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When should I send out my wedding Save the Date cards?

Save the date cards are a great way to let your guests know in advance to save the date of your wedding giving you time to sort out the finer details to add into your main invitations. 

When to send out your save the date cards

When talking to couples about their wedding stationery, the first thing I always suggest is to think about how much time you have left before your wedding date, and if you can fit save the date cards in your time frame? Save the date cards are great if you have booked the date of your wedding a few years in advance, or maybe you are planning on getting married in the summer holidays or on a bank holiday. So you may not be ready to send out your invitations, but by letting your guests know the date you can make sure they don't book anything else and leave it free to attend your wedding.

They are also great if you're having a destination wedding, or you need your guests to travel, as it gives them time to start saving and prepare. Take a look at our passport themed Save the date cards which let your guests know to 'get their passports ready'.

Passport wedding save the date card

If you have less than a year until your wedding it's worth thinking about if save the dates are something you need as you don't want to send them out and then follow a few weeks later with your invitations. If you have less than 6 months until your wedding I would think about jumping straight into planning your invitations instead.

So if you've decided you want to send save the dates the big question is when should you send them?

The answer to this is whenever you are ready. 

For me the best day to send your save the dates is a year before your wedding date, and more specifically if your wedding is on the 1st September 2021 why not post them out so your guests receive them on the 1st September 2020. That way when they open the envelope they can picture what they will be doing this exact day the following year (just remember to think about how long the post usually takes to arrive).

Alternatively if your nearing the end of the year why not think about sending them out around the first week of January. The start of January is usually the time when we all start to think about the coming year and what we want to do, so give your guests something to look forward to, and something to write in their new diaries. 

One thing to also remember is if its too far in advance you don't want your guests to forget, so if you're a very organised Bride or Groom and planning your wedding 4 years in advance for example you may want to wait a little while or think about how you can make your save the dates so your guests won't loose them. Why not add a magnet onto the back of your save the date cards so they can stick them to their fridge. That way every time they go to get the milk they will be reminded. 

When thinking about sending your save the date one other thing to also think about is who are you sending your save the dates to?

Save the dates normally would only be sent to your daytime guests. Your daytime guests will need to clear their whole day to attend your wedding, whereas an evening guest can still attend work in the day and come along in the evening. Plus you don't want your evening guests to think they are invited to the whole event just to be disappointed when they receive an invitations only to the evening. If you want to send save the dates to your evening guests you can change the wording on our save the date templates to save 'save the evening' making it clear they are only invited to the later part of your day. 

Also when thinking about who you are sending your save the dates to, if you're planning your wedding a long time in advance and you haven't 100% finalised your guest list, or you can see that there might be changes in the future think about sending them to the people that you know are 100% on your final guest list. 

I really hope this post has helped you work out when the best time would be for you to send your save the dates and things you may not have considered when posting them to your guests. If you're ready to think about your save the dates make sure you take a look at our wide range of editable save the date templates, which are easy to edit and personalise for your special day. They also come with matching invitations and on the day stationery so you can continue the same theme throughout your whole day making the save the dates your guests first glimpse into what they can expect.

Plus why not save this post for later and pin it to Pinterest

when should you send out your save the date cards

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