When Terrence and I first started planning our wedding, I wasn’t convinced that save the dates were necessary. I mean, isn’t that what invitations were for? After doing a little more investigating, it became clear why Save the Dates were so important. That realization, of course, came with a task (as most wedding realizations do), so Terrence and I scoured the Wedding Paper Divas site to choose just the right save the date for our big day. Take a look at what we found, and find out why you’ll want to have save the dates to announce your wedding, too.

Save the Dates Set the Tone

When you’re looking for your Save the Dates, everything from the font, to the color, to the layout can help you to set the tone for your wedding. We are planning to have a quintessential Northern California wedding. Our decor is going to be minimal to showcase the natural beauty that our great state offers. Our ceremony is outdoors, and the reception will be an indoor and outdoor affair, so we searched for Save the Dates with a relaxed feel to give our guests an idea of what to expect. Wedding Paper Divas had quite a few choices that totally nailed what we were going for. One of the first designs that we considered was the Restored Calendar postcard. The formal font, and “elevated neutral” color (it’s called Yogurt!), partnered with our picture at a beautiful Santa Cruz beach right before sunset certainly made us feel chill!

Save the Dates Give Your Guests Time To Plan

Since we are an East meets West couple, all of my family and friends are coming from the East Coast. We want to give them as much time as possible to plan their time and finances to get to the wedding. You can announce your wedding date on Facebook and send emails and text messages all you want, but if your guests are anything like me, nothing’s definite until they get an official Save the Date. Once your guests know your date and the location, they can start setting alerts for airline tickets, request time off from work, and make any other arrangements they need to while you figure out the wedding specifics. One of the interesting products that Wedding Paper Divas had was Save the Date magnets. I thought those would be a neat and handy way for out of town guests to remember our wedding date. I like the Ticket to Wed design. It’s clean and attractive, and would look nice on anyone’s refrigerator! Also, the date in large font is hard to miss.

Save the Dates Buy You Time on Choosing Invitations

So, apparently wedding invitations are extraordinarily complicated to buy. First there’s the invitation, then the response card, maybe a registry insert, and anything else that will fit into that little envelope. Invitations typically go out 6-8 weeks before the wedding. Save the Dates will buy you time from the folks who are excited that you are getting married. You know, the folks that ask you every time they see you when they’re going to get an invitation! Seriously, choosing Save the Dates are a piece of cake compared to selecting invitations.  You can get them out quickly, and have more time to focus on selecting your invites. A design like Retro Wreath: Sorbet by Wedding Paper Divas is sweet and whimsical, and could very well be your last bit of calm before the storm of choosing invitations!

Save the Dates Introduce Your Fiancee to Friends and Family

Terrence and I had no connections in common when we met, so we’re always meeting each other’s friends or family for the first time. There are a lot of important people in our lives that we’ll be meeting for the first time at the wedding rehearsal. Save the Dates give your folks a chance to know how to spell your fiancee’s name, and can show what your boo looks like. If you choose a design like the We the Wed: White Save the Date Photo Cards at Wedding Paper Divas, you can give your guests a glimpse into how the two of you got together.

Alright, so are you convinced, yet? After Terrence and I sent out our save the date postcards last week, we both started receiving text messages, emails, and telephone calls from family and friends about how much they loved “seeing us” in their mailbox! It was also a great bonding experience for us to browse the website and try out different designs. Now…on to the invitations!

Which of the Save the Dates above do you like? Would you choose any for your wedding? 

Tons of gratitude to Wedding Paper Divas for the amazing Save the Dates! A huge thank you to Christine and A.J. for styling and shooting all of the engagement pictures above! 

Note: While the trend the last few years has been to have a picture of the happy couple on the Save the Date, you certainly don’t have to go that route. Wedding Paper Divas has a lot of lovely text only options for you to choose from.  Terrence and I decided to go with a photo to introduce our family and friends to each other!