Wedding Etiquette Wednesday | 10 Tips for Your “Save The Date!”
Who Hoo!!
You are engaged! He Officially Put a Ring on it!…you all have the date and the location and you want to make sure that everybody near and far knows about your upcoming nuptials!
Save the Date‘s are a new piece of the wedding tradition. Because formal invitations are usually sent only 6-8 weeks before the event they are basically only a formality. Anybody who is coming already knows that they are coming so Save the Dates have become increasingly more important. Who’s schedule isn’t booked a couple months out? I would like 6 Months to know and prepare for an event as monumental as as friend or family members wedding.
Here are 10 Tips to Make Sure that Your Save The Dates Are as fabulous as your wedding is going to be!
1. Timeliness is very important! You want to make sure that you send out save the dates approximately SIX MONTHS before the actual wedding event. If you are getting married in June, sending a Save the Date in January would be the thoughtful and courteous thing to do!
2. Refrigerator Magnets are awesome! …and they can be extra fabulous!! If somebody sees your name, picture and wedding date on a daily basis they are more likely to attend, RSVP and be a major part of all of the wedding festivities!
3. Recommended, not required. While I personally would not dream of having a big IMPORTANT event like a wedding without sending a Save The Date they are Recommended, not required. However, they are becoming more and more commonplace as destination weddings are becoming more common. If somebody needs to travel to another state you want to make sure that you give them PLENTY of notice!
4. If You Send Somebody a Save the Date, you Must Send an Invitation. Yes even if they cannot attend. Its the right and appropriate thing to do and its probably going to get you a gift as well! So unless somebody passes away, keep them on your list!
Wedding Tip: Be Very intentional about your Save the Date list. It will become your wedding invitation list. If there is somebody that you feel questionable about, do not invite them. This is your day of happiness, not your day of revenge.
5. Your Save the Dates Should Represent Your Wedding. So if you are going to have a formal church wedding then your save the date should echo that formailty as well. If you are going to be having a casual boho-style wedding then you will want to have a save the date that mirrors that style too!
Do You Know The Etiquette of Returning A Wedding Gift When an Annulment Happens?
6. The Wedding Stationery Suite should compliment each other. I believe that the wedding invite and the save the date should also be clearly related to each other. This creates a very well put together invitation!
7. “Formal Invitation to Follow” is required verbiage on the Save the Date.
8. The Save the Date can also include hotel information for out of town guests. If you are having a destination wedding, more detailed travel information should be included.
Wedding Tip: If you are having a Destination Wedding, hire a travel agent to make your life easier. You do not want to be responsible for coordinating travel under any circumstances.
9. An Online Save the Date is too casual. An email can be missed or deleted or somebody may have changed email addresses. An online invitation is fine to go along WITH a mailed invitation(its only slightly over kill), but should never replace it. However inside of the actual invitation, giving your guests the option to respond via email is in fine taste and makes responding for most people easier. Never remove the option to respond via mail, everyone is not web savvy.
10. Do Not Place Confetti inside of your Save the Date.
These are just a few tips on sending out your Save the Date for one of the most important days of your life!
Classily Yours,
Sharelle D. Lowery
Business, Etiquette & Lifestyle Blogger | Author
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