Alrighty…let’s run through the reception check list

Found your person ✓ 
Picked your venue ✓
Picked your wedding date ✓
Solidified the bridal party ✓


Now what?!

Well, if you’re within 8-10 months of your wedding date now’s the time to be thinking if you need to send a Save-the-Date in the mail.

Is the step really necessary? Do guests really need a heads up or will a formal invitation suffice? Here’s some things to consider:

• Is the wedding a destination wedding? (Which for our sake here, let’s say a destination wedding is if the couple, immediate families, and majority of the guests have to travel to the location where the ceremony and reception are taking place and can’t reasonably make that trip in one day so they have to stay overnight)
• Is the wedding date on a holiday weekend?
• Are there a lot of friends/family in your age range getting married around the same time as you and there will be a lot of overlapping guests?

If the answer to any or all of these questions is yes, then etiquette highly recommends going the save-the-date route so you give your family and friends the opportunity to plan for time off work, budget for your gift/any travel you may be requiring, and secure any necessary accommodations.
What relevant info do you need to include on the save-the-date card? Just the bare basics! Name of the couple, wedding date, city and state and if you have a wedding website, (this is where you can put room block info). Also, don’t forget the line, “Formal invitation to follow.”

Who gets a Save-the-date? Well, this can be a sticky part because anyone who receives a save-the-date needs to receive a formal invitation so you have to have a pretty good idea of guest list when sending these out. This is important: It is UNACCEPTABLE to send a save-the-date to a guest and not send them a formal invitation. You can send an invitation without a save-the-date, but not the other way around.

So there you have it, the basics for when, why, and who save-the-dates go to. In today’s age you could get away with sending the save-the-dates electronically, but keep in mind they won’t feel as personal as getting something in the mail. Also, if the save-the-date is electronic, the formal invitation should be a hard copy sent in the mail. Happy planning!

Photography by Justin B. Hankins