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Ah, another age old wedding question. Do you really need Save the Dates? At Offbeat Wed one of our wedding philosophies is that “need to haves” aren't real a thing. What you “need” at your wedding depends on the marriers and their unique values. With that said, when it comes to Save the Dates there are some practical reasons for doing them that might be especially valuable when it comes to protecting your time and energy.
So, do you need Save the Dates? Here are our 4 reasons why you might:
1) It's a psychological tool for your guests
I'm no psychologist but having a Save the Date somewhere I can see it every day (like on my fridge) imprints into my subconcious “Hey Suki, you have a really important event in April. Triple check your calendar before you book those Taylor Swift tickets.”
Plus, if your Save the Date has your personality all over, it makes it even easier for me to associate the “important event” with you and gets me super hyped for your wedding whenever I reach for Ben & Jerry's in the freezer.
Vistaprint for the win! We searched high and low for invitations that fit our theme/vibe and couldn’t find them anywhere.
Offbeat Wed reader OnTheBrink
2. Save the Dates save you from answering the same damn questions
“But isn't a Save the Date just telling people the date?” Yes, but more importantly it allows your guests the courtesy of planning ahead.
Whether you're having a destination wedding or a local wedding, most guests will need a significant amount of information before committing to your wedding date. Save the Dates help guests determine things like paid time off, child care, travel plans, and even personal budgeting, all important things that will help decide whether they're able to attend.
Having your wedding website or a QR code on your Save the Date helps guests find the answers to important questions quickly, and saves you time and energy from saying the same thing to 50 different people.
Can't I just send a mass email or text as a Save the Date?
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Sure. But the reality is those messages will get lost in the shuffle of life. Half of your guests won't read it, half of them will skim it and gather the wrong info (yikes!), and the rest will lose it in their inbox and ask you to resend multiple times. True life horror story, one of my bridesmuses skimmed what I thought was a very detailed, thorough email and booked the wrong flight! In summary, electronic messages are a good idea in theory, but there's a giant risk factor too. But if you wanna go green, learn how to make sure your Save the Date doesn't go to spam.
3) Save the Date aren't just for aesthetics! They serve an important design function.
Whatever style your Save the Date is in, a well-formatted Save the Date delivers clear information that's quick and easy to absorb. Design experts at Vistaprint have already figured out this formula for you. So instead of futzing about on Canva, you fill in the blanks and voila! A beautiful Save The Date that does it's job well.
Vistaprint had a great design your own option so we got exactly what we were looking for, and for much less $ than we were anticipating.
Offbeat Wed reader OnTheBrink
I used a postcard printed at Vistaprint. No envelopes at all. Just a quote from the Princess Bride on the front and the info on the back. Postage is cheaper too!
Offbeat Wed reader Sukey
4) Show off the engagement photos you spent good money on!
This isn't really a practical reason but it's a fun one. We paid a pretty penny for our engagement shoot (and they were worth every goddamn cent). So when we got our engagement photos back we sure as hell showed them to everyone and their mother. We air dropped them to strangers on the plane. We slapped posters on every telephone pole in the city.
We looked UHMAZING. So to me, Save the Dates were a great excuse to show off our very expensive, very professional photos. Oh, and Save the Dates also ensured everyone knew what we looked like so they didn't accidentally wander into the wedding of another multicultural couple named Anthony and Suki happening on the same date at the same venue at the same time. Hey, you can never be too sure.
I still send people pictures from our engagement shoot because I'm annoying and I like getting my money's worth. Sue me.
So show off your engagement photos! You look hot!
I used Vistaprint to print our Save the Dates. Our Save the Dates were the photo variety. We went with the glossy postcard paper. They turned out beautifully!
Offbeat Wed reader Sam
Do you need Save the Dates?
Save the Dates certainly can help make things easier. They're basically like sending out a beautifully designed, condensed info packet for guests to get all their questions answered without bombarding you. A Save the Date is a way to help protect your peace and valuable time, especially as you're planning a major event with tons of people and moving logistics. And when it comes to planning a wedding, any method that makes the process just a little more stress free is worth considering!
Wanna give Save the Dates a go? Design a Save the Date in just a few clicks here.
Need an expert's eye? Get help designing a VistaPrint product with design services starting at $5 here.
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