One of the biggest wedding trends now is for couples to send save the date cards to their wedding guests. These cards are essentially very early, informal wedding invitations. There are many benefits to sending these cards, but they are certainly not necessary and can sometimes even be a burden to the engaged couple. If you are considering sending these cards to your guests, you should consider the positives and negatives that come along with this popular wedding trend.
There are several great things that you are able to do when you send save the date cards for your wedding. Most obviously, sending save the dates allows your guests to have plenty of time to plan for your wedding. Many couples find that a larger percentage of their invited guests are able to attend the wedding when they receive a card. Make sure your cards have information about both the date of your wedding and the place. This will let your guests make travel arrangements and ask off from work if necessary.
Save the date cards also have a couple hidden benefits. They let you show your creativity and personality as a couple much more than your wedding invitations do. Since save the date cards are typically informal, you can include cute pictures of yourselves or use creative wording. The save the date cards are also a perfect way to let your guests know about your wedding website. Traditionally you should not include a website address on your invitations, so these little cards let you share this information with class. When your guests know your wedding website address, they are able to go to it to learn more about your event details, your personalities, and even information about your registry.
While this trend seems to be a great option, you should also know that there are some drawbacks to sending save the date cards. Most importantly, every single person who receives a save the date card must be invited to your wedding event. If you do not have your guest list finalized yet, sending save the dates could be disastrous. Many couples find themselves needing to cut back on the original guest list to make up for any unforeseen costs associated with hosting a wedding. If you are set on sending save the date cards, you may want to consider only sending them to family and friends that you are certain will be invited to the wedding no matter what.
Additionally, save the date cards are an added cost to your wedding budget. If you are having a destination wedding or your special day is on or near a major holiday, you probably want to make room for these cards in your budget Otherwise, know that though save the date cards are popular they are not necessary. Save your money to send nice invitations if you are pressed with your budget.
Save the date cards are popular because they do come along with some great benefits. Make sure you decide that sending them is best for you, though, instead of just following the crowd. If you do not have the time or the money to send these great little cards, you can spread the news of your wedding day the old-fashioned way – by word of mouth.
