{"id":4699,"date":"2015-06-16T18:23:17","date_gmt":"2015-06-16T08:23:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/paperlust.co\/blog\/?p=4699"},"modified":"2026-04-13T12:14:34","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T02:14:34","slug":"why-have-a-save-the-date","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/paperlust.co\/blog\/why-have-a-save-the-date\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Have a Save the Date?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Save the date cards<\/a>\u00a0are not always necessary but it\u2019s an addition to the wedding stationery set that some people don\u2019t want to go past. You want to let people know you\u2019re getting married, but isn\u2019t that what a wedding invitation is for? Well, no.<\/p>\n

WHY A SAVE THE DATE INVITE CARD?<\/h2>\n

So generally, the save the date is something simple sent out well in advance of the big day to give guests the opportunity to make travel and accommodation plans (especially if they\u2019re having to travel far for a destination wedding<\/a>, or even if the wedding is falling on grand final weekend and hotels will be booked out by fly-in-fans).<\/span><\/p>\n

That means that maybe a save the date card isn\u2019t necessary if you\u2019re only planning a few months ahead and the wedding invitations<\/a> are going out soon anyway.<\/p>\n

Still not sure whether you need one? Try our short quiz:<\/p>\n

\"Do<\/a><\/p>\n

Destination wedding<\/strong>
\nYou must have a save the date if you\u2019re asking people to travel, especially overseas, so that they\u2019re able to organise their trip. For a destination wedding consider sending it out four to eight months ahead so guests have a chance to research what they\u2019re going to need to do. Later, the wedding invitation will give them all the details of the day itself. It\u2019s a good idea to provide information about possible accommodation and travel with the save the date for the destination wedding card<\/a>, rather than with the wedding invitation. The information with the wedding invitation can then be more detailed, with information about activities you might have planned outside of the ceremony and reception, and want your guests to join you on.<\/p>\n

Well planned<\/strong>
\nYou\u2019ve planned your wedding on a perfectly timed schedule and there is a three to four month window where you want to let people know you\u2019re getting married and it doesn\u2019t really make sense to wait for the invitations<\/a> to go out. This is the perfect time to send out the save the date. In this case, it\u2019s as simple as a card with the date and place, with a note of information to follow. Maybe you\u2019re not much of a traditionalist though, and you don\u2019t really want to send out a save the date. That\u2019s alright as well, just make sure you\u2019re not asking anything from guests that they don\u2019t need to be warned about well in advance.<\/p>\n

The International wedding<\/strong>
\nIn a global society, it is more than likely that at least one of your guests, if not several are living overseas. Whether it is your grandparents from the home country, cousins from across the ditch, or friends who have moved overseas to study or work it is extremely common these days that several of your intended guests live overseas. Many such guests would love the opportunity to fly to share your happy day, but like everyone else will need time to plan a trip, particularly if it involves 30 hours of flying time. If you are expecting that one or several of your guests fall into this category we recommend a save the date.<\/p>\n

There just isn\u2019t time<\/strong>
\nWith only two or three months until your wedding day, you can save time and energy by sending out the wedding invitation at eight weeks with your other wedding stationery cards and avoiding the question of a save the date card.<\/p>\n

THE BASICS<\/h2>\n

You\u2019ve taken the quiz and you\u2019ve decided you do need a save the date card for your wedding. Who do you need to send it to? What should you send? When do you need to send it out? How do you ask people to save the date?<\/p>\n

Who to send it to <\/strong>
\nSend your save the date invitations<\/a> to everyone you mean to send the wedding invitation to. There\u2019s no point sending it people you have no intention of inviting, and there isn\u2019t really any reason to leave off anyone from the guest list if you plan on sending them an official invitation anyway. Don\u2019t panic if you leave anyone out though. Like we said, the invitations are going to follow so the worst you\u2019re going to get is a \u2018where was my save the date card, huh?\u2019.<\/p>\n

When<\/strong>
\nSave the date cards should be sent out at least three to four months ahead of time for your average wedding. Destination weddings, and weddings where you expect a number of your guests to travel from overseas, should aim to send their save the dates out four to six months in advance, depending on how far guests will need to travel.<\/p>\n

What to send<\/strong>
\nTraditionally, the save the date card matches the suit of wedding stationery that will follow in a few months. But there are also some alternative weddings save the date invite ideas that we look at later, which meansthe card itself isn\u2019talways absolutely necessary.<\/p>\n

How to say<\/strong>
\nThe save the date invitation follows a lot of the rules we\u2019ve talking about before for wording your wedding invitation. The key is to:<\/p>\n