If you just got engaged and have your wedding date set, the next step is to think about save the dates! If you have questions like: When should I send my save the dates? Do they have to be formal if I am having a formal wedding? What design should I choose? — don’t worry, we’re here to help!

When should I send my save the dates?

Typically sent anywhere from 6-12 months before the wedding, save the dates are the perfect way to make sure that guests have advanced notice of your wedding date, and they can also be an excellent way to set the initial tone for your celebration. Save the dates are a nice courtesy for your guests — especially those who will be traveling for your special day — as they’ll have a much easier time arranging for time off and making travel & accommodation plans. Once upon a time, save the dates were used primarily for destination weddings or weddings with a lot of out of town guests, but nowadays they’re popular for all types of weddings.

Who do I send save the dates to? 

If your guest list hasn’t been finalized yet, send to as many people on your list as possible. Anyone who receives a save the date absolutely must receive an invitation, so keep that in mind while you’re planning!

What information should the save the date contain?

The bare essentials for a save the date are the names of the couple and the date. We do recommend including the location so guests can plan accordingly, though if you haven’t narrowed down to a specific venue yet you can just provide the city & state. Some couples also choose to include accommodation information, wedding websites, and even information about local attractions. If you plan to invite all of your guests to additional activities on the dates surrounding your wedding (such as a welcome barbecue or a farewell brunch), you can ask that they save the weekend and provide appropriate dates.

Do they have to be formal if I am having a formal wedding?

The wording for a save the date is typically less formal than an invitation, so you can really have some fun with it! Writing the date as 06.05.13 or June 5, 2013 is perfectly acceptable and even more common than “Saturday, the fifth of June, two thousand and thirteen.” It is totally okay to include your wedding website and is actually a great way to introduce your website to your guests. It’s traditional to put “invitation to follow” or “formal invitation to follow” on the save the date, but it’s not necessary if you choose more streamlined wording. If you have any etiquette questions you can see our suggestions or contact us – we’d love to give you more advice!

Any tips for making my save the dates extra unique?

Get creative! There are tons of ways to customize your wedding stationery when you order with Bella Figura (think edge painting, cool custom envelope liners, or corner rounding!) but you can make your save the dates extra special by adding your own personal touch! Have a really cool story about how the two of you met? Include it on the save the dates! Did your photographer take amazing engagement photos? Have your save the dates designed with a “frame” so you can mount prints of your engagement photos to each one!

What design should I choose?

We have save the dates for every style – whether your wedding is vintage, formal, modern, rustic, art-deco or completely unique – you name it, we have a style for you. All of our designs are completely customizable, so we have even more options than what you see on our web site (a lot more options!). If you are totally stumped on what design to choose, consider taking our personal shopper survey! Our survey gives us the opportunity to learn more about you, your wedding, and your style, and then we can tell you what designs and customizations we think would be a perfect fit for you. Plus, we can keep the conversation going until you find exactly what you were looking for!

After you’ve finalized your save the date order, be sure to check out these tips on envelope addressing from master calligrapher Debi Zeinert!