Save the dates--wasn''t going to bother, but maybe...?

[gwendolyn]

I wasn''t originally going to worry about sending save-the-dates because I did some electronic ones for my best friends and have a website that the closest people to me have access to. But, the more I think about it, the more I worry that maybe both those things are ''out of sight, out of mind'' things and that maybe people will make plans and forget without a physical reminder? Our US wedding reception is a holiday weekend also--the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend--so that''s another part of the feeling that maybe I should go ahead and send them out.

I had a look on a few websites and found one that is fun and that would have photos of us (something that might make people more inclined to keeping it on their fridges or cork boards?). Here''s a sample of one that I did (don''t mind the different fonts--was playing around). The front is glossy, and the website says something about the way they print them, the photos look almost 3-D? (Not sure what that''s all about, but whatev.) These would cost £47 for 50 of them. All the magnets I looked at were about twice that, which didn''t seem worth it to me.

What do you think? Worth it?

Here''s a link to the site: save-the-dates

 

[Rock_of_Love]

I like ''em! And, I think save-the-dates are a must! Especially if your wedding involves travel...plus they can draw attention to your website where all the information is. Go for it!

 

[charbie]

i created my own STD postcards on zazzle. i don''t know how computer creative you can be, but i was able to make mine on there pretty easily, inexpensively, and since i created them, there was only the printing cost. mine were about $.75/piece for 125 of them. i could go either way- they are not a necessity, but something you might want to do?

those are really cute though!

 

[fleur-de-lis]

Date: 9/2/2009 11:07:03 AM
Author:gwendolyn
I wasn''t originally going to worry about sending save-the-dates because I did some electronic ones for my best friends and have a website that the closest people to me have access to. But, the more I think about it, the more I worry that maybe both those things are ''out of sight, out of mind'' things and that maybe people will make plans and forget without a physical reminder? Our US wedding reception is a holiday weekend also--the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend--so that''s another part of the feeling that maybe I should go ahead and send them out.

I had a look on a few websites and found one that is fun and that would have photos of us (something that might make people more inclined to keeping it on their fridges or cork boards?). Here''s a sample of one that I did (don''t mind the different fonts--was playing around). The front is glossy, and the website says something about the way they print them, the photos look almost 3-D? (Not sure what that''s all about, but whatev.) These would cost £47 for 50 of them. All the magnets I looked at were about twice that, which didn''t seem worth it to me.

What do you think? Worth it?

I think that not only would they not be missed if you didn''t send them, but wouldn''t those 47 Pounds (plus postage to the US) go a long way towards getting those shoes you''ve been coveting?

 

[gwendolyn]

Date: 9/2/2009 1:12:17 PM
Author: fleur-de-lis
I think that not only would they not be missed if you didn't send them, but wouldn't those 47 Pounds (plus postage to the US) go a long way towards getting those shoes you've been coveting?

Fair point! Although I should mention that I found the shoes for almost half off and ordered them, and then had a friend ring up and offer to pay for them (as a wedding present) because she wants me to have them so badly.

This layout is (so far) the only one that's non-sappy and/or non-formal enough for it to have the right feel for our party (which is, after all, just a party, since it's almost 2 months after the wedding itself), but it doesn't work for including our website...which is really what I would need it to do if I decided to do a save-the-date anyway.

I like the ones with photos, but don't want a giant photo of us, which is why the couple of smaller photos layout appealed to me. But the vertical layout is not conducive to web addresses.

Hmm.

 

[cocolaw]

Date: 9/2/2009 4:22:20 PM
Author: gwendolyn

Date: 9/2/2009 1:12:17 PM

Author: fleur-de-lis

I think that not only would they not be missed if you didn''t send them, but wouldn''t those 47 Pounds (plus postage to the US) go a long way towards getting those shoes you''ve been coveting?

Fair point! Although I should mention that I found the shoes for almost half off and ordered them, and then had a friend ring up and offer to pay for them (as a wedding present) because she wants me to have them so badly.

This layout is (so far) the only one that''s non-sappy and/or non-formal enough for it to have the right feel for our party (which is, after all, just a party, since it''s almost 2 months after the wedding itself), but it doesn''t work for including our website...which is really what I would need it to do if I decided to do a save-the-date anyway.


I like the ones with photos, but don''t want a giant photo of us, which is why the couple of smaller photos layout appealed to me. But the vertical layout is not conducive to web addresses.


Hmm.

what a great friend!! im so happy you got your shoes!!

 

[ilovethiswebsite]

I''d skip the save the dates and send out your invites super early. My wedding was involved a lot of travelling for our guests and we sent our invites appoximately 4-5 months before the wedding.

 

[hawaiianorangetree]

I just wanted to say that i really like those STD''s!!

 

[gwendolyn]

Date: 9/2/2009 9:28:22 PM
Author: ilovethiswebsite
I''d skip the save the dates and send out your invites super early. My wedding was involved a lot of travelling for our guests and we sent our invites appoximately 4-5 months before the wedding.

Yeah, I might just do this. Definitely makes the most financial sense, and I do have the website still...

I know I can''t guarantee people will come whether save-the-dates go out or not, but it''s such a big deal to me to have my favourite people there--it''ll be over a year since I last saw them AND the whole reason there is a US party is so they could come celebrate with us! I guess I just worry that not only are my wedding things ''out of sight, out of mind'' but I am too, and they''ll forget that my ''do is Memorial Day weekend and make other plans.

 

[noelwr]

even though I enjoyed having STD fridge magnets, they were not at all helpful in guaranteeing guests.

first, most didn''t realize it was a magnet (the whole thing was magnet, didn''t have an obvious magnet stuck to the back). second, they never bothered to look at it again or remember where they put it. we even put our website on both the STD and invitations and still people kept asking us when the wedding date was (though they had THREE places to find this info). and also there will be people who promise that they''ll come but don''t end up coming. that''s just life.

 

[cammy85]

We actually made really simple postcards from cardstock. The front had a little ''theme image'' that actually related nothing at all to the wedding but was cute and catchy - and the back had the hotel information, our website, date and location. We mailed those out and the grand total for 72 of them was something like 13 dollars for postage and 15 dollars for the paper. So for 28 dollars we sent everyone a little save the date. And the postcard was cheaper postage, so that saved us over half.

Just a thought, they don''t have to be fancy or expensive to be informative. And i figure people will keep the invitation versus the save the date, so I wasn''t willing to spend too much on the save the date - and saved most of the budget for the invitations.

 

[lulu]

I vote yes. I love "save the dates". That way it''s on the calendar and I won''t schedule something else I will later have to cancel.

 

[KimberlyH]

They''re so adorable, Gwen.

As for whether or not you should buy and send them, it depends on how important they are to you. We weren''t going to do save-the-dates, but my mom instisted, so I told her to have at it. I figured we''d just spread information word-of-mouth and I think that would have been as successful. The only upside of having them was that we had a very small wedding (compared to the size of my very large family) and it made it clear early on we were only inviting aunts and uncles, not cousins.

 

[MagsyMay]

I like ilovethiswebsite''s idea of just sending out the invites a bit earlier than normal. Of course you want your close friends and family to attend, and hopefully you can spread the word via word of mouth, or even a cute Evite email STD? I''d probably choose to save the money, since all the "Oh it''s just $50" type of things sure seem like they can add up!

But I do think they''re very cute if you decide to go with the STDs!

 

[gwendolyn]

Thanks for the replies, ladies! As always, you have given me food for thought.

I have already sent out e-save-the-dates, which my friends thought were cute and fun, but then forgot about them almost immediately because it just stayed buried in their inboxes somewhere. It had the wedding website on it, which every person who has visited has asked me to send them the site again, so clearly they didn''t remember the e-save-the-date had that info, so it was cute but not very practical. The appeal of doing a physical save-the-date (probably a postcard to save money) would be that hopefully they would slap it up on their fridge and (at least occasionally) remember it''s there and that they have plans on Memorial Day weekend.

I like the fact that it''s a holiday weekend, but I am also a little worried that people might forget and book holidays for that weekend without some sort of physical reminder. Of course, a lot of my best friends are all popping out babies right now, so maybe the likelihood of them going on a cruise or other big trips isn''t as great as years in the past, but I think that''s why I am slightly worried. It''s money I know doesn''t need to be spent, but I am slightly worried that I will continue to worry if something physical doesn''t go out soon. I also never see them in person, so it''s not like I will be dropping hints or talking about prep for that day with them in passing conversation.

So, the more I think about it, the more I feel like I should do it, even though I am loathe to add yet another thing to the pile of ''things to buy'' for the wedding stuff. But it feels like a peace of mind sort of purchase, rather than "oh it''s so cute want want want" sort of purchase, you know? It think my reasons for leaning towards getting them make sense. Do you agree, or does it sound like a flimsy justification to you? Be honest!

 

[noelwr]

I think you should do whatever will make you feel more comfortable. after all, you are the bride and you''ll need your time to stress about other things.