How We Started to Save the Date

Emily Post is unquestionably the Mother of Etiquette and her 1922 book ‘Etiquette’ remains a popular and regularly updated handbook for even the most modern party host. Post (and her successive reigning Guardians of Etiquette) have always suggested giving guests plenty of notice, with the average timed invitation back in her day going out about three weeks before the Big Day. However, as people have become more widely connected, the need to give guests even more notice about a wedding date has become part of the New Normal. It is now more common to send out invitations 3 months in advance if Save The Dates have been sent. Often, the wedding date is determined by the availability of the couple’s chosen venue, which in some cases are booked for years in advance. This kind of planning has made it easier for couples to notify far flung friends and relatives with plenty of time for them to budget for travel expenses, book time off with their employer or make other plans needed for cross country or even international travel plans. And when you only know the date, it’s impossible to send out a real invitation with all the details. Enter the perfect solution – the Save the Date card. Here’s our Save The Date guide for more information on when to send out those save the dates and invitations.

A Classy Heads Up

Save the Date cards became popular in the mid-2000s and have taken off in recent years. The cards do little more than announce the date of the wedding and are used as a way to tell guests simply to keep the date free and more details are on the way. As wedding websites become increasingly popular, it’s also a great way to communicate your website address to your guests at an early time, so they can have easy access to updated wedding details as they become available. This kind of initial notification was once done verbally among family and friends and, as the internet turned us into a global community, notifications were sent via email or even through Facebook or Twitter.

But when planning something like your wedding, many people want to avoid blasting mass emails or sending out electronic notifications on public social media websites. Save the Date cards fill this need perfectly while framing the entire wedding with a bit of class. These custom cards can be fun or formal, and are available in high end formats, including elegant letterpress, which can then be used as a basis for the style and feel of the entire wedding.

Save the Date – From Optional to Required

Save the Date cards are now considered to be pretty standard for any wedding. Even smaller wedding parties should use the cards as a way not only to formally announce the wedding itself, but also to allow guests the greatest chance of being able to attend. Work schedules alone have become more demanding for many people and getting time off to attend a wedding can be difficult. Add to that the expense of travel and the need for families and out of town guests to plan for, budget and shop around for travel options. All of it adds up to a lot of hassle, not to mention the expense. Using a Save the Date card gives your family and friends plenty of time to make their arrangements and is considered good manners. The added bonus to using these cards is that you’re able to blend style, sophistication and old world etiquette into modern life. Emily Post would be proud!

Tags: save the date, wedding announcement, wedding guests, wedding invitations, wedding planning