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Top 12 Design Ideas For Save the Date Cards

A great Save the Date card serves not only as a way to let guests know to keep that day or weekend reserved for your wedding, but also as a way to share other important information such as travel arrangements and accommodations that need to be made. The Save the Date, whether a postcard or a three page newsletter, should have all the important details your friends and family need to prepare for your wedding. Creating your Save the Date card is one of the first (and most exciting!) printing jobs you’ll have, so here are some useful tips for the design and content to get you started:

1. Choose your words carefully
   Actually use the words “Save the Date” on the front of your card. Believe it or not, some people mistake Save the Date cards as invitations, and they call in confusion asking how they can submit their entrée choices.
   
   
2. Size it up
   Determine what size stationery you want to use by keeping in mind the amount of information you want to share with your family, the style you’d like to convey, and how much you want to spend. Standard postcards are the least expensive option since you save on envelopes and postage. Always check a sample with the post office to see exactly how much postage will be. Special rates apply for square envelopes.
   
   
3. Spin your web
   This is an appropriate place to let people know about your personalized wedding Web site, which I strongly recommend creating. You can find free hosting at most bridal Web sites, or check out subscription-type personalized wedding Web sites where you will provide the links to the ceremony and reception sites, hotels and even sites of interest in the area where you will marry.
   
   
4. Name it.
   Use both your first and last names on the Save the Date card, just to avoid confusion. Some distant relatives or family friends may not immediately ‘connect’ with just your first names.
   
   
5. Keep your audience in mind.
   While your closest friends may laugh at a Save the Date card featuring a slightly off-color cartoon and caption, what will your grandparents think? You’re free, of course, to design two different Save the Date styles: one for your friends and one for your family, parents’ friends, colleagues and bosses, etc.
   
   
6. What’s your type?
   When designing your own Save the Dates, it’s tempting to play with all the great fonts on your computer. Try and limit yourself to two beautiful or fun fonts. Any more and your card will look more like a ransom note. The same goes for font sizes, although you can use three font levels. Choose one larger font for the ‘Save the Date’ announcement on the front or top of your card, and then a slightly smaller one for your names, while the next smallest font size goes into your details.
   
   
7. Clarity is key.   
   Be sure that the font you choose is completely legible. Especially when you’re printing numbers, check to make sure your 0’s don’t look like 9’s, or your 7’s look like 1’s.
   
   
8. Picture this
   If you use a graphic on the front of your card, be sure that it’s of high resolution and prints well on the card stock you use. Consider using your engagement photo, an image from Fonts & Graphics for Weddings, or ask your venue for a photograph (or take one yourself) of where you’re getting married to use as the front of a postcard. Especially if your wedding will take place at a tropical destination or winter resort, your graphic can convey the style of your wedding.
   
   
9. Sticker shock
   Use simple embellishments like a shaped hole punch to pop out little hearts, circles, half-moons from the bottom of your card or add a sticker to your Save the Dates. Just stick to flat stickers, as anything raised like a bubble sticker or a ribbon will mean that your Save the Dates will need to be hand-canceled at the post office. (Hole punches and stickers can be found at craft stores in the scrapbooking section.)
   
   
10. Color Find
    Your Save the Date is a great way for you to introduce your wedding colors, but don’t limit yourself to them. Explore coordinating color combinations, such as mixing a pink card with red text and a red envelope, or pairing a pink card with chocolate-brown lettering and a brown envelope. Check out your mix and match options here.
    
    
11. Get Personal
    As an added touch with a polite flair, consider hand-signing your names to the Save the Date card. It’s not a must, but it does make a good impression.
    
    
12. Go Postal
    Have fun with your stamps. You can now make custom ones or check out the newest Love Stamps at the post office. They’re not just for wedding invitations!