You’ve started your wedding planning, booked your date and venue and now you’re ready to let your guests know! But are you stuck on what to include in your save the date? As experienced wedding planners, we have you covered. Save the dates and invitation wording have the potential to be tricky, so read the tips below on what to include, when to send, and more.

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General Information

The purpose of save the dates is just that, letting your guests know to save the date for your wedding. So you need to include basic information like the wedding date as well as the location. This can be the actual venue or simply the city and state. It is important to designate that this is not the formal invitation with wording like “invitation to follow”. This lets everyone know that you didn’t forget any information on the save the date and they will be sent a formal invitation with full details as your wedding gets closer.

[Learn More About Planning In Our Course: Design Your Wedding Day]

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Link to your wedding website

Another great thing to include on your save the date is your wedding website link with travel information. This helps people be able to book travel and lodging right away. The website doesn’t need to be fully built out or have RSVPs enabled, but having basic info to help guests book as early as possible is incredibly helpful. This way guests don’t have to wait for the full invitation to book their flights or lodging and it will make things easier for them. These days it’s simple to build a wedding website with options from places like The Knot or Zola.

You can leave off things such as your registry info from the save the date, but be sure to include that on your website!

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Timing

The next thing to determine is when to send your save the dates. The standard practice is six to eight months for local weddings and 12 months for destination weddings. This gives people more time to make travel arrangements should they need to. Getting married in less than 12 months? Don’t worry! Just send your save the dates as soon as you have your date and venue booked. This is also the time to add plus ones. Address the save the dates accordingly so your guests know exactly who is invited at this time.

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You now know what to include in your save the dates, but are you having trouble building your wedding day timeline? Our timeline worksheet is a comprehensive guide to building the perfect wedding day timeline. It walks you through each component of the day from start to finish, and includes two sample timelines for a First Look or No First Look.

This 6-page guide allows you to customize your timeline after gathering information from your vendors, and teaches you to navigate the two biggest sticking points in wedding timelines: getting ready and photos. Now you have your save the dates set and your timeline organized!

Nikki and Dylan’s Wedding Vendors

Planning: Ponderosa Planning
Photography: Anais Possamai Photography
Florist: Blomstra Floriography
Catering: Bowtie Catering
Bartending: Tipsy Lemon
Dessert: Crumb Cakery
Rentals: Heirlooms & Co.
Lighting: Illuminate Your Night
DJ: Flip Flop Sounds
Signage: Bespoken Creative
Makeup: Kate Hana Artistry
Hair: The Garrison Collective
Transportation: Shuttle Oregon
Venue: Aspen Hall