Paper Perfect

Start Spreadin' The News...

You need to start letting everyone know about your plans for a destination wedding as soon as possible.  This is where the Save The Date comes in.  For most brides, save the dates are pretty much optional, but for destination brides they're an essential part of your big day communications.  It announces to guests the date and location of your big day, it's also a less formal invite so including your wedding website is acceptable.
Sidenote: It's a no-no to include your wedding website address on your formal invitation...if you choose not to send a save the date and are only sending a formal invite then have your wedding website printed on a separate insert that can be included in the envelope. 


Timing is important.  You should send out your save the dates as soon as possible, as soon as the ink is dry on the location's contract really.  Your guests need extra time to schedule vacation, arrange for childcare and shop around for competitive airfare.

Most save the dates will take approximately 4-6 weeks to order so you'll want to place the order as soon as the location is set.  Save the dates should be put in the mail 8-12 months before the wedding date.  If your destination wedding is state side and does not require international travel, 6-8 months is acceptable.

What to include:  Obviously you'll include the date and location.  You'll also want to include the resort, or hotel options.  Most importantly you'll want to include where to go for more information...this would be your wedding website.
Sidenote: you'll want to have your wedding website set up and ready to go before you mail your save the dates.  It's okay if it's not totally complete, but expect a few visitors right away!  I'll dedicate a post to wedding websites as well...stay tuned.

If you're using a travel agent, or want to provide travel details or suggestions you can very easily make your own little insert to include with the save the date.  I went down to my local Paper Source Store and purchased 4-bar notecards and then printed a few extra details using the same font as my save the date and my printer.  Easy Easy Easy.  Here's a link: http://www.paper-source.com/cgi-bin/paper/color/4-bar-note-cards/2505.010/201.html
These little DIY inserts will be extra handy for older guests who may not be comfortable navigating on a computer to get to your website.
Sidenote:  this is one more reason I highly recommend you hire a travel agent - we found that many of our guests found it much easier to speak to someone on the phone rather than booking online.

Now my final bit of advice before I get to the fun part and start showing you awesome save the dates...Style. My first rule of thumb for save the dates - don't let them outshine your final invite!!! Keep in mind that a save the date is informal and can be fun.  And lastly, your save the dates don't have to break the bank.

Here are a few reasonably priced options for destination brides.  If you haven't already discovered Wedding Paper Divas you need to visit immediately!  www.weddingpaperdivas.com
There are 780 Save the Date options.  464 of those are Destination Wedding Worthy.  And all of them are reasonably priced.

A few of my favorites:

Airmail Retails for $1.14 per invite (this includes the envelopes)

Journey which includes tropical flowers and a cute stamp which says "Our Journey" retails for just .89 cents per invitation:

And then Beach Flowers which retails for 94 cents an invitation

Wedding Paper Divas is a great site with plenty of options, they have everything from swirls and snowflakes to starfish, these are just a few of my favorites.  You have an option of a few different colors, typically 4 or 5 different color combinations.  You can customize the wording but not the spacing or the font.  

If you're a little pickier and want the ability to customize EVERYTHING on your save the dates...get your tushy to a stationary store.  The first thing you need to do is set a budget with your fiancé.  Know how much you want to spend before you walk in.  Whether it's $250 or $1250, a stationary store can give you a wide range of options in your price range.  My husband and I went the stationary store route - and I fell in love with Checkerboard designs...and they're reasonably priced as well.  

My save the dates are called "Coco Del Mar" and cost $173 for 100. We also paid $43 extra to have our return address printed on the envelope.  I had a ton of paper color choices, ink choices and font choices.  We chose the "Flame" paper which has a metallic look to it and fuchsia for the ink and here's our final product:

We wanted to get our guests excited about our big day (our guests have been waiting 9 years for this day after all...but that's a topic for a whole different blog :) ) So I picked bright colors and used a palm tree tropical motif.

I also really love "Half Flower" from Checkerboard for a tropical venue:

Need wording help? KISS...Keep It Simple Sweetheart:

Please Save The Date 

For the Wedding Celebration of

Bride's Name

and

Groom's Name

Riviera Maya, Mexico

We hope you will join us

Events will take place Thursday evening through Sunday morning

at Dreams Riviera Cancun Resort & Spa

Please visit (insert wedding website address) for more information