All images provided, styled, & designed by Ivory House Creative 

Hello there beautiful bride-to-be! After you’ve picked your date & venue, you may start to consider Save the Dates. I was recently asked by a future bride if Save the Dates were necessary so I wanted to share our philosophy on Save the Dates:

You should send out Save the Dates if…

• You’re getting married in the summer months because that is the busiest time of year for friends & family to travel. The more notice, the better!
• There are certain people (i.e. your “A list”) that you really want to be there! Not everyone is a planner but again, the more notice, the better.
• Your engagement is 8 months or less.
• You’re having a destination wedding.
• In general, we definitely recommend them! 🙂
  • These can be included in details shots on your wedding day (as seen in some of the images below!)
  • You can keep one as a keepsake for years to come.
  • People love hanging these on their refrigerators & looking at them often!

Some tips:

• We recommend sending them out 9-12 months before you wedding date, but no later than 6 months prior is preferred. If you’re having a short engagement (i.e. 6 months or less), we’d recommend sending them out as soon as you know your date + city. 
  • DESTINATION WEDDINGS: We recommend sending them out 12 months (or more depending on how long your engagement is and the destination location) before your big day because sometimes your guests like to plan vacations around your wedding depending on the location! 🙂 
• To figure your quantity take your guest list and divide by two. You’ll probably need less than this as some of your guests are families & you’ll only need to send one per household. I would suggest ordering a few extra just in case you forgot someone on your list. Sometimes it is more costly to print more later due to the smaller quantity.
• If you really don’t want to spend on this, email save the dates are totally acceptable! This may be more time consuming to round up everyone’s emails, but worth it if you’re really hoping to save $ in this area.

What you should include on your Save the Date:

• Your names 
• Mention that you’re engaged! This could be mentioned by the phrase “Save the Date” or “Tying the Knot” or some other clever wording letting people know you’re engaged. For book marks, I’ve seen the cute/clever phrase, “consider yourself booked for our next chapter.” You have SO many options with this!
• Your wedding date
• The city your ceremony & reception are located
• The phrase: “Formal Invitation to Follow“
• BONUS: a picture of you and your soon-to-be husband 🙂 Your engagement session pictures are perfect for this! (you don’t need to give photography credit on these printed items) 
• BONUS: If you made a wedding website (we recommend doing this through the Knot, Wix, or Basic Invite– they’re free, easy to create/navigate, and guests love this!), include the wedding website URL on the back. Then guests can use that to look up your registry & hotel accommodations

Where can we purchase Save the Dates?

• Custom: We HIGHLY recommend searching for local calligraphy or graphic design artists! They can work with you to create a stunning invitation suite that matches as well! **Ask your photographer for recommendations** Some of our favorites include: Ivory House Creative and Jen K Calligraphy 
• Already Designed: There are tons of options out there!! We recommend Basic Invite, Vista Print, Minted, or Artifact Uprising (some more options: SnapFish, Shutter Fly, etc. Google is your BFF in this search).

If you use Basic Invite, be sure to use the code “monicabrown” for 20% off your order!

We hope this is helpful! Best of wishes to you as you continue planning for your wedding & most importantly, your marriage.

Xo

Mon