When planning my wedding, one of the things I was most excited about was sending out save the date cards. I can’t wait to officially announce my upcoming wedding to my loved ones. But when I got into the process of saving the date, I realized it was a lot more than I thought. I won’t lie to you, planning a wedding is hard – a lot of the time it doesn’t feel like that fun. If you’re like me, the hardest tasks to check off a wedding to-do list are the ones that require a lot of detail. But with a little preparation and the right tools, any wedding task can be easily accomplished. Here’s an easy way to print a custom save the date from start to finish.
Have your details ready
In order to send save the date cards, obviously, you need to know your wedding date! But make sure that date is fully confirmed. Remember, the purpose of a save the dates card is to remind your guests to take time off, think about attire, and start making travel plans. How do you make sure your date is fully confirmed? If you’ve signed the contract and paid the deposit at the wedding venue, you should be good to go. If you’re getting married on private property (such as a relative’s house), be sure to get the owner’s written permission, along with some general guidelines. If you plan to get married in a public place like the beach, be sure to check the permit to ensure date availability. Doing some work ahead of time can save you a lot of trouble.
Create a guest list
Now that you know your details, you need to create a recipient list. The big question is who should get the save the date card? This is indeed the subject of a separate blog post. But a good guide is to list close family members of both parties, then add friends you’ve talked to over the past year and don’t mind spending a few hours together at dinner parties. Remember, you can always invite more people later. Once you have the guest list, it’s time to get the address. It took me a lot of time when I was saving the date card because I didn’t have a lot of information and it took a lot of phone calls to get it. Fortunately, there are tools that can help you with this, such as Basic Invite’s free address collection service, where you can request your address. You share links via social media or email, collect addresses, and even get free envelope printing.
Focus on Design
Now comes the fun part, designing your magnet save the dates card. Some couples choose to do it themselves or hire a calligrapher, but there are simpler options where you can print a custom save the date online. If you are not a graphic designer or a super artist then this is definitely the best option for you as you can start with a design template you like and then customize it according to your wedding color and style. I love that Basic Invite is able to completely customize the color of any template down to the smallest detail using 180 unique colors. They also offer matching invitation kits and envelopes in 40 different colors, so after you customize your design, it looks cohesive with all the other printable at your wedding. It is important to order samples so you can see the color and quality of the save the date cards. This is your guests’ first impression of your wedding style, so the details need to be perfect. If you choose to print a custom save date, then you should always request a custom sample (Basic Invite does that too).
Send them out
Now all the hard work is done! Once your custom save the date cards are printed, the final step is to assemble them – place your cards in envelopes, secure with stickers, and add postage. Make sure you use enough postage for this, as save the date cards and wedding invitations tend to be heavier than standard first-class mail. You can go to the post office to order the wedding stamps they offer or make your own custom stamps online. Once you’re ready, drop your save the date card at the local post office and go back and wait for the compliments to arrive.
