Save-the-date invitations are an informal way announcing your event and hoping that family and friends are able to save the date to attend your wedding so to speak. It does not have to take any particular form, but the most common save-the-date invitations are sent in the form of cards, magnets, or even bridal stationery. Although it is not mandatory to send, but there are very obvious reasons why one should send a save-the-date, especially if you hope that people you’ve invited can make it to your wedding as much as possible.

How early should I send them?

Save-the-date invitations should reach your guests about four months before your wedding, though six months is ideal. If your guests do not have to travel too far to attend your wedding, or if your wedding does not fall on any festive holidays, there should be plenty of time for them to make plans.

If you’re working on a destination wedding, or planning to hold your wedding during very peak travelling times, then you would want to consider giving more time, like six months or even up to a year. It really depends on what you have planned for yourself.

Must I send them?

If you are planning on a destination wedding, or somewhere where your guests have to travel to, then the answer is definitely a ‘yes’. You need to give people time to plan for their travelling and accommodation, arrange for somebody to take over their work tasks, and perhaps to babysit their children.

The point in your invitation is to hope that they are able to attend your wedding, so I believe this fair amount of effort to send a save-the-date invitation should be worthwhile. It is also considerate to give people time to prepare to attend your wedding.

What should I include?

First of all, it should include your names, the wedding location and date. If you have not decided on an exact location yet, it would be sufficient to include just the city and state. You may want to put in the address of your wedding website if you have any, and your contact numbers just in case they need to contact you. Try not to put too much information on your save-the-date invitations as it may only make it look overcrowded.

You want make your save-the-date invitations as simple as possible, but make sure it has a personal touch to it, for example using your photos as a background. You don’t want your card to look like just anybody’s because they can get dumped on the table together with other junk mail. Have fun with it!

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