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The sole purpose of save-the-date cards is to give the people you intend
to invite to your wedding plenty of advance notice. If, for example, you
are planning to marry during the holiday season or a holiday weekend,
you'll want your guests to reserve you wedding date on their calendars
months in advance. If you will be inviting guest from out of town who will
need to fly in for the wedding, they will need time to make the necessary
travel arrangements.

You should send save-the-date cards to all of your intended guests
when either of these circumstances fit your situation. Even friends and
family members who you already know will attend should be sent a card.

On the other hand, if you are not sure whether a particular person or
couple will be invited to the wedding, do not send them a save-the-date
card. And there is really no reason, and it's a waste of your precious
money, to buy and send these notices when all of your guests live
relatively near or the wedding will not occur during a busy time of the
year.

Planning and Sending

Once you know all of the basic details about your wedding plans, place
your order with your stationer. As with invitations, having these cards
printed can take up to several weeks, so give your stationer plenty of
time. You can mail these cards out up to six months before the wedding
date.

Save-the-date cards can be designed to match the rest of your wedding
stationery and ordered at the same time, or they can have a completely
different look.

Getting your guests' attention

Some brides-to-be really want these cards to be eye catching so that
they truly standout and serve as a visual notice. If this is what you have
in mind, look for something unusual, such as scratch-off cards or
magnets (that can be posted on your guests refrigerators). Maybe you
will want to make your own cards, incorporating one or more of your
wedding colors, a graphic design, or a photo.

You can buy save-the-date cards through most wedding stationery
manufacturers and retailers. If you want to create your own cards or save
money, look for a card-design software program. Michael's arts and
crafts stores sells a good software program called "Wedding Invitation
Kit "that costs under $ 25. The program is designed mainly for making
your own wedding invitations, but it does include note cards.

What you should do

Since this will be your first written contact with most of your guests, it's
important that they make a good first impression. Make sure that you
spell each guest's name correctly. If you are unsure about the spelling of
someone's name, look it up or contact someone reliable.

In your save-the-date, include the date, time, and place of the ceremony
along with any other information that your guests will need.

Here is a sample of how your notice might read:

"Please save the date of Saturday, June 25, 2005, 2 PM, for the
wedding of Karen Hinkley and Brian Nelson in Minneapolis, MN.
Invitation and directions to follow. "

Always follow up with the expected wedding invitation, which should be
mailed about six weeks before your wedding date.

A nice touch that can truly be helpful to your guests is to list your web
site address – assuming you will be updating it with more details.

What you should not do

Keep in mind the purpose of these cards. Do not include unnecessary or
inappropriate information such as directions, the rehearsal dinner
location and time, or registry information. (Incidentally, if you do list your
name with a bridal registry, the only place that information can be
included is in a shower invitation. Generally, good etiquette claims
that you rely upon friends and relatives to circulate such details by word
of mouth and only if asked.)

Since you are not trying to elicit a response, do not include a reply card.
And last but not least, you should not e-mail your save-the-date
information. Of course, there is always an exception to every rule, but try
not to break this one.

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Source by Jean Bachcroft