Some would say not, but many believe that save the dates are essential in the wedding planning process. Sending out save the dates is an ideal way to organize your guest list. It's a given that you will be sending out RSVP cards to all of your guests, but with one step further, your guests will be better prepared to RSVP to your special day in a timely manner if they have first received a save the date card. In turn, this will allow you to better organize your guest list and everything that comes with guest count - seating arrangements, dinner options, etc.

Save the dates can be sent out as soon as 6 months in advance. If you are having a destination wedding, or planning a ceremony on a holiday weekend, we would recommend adding one to two months to send your save the date cards out to your guests. This will give your guests time to save up, book travel tickets, and take time off of work if necessary.

Save the dates should include just the essential points of information your guests may need to plan ahead. Include the names of the persons getting married, the date(s) of the ceremony and reception, and the location (even if your venue isn't booked, you can still note the city so that out of town guests can plan accordingly). It also helps to include a note along the lines of “formal invitation to follow” as this is not by any means a formal invite.

The purpose of your save the date cards are solely to let your invited guests know when and where your wedding will take place, so that they can take the necessary steps to insure that they can make it to your special day. Because you are sending these cards out so far in advance, adding an RSVP method with this would cause more harm than help for yourself. The farther it is from your wedding day, the more difficult it is for your guests to know if they can attend or not. That's why it's best to keep save the date cards free of any RSVP methods.

That's completely based on your preference! Some prefer uniformity and consistency, while others prefer to have more fun by deferring from their theme with their save the dates. Remember, it's your big day, so you can design your cards however you'd like!

Postcard production may take anywhere from 2-8 business days. As for shipping, standard shipping generally takes an additional 2 to 6 business days on top of the print production time. Rush production and expedited shipping may be available for your order. If you live close to one of our facilities, you may pick up your order at no additional cost. For more information, please visit our Production Time page.