates can be found here:

Flower
fold save the date

Tea
length save the date

Hidden
pocket save the date

Asian
influenced save the date

Do they
have to match?

Nope. They don't have to match the rest of your wedding, but they can.
If you are the kind of person who has been dreaming of what your wedding
would look like even before you were engaged then perhaps you have some
ideas already for color themes, design styles, etc. If that's the case,
great! Work with it! However, often times those types of wedding decisions
are not solidified so early in the game so don't sweat it. The priority
is to get those save
the dates in the mail so you get on your guests' calendars. Another
consideration, if you are the type A personality with your wedding plans
all mapped out, you are going to be seeing a lot of those colors or design
decisions over the upcoming months. So much so that you might get a little
sick of your chosen colors (gasp! Say it isn't so!) The save
the date offers the opportunity to use your second choice color ideas,
just to mix it up a bit. The point is, if you see something completely
unrelated to your wedding ideas that you absolutely love - go for it!

Who do
I send it to?

Lose the notion that the save
the date has to be sent to everyone on your list - because it doesn't.
In fact, (and you didn't hear this from us) if there are people on your
list that are what we like to call "obligatory invites" = people
you really have to invite due to family ties, or professional connections,
this would be a good time to hold off. We aren't saying to disinvite them,
but if they only receive the formal
invitation then no harm done. The reality is if you are inviting your
boss to the wedding simply because it's the politically correct thing
to do, then you are probably secretly hoping he/she doesn't come. Having
said all this, we do recommend you make sure you send your save
the date to people who might interact with eachother. Say you have
a distant Great Aunt Matilda who you are inviting purely out of family
obligation. Normally you would not send her a save
the date. However, if your Great Aunt Matilda has dinner over your
cousin Amy's house and sees your save
the date hanging on her refrigerator there might be feelings hurt.

What should
my save the dates say? How much information do I need to include?

The way to think of save
the dates is almost like directions. You are instructing your guests
to save
the date, and beyond that you are giving them all the most important
information in order to make arrangements to attend. For a local wedding
with not many long distance guests you could get away with just your names,
the date of your wedding and the town where you will be holding the event.
However, that is rarely the case. Usually planning couples have information
they would like to communicate. Here are the various ways to do so and
things you can include:

The date:

Obviously!

Your names:

You can keep it casual and just use your first names or if you are concerned
this might confuse your guests you can use both of your full names. However,
the point can be made if your guests don't know you by your first names,
why are they being invited?

The place:

You really don't need to give them the exact GPS location of you wedding
but just a general region would be a good idea. For example, "New
York City."

Everything
beyond those first three things are optional:

Hotel
information:

Chances are you are going to reserving some hotel blocks for your guests.
If you know that information it would very helpful to your guests to have
it early with your save
the date. However if haven't gotten to your blocks yet, don't worry.
You can include that information with your formal invitation. If you aren't
doing blocks for your guests, its still not a bad idea to recommend places
to stay to your guests.

Website
URL:

Wedding
websites are a great idea. It gives you a place to communicate all
the information you have unlimited. It also can be updated as decisions
are made - which should be a great comfort to you.

Airport
information:

If a lot of your guests are flying to your wedding, then you might want
to include how far your ceremony and reception location is from the airport.
Also to note, several of the major airlines will offer a discount that
you can pass onto your guests. You simply need to call the airlines in
advance and explain that you are planning a large event.

Car rental
information:

Car rental company will do the same. They will offer a discount that you
can pass onto your guests. Again, call the car rental companies in advance
and explain that you are planning a large event.

Things
to do/Places to eat:

This type of information is totally optional but can be a nice touch for
your guests especially if they are coming long distance to attend your
wedding. It could convince your guests to make an extended weekend of
your wedding if you suggest some fun activities for everyone before and
after your wedding. Also, if you have favorite restaurant recommendations
that can be a nice personal touch for your guests to enjoy.

Lastly, be
sure to include the text "Formal Invitation to Follow."
If you don't you will be surprised at how many people will call you thinking
your save the date is your wedding
invitation. Your great Aunt Matilda (assuming you sent her that save
the date after all) is going to ask, "Where is the rsvp card?"

-
written by Lauren Franklin