What info should I provide on my STD?

[ams0124]

I need some opinions on what I should have done before I send out STD''s...

Our wedding is about an hour and a half to 2 hour drive for most of our "in town" guests and a fair chunk of FI''s family will be flying in from TX... so I plan on blocking hotel rooms for pretty much anyone coming to the wedding...in state or not.

Do I have to have these rooms blocked before I send out STD''s, so I can also provide hotel accommodations when I send them? Do I send out a separate packet with that information? Or do I send it out with the invites?

Since our wedding is pretty close to the holidays (and can technically be considered a destination wedding) I want to make sure our guests have all the info they need in plenty of time...

Please help...What would you like to know on a STD for a wedding that you’re going to have to travel for?

THANKS!!!

 

[meresal]

Ams, we only put the date and the city on ours... however, I wish I would have set-up the website before so that I could direct everyone there for all other information (Airports, Hotels, etc).

I think those 3 things on an STD are good.

 

[elrohwen]

We just provided the date, our names, our website, and "Formal Invitation to Follow" on ours. We wanted to keep it simple. Then again, we're having a relatively small wedding (70-ish) so everyone can ask us about hotels and things if they're unable to find it on the website (and at least 90% of them are very internet savvy, so I don't think it'll be an issue). We didn't put the city, because (1) it's near where we currently live, so that's what most people would assume and (2) it's on the website anyway. If yours isn't near where you live now, I think it's a good idea to list the town as well.

I did try to have the hotels blocked when I sent the STDs so that I could post the info on my website. I figure people will check out the website when they first get the card, and then they may not check again for months, so I wanted them to know that the information was available right away.

How many people are you having? Like I said, with a small guest list I don't mind telling people what they need to know. But if I were having 200 people, I'd probably think about it differently and make the info more transparent. Also true if I had a lot of older relatives who might not be able to find the information on the website.

ETA: My friend is getting married in July and she did include a card with her STD that lsited hotel information and she found a way to not make the card look too busy.

 

[Winslet]

Though I don''t think it''s totally necessary, my FI and I included with each of our save-the-dates an information card - it was a single piece of 4.25 by 5.5 ivory cardstock that we''d designed. If you want to do this and would like something to help along with the wording, this is how we did ours (it was a lot prettier with stylized fonts and sizing):


DETAILS FOR OUR GUESTS
September 25, 2009

Overnight Accommodations
Blocks of rooms have been held at the following hotels:

Name of Hotel
Name of Town
Shuttle Service
Group Code: 555
555-555-555

Name of Hotel
Name of Town
Shuttle Service
Group Code: 555
555-555-555

Name of Hotel
Name of Town
555-555-555

Wedding Website
http://www.theknot.com/ourwedding/
BridesName&GroomsName

 

[newbie124]

We created a website before sending out the Save the Dates and also had rooms blocked at a hotel (90% of our guests will be OOT).

On the Save the Date card we had our names, date, town and "formal invitation to follow." Then we added a separate hotel insert w/ the blocked rooms info as well as a link to our website.

 

[Clairitek]

I think an STD with an insert containing accomodation information is a great idea. My mother received something similar recently and it was helpful for her to have the hotel information right away rather than having to call around for it or wait to dig up a website (if she would even know where to go look for that).

 

[elrohwen]

Hey Winslet, I never noticed before but we''re date twins

. Cool

 

[dcgator]

Date: 2/25/2009 2:44:26 PM
Author: Winslet
Though I don''t think it''s totally necessary, my FI and I included with each of our save-the-dates an information card - it was a single piece of 4.25 by 5.5 ivory cardstock that we''d designed. If you want to do this and would like something to help along with the wording, this is how we did ours (it was a lot prettier with stylized fonts and sizing):


DETAILS FOR OUR GUESTS
September 25, 2009

Overnight Accommodations
Blocks of rooms have been held at the following hotels:

Name of Hotel
Name of Town
Shuttle Service
Group Code: 555
555-555-555

Name of Hotel
Name of Town
Shuttle Service
Group Code: 555
555-555-555

Name of Hotel
Name of Town
555-555-555

Wedding Website
http://www.theknot.com/ourwedding/
BridesName&GroomsName

If most people are traveling from OOT, I would highly reccomend having a room block and website set up BEFORE you send out your STD''s. That way, when people get your STD''s they can get all the info. Otherwise, you may have a lot of people asking you/calling you.

We had similar info on our STD. We actually had magnets made as our STD''s. On the magnet we had:

Save the Date; June 6, 2009

Our names

Formal Invitation to Follow
Our wedding website

We had the magnets placed onto an enclosure card. On the back of the card, we put:

Hotel Room
Address and Phone
Block Info
Rate

We also stated our website again so people could reference it for additional info.

 

[ams0124]

Thanks ladies!! I knew you''d be able to help me

So I think the general consensus is that it would definitely be helpful to my guests to provide as much travel information as possible when sending the STD''s...

Now...How soon should I be sending STD''s? If our wedding is 12/5 is mid to late March too soon? I just really want people to have enough time for travel arrangements without thinking "why on earth am I getting this in march?" and then forget about it until invites go out...

 

[meresal]

Date: 2/25/2009 3:45:22 PM
Author: ams0124
Thanks ladies!! I knew you''d be able to help me

So I think the general consensus is that it would definitely be helpful to my guests to provide as much travel information as possible when sending the STD''s...

Now...How soon should I be sending STD''s? If our wedding is 12/5 is mid to late March too soon? I just really want people to have enough time for travel arrangements without thinking ''why on earth am I getting this in march?'' and then forget about it until invites go out...

In my personal opinion, I think no matter when you are getting married past June, the STD''s should be sent in the first quarter of the year. If you are expecting lots of OOT guests, by that I mean having to take Friday off of work for at least a half day, it is respectful to let them know ahead of time and plan their scheduled vacation time accordingly.

If most of the wedding guests are driving in on Saturday, for a Saturday evening wedding, then I think that late March or April is a good time.

 

[Winslet]

Date: 2/25/2009 3:12:03 PM
Author: elrohwen
Hey Winslet, I never noticed before but we''re date twins

. Cool

Haha, thanks elrohwen! I''d actually noticed a while ago and I enjoy reading all your plans since we''re on the same schedule for everything!

 

[kittybean]

I think March is a great time to send them out. The sooner, the better, IMO--I love making my plans well in advance

.

 

[Elmorton]

We just received an STD that had hotel info (standard), but also parking info since parking is at a premium in the area. I thought that was really, really smart to include, because I can imagine how OOT guests might have been shocked/surprised by the price of parking if it wasn''t stated on the STD.

We sent out our STD cards a year in advance, so all it said was the date and our wedding website. For a destination wedding though, as much info as you can give, the more helpful it will be

 

[elrohwen]

Date: 2/25/2009 5:00:40 PM
Author: Winslet

Date: 2/25/2009 3:12:03 PM
Author: elrohwen
Hey Winslet, I never noticed before but we're date twins

. Cool

Haha, thanks elrohwen! I'd actually noticed a while ago and I enjoy reading all your plans since we're on the same schedule for everything!

Lol, I'm glad somebody likes reading about my plans! I feel put to shame by all of the super creative DIY brides on here

 

[dcgator]

I would say the earlier the better for an OOT wedding. However, I would not send them later than 6 months out, b/c then you run the risk of having them too late and too close to the actual invite