Wedding Stationery Explained: Save the Dates

Hello! I’m starting a new mini series today called ‘Wedding Stationery Explained’, to (hopefully) explain the function of each piece of wedding stationery. Some things are fairly obvious, some things you might never have come across before, and others may seem simple, but actually involve more than you think.

For each item, I’ll discuss the role it plays in your wedding, what you need to include, when you use them, and when you don’t need them. So, let’s get started with the very first piece of wedding stationery you may use; Save the Dates

These are one of those self-evident things- you’re telling your guests that you’ve booked your wedding date, and requesting that they keep the date free so they can attend. The phrasing of Save the Dates generally is as follows:

Save the Date

Elizabeth Bennet & Fitzwilliam Darcy

21st May 2016

Formal Invitation to Follow

You may choose to add ‘are getting married on’ after the names, or mix up the order to names/date/Save the Date or date/names/Save the Date, but so long as you get all of those pieces of information on there somewhere, it’ll be fine

If you choose to have Save the Dates, you may want to tie in any colours or themes you’re planning on having as part of your wedding styling, but for many couples these details aren’t in place yet and they choose a fairly generic design, or a photograph of themselves

There are a huge number of formats Save the Dates can take, from a simple postcard to fridge magnets and even balloons. It doesn’t matter which you pick, so long as the details get there 🙂

Many couples choose to omit Save the Dates altogether, which is fine. However, you really should consider them if you’re getting married any time people may typically be unavailable, e.g, summer holidays, Christmas or near a Bank Holiday, or if you have guests who will need to travel a long way and make arrangements for that, or if you plan to wed abroad (in which case adding an extra line detailing where you’ll be getting married would also be useful)

Save the Dates are typically sent about 9 months or more ahead of the wedding; if your wedding is nearer than this, you can probably skip them and go straight for the invitations, unless you really want them, in which case, don’t let me stop you 😉

Next week, we’ll be taking a look at Wedding Invitations, so do check back then or subscribe so you get a notification when the post is online x