What to Include on Your Save the Date Card
While save the date cards are becoming fairly common as more people have guests scattered around the country or even around the world, they are still fairly new to the wedding stationery suite and it can be a little confusing to know what exactly to include. As a professional stationer, I have received many questions from my clients and so I thought I would give a breakdown of a traditional Save the Date card so you know exactly what to include!
Personal Elements
This can range from a monogram to a motif illustration, or if you have a photo save the date, this could be considered your personal element. While totally optional, this personal element can give your save the data card a unique touch and also highlight the type of wedding you will be having. Maybe your having a mountain wedding, so you include a little mountain motif. Or maybe your going for an elegant affair and you want to include a traditional monogram.
Reason for the Card
It might seem obvious to you, but you’ll want your guests to know why they’re receiving this beautiful piece of mail. You can go traditional with wording along the lines of “Save the Date for the marriage of Monica Kemper and Sean Williams” or maybe you want to be fun and modern and say that “Kasey Davis and Lauren Mason are getting hitched!” Either way, now your guests now what they should be marking on their calendars.
Names
You’d be surprised at the number of save the dates I’ve seen without names on them, especially when the couple goes with a photo save the date. You want to make sure your guests know whose wedding they should save the date for. And while not required, I usually recommend including last names just so there’s no confusion!
Date & Place
If you’re sending out save the dates, it’s highly likely you have a date and a place set and if you don’t, maybe hold off on sending anything official! We all know you’re excited but you don’t want to send out a card with your preferred date, only to find out your favorite venue doesn’t have that date available. Speaking of venue, there’s no need to include your exact venue, just a city and state are fine. This will help your guests who live out of town start to think of travel plans.
Wedding Website
This is another optional piece, but if you have a wedding website, this is a great place to let your guests know about it. This way you can provide them more information without cluttering up a card. If you’ve been thinking of setting up a website but don’t have it finished yet, it’s still okay to include it. Guests know that things may not be set in stone when you send out save the dates, but they’ll appreciate having a website to reference as they start making plans. And you’ll appreciate not having to field a million questions from cousin Susan!
What happens next
I’ve seen this mainly happen with the older crowd, but sometimes guests think that the save the date is the invitation and then are confused when there’s no information about how to respond. Including a short line stating that an invitation will be coming their way in the future, helps reassure Uncle Ben and Aunt Kathy that they didn’t miss the memo about how to RSVP.
