Save The Date Cards

[supergirl10]

I have a few questions ... As an aussies this is not something that i have ever seen or heard of done untill pricescope so you will excuse me if i sound really dumb.

Our date is April 4,2010 but that is easter sunday so i want to give the potential guest plenty of notice. Also being australia we have guest comming from many states and also my friend from germany may end up somming so i really want to make sure people have time to save $$ ect.

My questions is
I was thinking of sending them in june/july (the soonest i can confirm the venue and pay deposit it is currently pre-booked and that is their rules). So what i want to know do you think that is too soon, keeping in mind that some friend are flying from one end of Australia to the other.

Also do you always send the save the dates to every single person, or just the out of town guests?

I was planning on doing something really casual just like postcard size just saying s&s will be getting married on this date, what else should i include, do i have to write each guest name of just send it to the household as i would for each guest ie 1 for - aunty, uncle, younger cousin, one for 18+ older cousin and So and 1 - for 18+ older cousin who lives away from home?

sorry for sounding dumb, thanks in advance...

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

I would send them 6 months out with invitations to follow at 3 months.

BTW April 4, 2010 is my 30th birthday! Ack!

 

[Kellybell]

I don''t think you can send save the dates too early if you are having a destination wedding. I have heard that if guests have to travel long distances, you should consider sending them out 8-12 months ahead of time. Also, I think it is up to you if you want to send them to out-of-town guests only or everyone. I have heard that both ways are acceptable.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

You could also consider passing along word of mouth to those who have to travel really far 8-12 months out and then follow with the STD. I''d be afraid of people losing the card to losing track of time if they got them that far in advance.

 

[mrscushion]

I am having a DW with guests from all continents (well, not Australia, actually!) and I am also planning to send out STDs 10 months ahead of time. I am pretty sure that my guests will appreciate it.

 

[meresal]

I think sending the std's in August/September, and then the invites right after the beginning of the year is a nice timeline. I sent mine to everyone I could. I figured this was a good way to let the older children feel involved (off at college or living at home but graduated), since I will be sending most of the invites that fall under that category to "and family".

However, here's another bit of advice... Since the date of Easter changes every year, lots of people won't realize that April 4th is Easter just by seeing the date. I would get the word out that it will be Easter weekend, as soon as possible.

 

[Deelight]

supergirl10 Because the time I plan to get married and I have people coming from OS I plan on sending out mine 1yr in advance so as to give everyone enough time to plan ahead especially the OS contingent .

[*] I would send out STD''s to each household
[*] Postcards sound good , I would just add at the bottom formal invitation to follow .

 

[supergirl10]

Thanks you for thoughtful replies kelly and hundson hawk!

Oh and just FYI for everyone the wedding isn''t actually a DW, it is in my home town but we both have family and friends who will need to travel a great distance to get here.

Mer - we decided on our wedding date within two weeks of annoucing our engagement in July 08. So when we were recieving congratulations messages from family and friend and they would ask "when is the big day, FI would say April 4, 2010." They all nearly fell over and couldn''t believe we were so organised, it was so funny! So yes almost everyone knows that it is easter sunday.

Deelight - thanks for your help and suggestions. I will definetly include that suggestion - with formal invitations to come.

mschusion - that is my concern about long distance travel . I am not sure how it goes your for guys in america, but in australia for example my friends in melbourne and tasmania (2-3 states away) will pay up to $500 per way for their ticket around that time of year, it will be uber expensive for them and i just want to be fair and give them as much warning as possible to save.

The reason i was thinking June/july is that i have a 6 week break from studies then i start back for my final semester of uni and it is going to be hectic like never before and i graduate mid to late nov.

So the more i think about it the more sensible it is to get them out during that break period as I will be starting work immediately after i graduate and it will be getting close to christmas by then!

 

[honey22]

Hello fellow Aussie!

I would send them asap for your overseas guests, then probably 9 months for interstaters, then 6 months for the rest. Oh hell, I would probably just send them all out now. What''s the harm in giving people extra notice?

Where is your venue? We need details and pics!!!

I love looking at other aussie places!

 

[Pandora II]

They''re not normal in the UK either...

I did them as 90% of our guests were from OOT and we were getting married at the end of July so I wanted to give people a lot of time due to summer holidays etc.

It''s also a great way to get an idea of who will/won''t be coming in advance.

I sent mine at Christmas along with Christmas cards - I included a note for all those with kids as we drew a line at over-10''s only.

Mine were magnetic postcards from Vistaprint - it cost me about £30 GBP for 100 - I put our website address on them and all the travel info, hotel details etc were on the website.

 

[glueck]

You are right to give people as much notice as possible! FI and I are having destination wedding wiht people traveling overseas and this is how we decided to do it. (Save the dates are not normal in germany and switzerland, ut they were really apreciated!)

We called the MOST important people and told them to write it in their calendar. as soon as we set the date. Word of mouth took care of a lot.

We sent STD''s 9 months out.
We send postcard updates telling about room blocks and passport update reminders at 5 months out
We are sending our invitations currently 3.5 months out. We wanted them all out by 3 months before because we wanted to set and earlier RSVP date to compensate for overseas mail.

More info is always better!


I would send them to everyone. People like good news in their post!