Unique save the date ideas?

[ellewoods]

Hello!

Well our scouting trip to Mexico went well, and we have found a gorgeous villa to get married at and have the reception, as well as a wonderful hotel for the guests (but others nearby if guests are looking for other options). We almost have the date set, we''re just confirming whether the hotel has enough rooms to block, and deciding on a coordinator.

So I think this weekend we''ll know the specifics and I want to send save the dates ASAP, since the wedding will be in about 10-11 months (I want to give guests as much notice as possible since its a destination wedding).

But I''m stumped -- I want to do a really unique, fun, save the date, but I don''t have any great ideas. We were thinking of doing a message-in-a-bottle type of save the date, but most of the pre-made ones are quite expensive, and I don''t know if I''m crafty enough to make them all myself. We were thinking maybe some sort of save the date magnet, although that''s not a new concept, but I''m having trouble thinking of a neat design or picture. But I like that magnets are an easy way to remember the wedding since they''re stuck on a guest''s fridge (at least until the wedding or close to it).

So, does anyone have any ideas? We''re getting married in Mexico, and there will be about 80-100 guests. And we''ll invite probably 170 people or so. We''re not getting married on the beach, but in a villa with a great view of the ocean and town. We may incorporate seahorses into the invitations, etc. so a seahorse on the save the date may be a good idea.

Thanks for any thoughts!

 

[dani13]

Hi Elle!

How about some kind of save-the-date magnet that almost looks like a postcard? Since it is a DW, I think that is kind of a cute idea...

ETA: I have heard great things about this company- they do EVERYTHING, including custom work- maybe you can contact them and pick their brain for ideas? http://www.creativemontage.com/magnet.html

 

[brgirl]

I can''t post a picture of mine yet, but we''re doing magnets and I had my FI design them. He had this idea of designing it like it was the cover of a magazine. So there is a picture of us with a fall background and the name of the magazine is ''The Life and times of BRGirl and BRGirl''s FI.'' It is very cute! We kind of designed it after DownEast Magazine (we''re in Maine). The ''magazine date'' is the wedding date, and there are a few headlines on the side - Fall Weddings in Maine, etc. Our website is listed at the bottom.

You could do something similar, maybe using a travel magazine as the basis?

We''re ordering them through http://www.paylessmagnets.com/ but we don''t have them yet so I can''t attest to their work just yet!

 

[diamondfan]

What about something Mexican, that you can send to people? Maybe a little Mexican wedding doll, with a little note in the box explaining what it is...gives people the basic info and a taste of the locale? Or a bottle of sunscreen with a note telling them they will need to bring this with them to Mexico...(I am getting a bit odd here but I am trying to be creative)

 

[KBerly]

How about a caricature with a Mexico/beach theme? We got ours from DimpleArt.com and then my brother created this postcard at work with the text that I wanted. He works at SirSpeedy, but any place like that or Kinkos could do it.

 

[jackieomy]

how about a magnet with a pinata? we''re bursting at the seams to have you join us? join us on our day filled with sweets?

sorry, i''m sleepy and a bit punchy!

 

[monarch64]

Date: 12/1/2006 12:18:54 AM
Author: diamondfan
What about something Mexican, that you can send to people? Maybe a little Mexican wedding doll, with a little note in the box explaining what it is...gives people the basic info and a taste of the locale? Or a bottle of sunscreen with a note telling them they will need to bring this with them to Mexico...(I am getting a bit odd here but I am trying to be creative)

Ooo I like the sunscreen idea! That sounds fun, and something everyone can use and have for a keepsake? Good job DF, even if Elle doesn''t use it I bet someone else will.

 

[Scooba]

Hi, I am also having a DW in Mexico!!! I thought about do something creative for STDs but we wanted our wedding to have a more formal feel so we went with pretty traditional ones but I do have some ideas for you. Boarding pass STDs, I saw these online and they were lik $27 a piece, but alot of knotties have made them DIY (if you are not crafty this might not be an option, it sure wasn''t for me!), another one I see alot for STDs and Invites are made to look like passports, also MIBs really aren''t that expensive compared to what you would pay to have traditional ones made anyway, and maybe you could do the bottle yourself and leave the actual STD to a printer? Another thing I have seen is using something beachy like a novelty pair of sunglasses or something and tying on a STD, also just try searching the knot or googling, there are alot of STDs specifically for DWs.

 

[anacgarcia]

I did the boarding pass STDs, a graphic designer friend helped me..

I am having them printed at a local print shop because I'm not crafty at all hehe

 

[anacgarcia]

By the way I have templates some knotties sent me in MS Word and mine is in Adobe Illustrator, I can send them to you if you need them.

 

[ellewoods]

Thanks for the great ideas everyone!

I love Diamondfan''s idea of sending a little Mexican doll or sunscreen, as well as KBerly''s idea of sending sunscreen with a note attached, and Dani''s idea about a magnet that looks like a postcard...as well as the boarding pass idea, or passport idea. Lots of options!

I had originally wanted to do some sort of passport styled cards, but my fiance wasn''t a big fan for some reason. He seems to think that Mexico is not far enough away to qualify as another country. Although you now do need passports to go to Mexico!

The boarding passes look great too, they just make me nervous because I am definitely not the creative type. But your sample is a great help Ana -- I can definitely look into modeling them after yours. Thanks!

I really like the idea of some sort of vintage-Mexico-postcard type look, so maybe my best bet is to find a designer to draw something (either at one of the online companies or someone in my area).

One more idea -- tell me if its too silly or not. My sister found a store that sells maracas online (those wooden things you shake, with little beans in them), and you can personalize them. She thought it''d be really neat to get our names written on them, with "save the date" and our wedding website address. At first I thought it was a bit nuts (I mean who wants a maraca hanging around their house?) but it could be fun. My fiance thinks they''re a bit out there too, but he''s the type of person who doesn''t always see a good idea until its fully executed.

Diamonds Are Hot - where is your destination wedding??? Have you picked a date and venue? I can''t believe I was thinking that I might not need a coordinator in Mexico...I thought that if we chose one of the hotels with a wedding coordinator, we could do the ceremony and reception at the hotel and not have to coordinate much else, but after our visit I realized how hard it is to get information and details, let alone negotiate contracts and what not. I''m still deciding between a couple of coordinators (one I really like isn''t available on our first choice date)...but I will be extremely happy once we choose one and confirm the date and then just focus on sending them pictures of things we like.

 

[jcrow]

the maracas are totally my favorite idea. i''m sure they''d be a huge hit! something different!

 

[SoonIHope]

I agree - the maracas is my favorite too! That would be sooooooo cute & fun & original!!!

 

[Jas12]

ok, i may be taking this a bit far (but it''s totally something i would do cause i am a bit nutty) What about buying some smallish, non-labeled plastic bottles to fill with (cheap) sunscreen bought in bulk, THEN, design a label on any program and print them out on sticker paper. The lables would of course be the STD details, with your destination details etc.
Not only do your guests get sunscreen, but a personalized keepsake as well.

I made my own labels and bought frosted glass bottles for the pure vanilla extract i made as wedding favors, and people have been asking me where I got them done, so it''s very possible to do it without them looking cheap or tacky. I promise

 

[diamondfan]

Date: 12/1/2006 10:16:45 PM
Author: Jas12
ok, i may be taking this a bit far (but it''s totally something i would do cause i am a bit nutty) What about buying some smallish, non-labeled plastic bottles to fill with (cheap) sunscreen bought in bulk, THEN, design a label on any program and print them out on sticker paper. The lables would of course be the STD details, with your destination details etc.

Not only do your guests get sunscreen, but a personalized keepsake as well.


I made my own labels and bought frosted glass bottles for the pure vanilla extract i made as wedding favors, and people have been asking me where I got them done, so it''s very possible to do it without them looking cheap or tacky. I promise

I like that, my idea needed a little ooph!~

 

[anacgarcia]

I''m having my DW at Cancun with actually no coordinator.. the hotel coordinator is not helping ''cause she''s trying to sell me everything for double or triple the price, so I had to do a lot of research on my own. I am mexican so tell me if you need help with something.