Although you may have heard of a save the date card, or even received one, you may not know exactly know what they are or when to use them. Save the date cards are a new idea within the world of wedding planning, so there are few set rules regarding the practice. In recent years, save the date cards have become increasingly popular and helpful in the wedding planning process.

Busy Lives

Today, people’s lives are getting busier and busier. It is likely that every time you speak to your friends and family they are telling you just how busy they are with work, school, the kids, and life in general. This is exactly why save the date cards should be sent to your wedding guests. The purpose of sending such cards is to make sure that the people you want at your wedding know the date and location of the event. Save the date cards can help them clear their busy schedule and attend your wedding.

Types of Weddings Requiring Save the Dates

Save the date cards are not a required part of the wedding process, but they are very popular. Save the date cards are ideal for any wedding in which guests are invited. However, there are some types of weddings where save the date cards are especially useful. If the wedding is scheduled to take place on or around a holiday, you should consider sending save the date cards. Other times that save the date cards are greatly appreciated are when the wedding takes place at a faraway location or when most of the guests must travel to attend.

When to Send Save the Date Cards

It is a good idea to send save the date cards about four to six months before the wedding. This provides most guests with ample time to request time off from work, get a babysitter, and make any other arrangements needed to attend the wedding. If you are planning a destination wedding, be sure to send the save the date cards out as early as possible. In fact, a year or more is ideal especially when your friends and family may need to schedule vacation time or pay for expensive travel arrangements.

Types of Save the Date Cards

There are so many options when it comes to save the date card styles and designs. Couples can take the reigns and have a lot of fun with them. Some popular styles of save the date cards include magnets, calendars, and simple announcement cards. Some creative couples are moving into more memorable and fun styles and designs such as scratch-off cards (yes, just like those lottery tickets you can pick up at your local convenience store) and posters. Your save the date cards can be as simple, fun, or elaborate as you would like. This variety of save the date cards provides you with the freedom to be as creative as you would like or you can choose a style that is already designed and ready to send. One thing to keep in mind when choosing these cards is to find something that matches the theme and design of your wedding invitations.

What to Say

The basic idea of the save the date card is very simple – it is intended to inform your guests when and where the wedding is taking place. Therefore, there is very little information to include, especially since you know that invitations are being sent out shortly thereafter. Just be sure to include your names, the date of the wedding, and the city and state in which it is going to take place. Be sure to include the text “Invitation to follow” at the very bottom, so that guests know that this is not the invitation itself.

One major rule of etiquette when dealing with save the date cards is to only send these announcements to those people who are going to be invited to the wedding. You do not want to send a save the date card to somebody that is not going to be invited only to have them show up thinking that the save the date was actually the invitation.

Save the date cards, though unheard of only a few decades ago, are fast becoming an essential part of the wedding planning process. Because we are all so busy these days and so much goes into making a wedding happen, save the date cards can relieve some of that pressure. Guests know when to expect the wedding and that allows them to plan for travel, gift buying, and any other important events. The save the date cards also help the bride and groom relax a little knowing that they have informed everyone of the main details of the wedding.

Lisa Parker is a freelance writer who writes about family, correspondence and family events such as weddings, often focusing on one specific aspect of a wedding, such as save the date cards.

Source: EzineArticles.com

Planning a wedding is one of the most exciting times in your life and announcing your recent nuptials is one of the first things you need to do. Most couples today want an announcement that will not be forgotten, and the only way to make sure your wedding date is not forgotten is to make sure your card is displayed on the fridge. Hence, one of the biggest trends the past 2 years has been Save The Date Magnets.

Believe it or not, there are currently dozens of different Save The Date Magnet cards to choose from, but not all of them are the same. So how do you know how to choose the right Save The Date Magnet that is unique and attractive? We will outline the most important things to consider when choosing your Save The Date Magnet in the paragraphs below.

To start, if you’re getting married, you need to select a Save The Date Magnet that allows your photo to be printed directly onto the date cards. People want to see your faces and you must include this in your design. Some people believe that these photos need to be taken by a professional photographer, but that is not the case. Simply grab one of your friends that you trust and your digital camera, and find a setting with good lighting and start snapping away. Don’t be afraid to take over 100 photos for your Save The Date Magnets as you will be surprised how many of those photos you will not be able to use. There will be subtle differences in your smile, the lighting, your hair, etc. and you want to have enough choices to select the perfect picture.

If you’ve decided to definitely use a photo, then you need to be aware of one the biggest problems with Save The Date Magnets. Most companies print your photo directly onto the magnet material which is an issue for two reasons. One, it is very difficult to print photos onto magnetic materials so your photo will often come out very grainy and dark and two, the magnetic material is the most expensive part of the Save The Date Magnet, so typically companies only offer magnet sizes that are about the size of a business card. Or, they will price their larger magnets at $2-3 each making it very expensive. However, recent technological advances have allowed companies to now print larger save the date cards on brilliant white card stock, and then laminate a thin magnetic strip to the back of the card producing a much larger and higher quality product than what was previously available. These Save the Date Magnets allow you to place a larger photo on the card and include additional wording about your wedding such as your wedding website or the wedding destination. You can find unique sites like this by searching for ‘magnetic announcements’ or ‘magnetic invitations’ in Google. These cards are also lighter in weight and will save you money on postage.

Many brides-to-be have already started to think about the color scheme of their wedding, so you may want to also select a company that allows you to customize certain colors on your Save The Date Magnet. Typically the large mass produced magnet companies will not offer this and you will have to just go with what they have online. But some of the smaller Save the Date Magnet companies use real artists to create their styles and customization is usually not a problem. When customizing colors, try to find images on the web that detail your color choices that you can email to the company so they know exactly what you are looking for. That will save you time in proofing your Save The Date Magnet and make sure you get the color scheme you want.

If you are the creative type and already have a Save the Date idea, then you might want to consider designing your own Save the Date Magnet and finding a company to print them for you. Again, the smaller companies will print custom magnets and you should not have to pay extra for that service. To find out of a company offers that service, simply send them an email and ask them to reply back to you. (This will also give you some idea what kind of service they provide by the response they give you.) You can also consider paying a little extra and have an artist create a unique Save the Date Magnet especially for you. Typically this will cost you an extra $30-$40 but you will get something completely customized for you.

Remember, a Save the Date Magnet is supposed to be fun! Use photos that express you and your future mate’s personalities. This is your chance to make people smile and share in your joy. The wedding invitations will be more formal, so don’t worry about making your Save the Date Magnets too stuffy. People will save these magnets for years to come so create a memory that will last!

Greg Froelich is a graphic designer and creator of beautiful announcements and invitations and owns several websites that feature chic and trendy save the date magnets for weddings, birthdays, and other events. Greg offers advice on getting the most out of your announcements and invitations to create a special memory!

Source: EzineArticles.com