Weddingbee Blog

I never did figure out what to do about sending out STDs out to our guests until it was too late.

STDs being, of course, Save the Dates. These little cards that a newly engaged couple send out before sending out invitations are quite popular for destination weddings. It’s always good to give your guests a heads-up about your wedding date so they can plan ahead, and even moreso when they will have to plan their vacation times around your 3-day, 5-day or week-long celebration.

If I could do it over again, I’d definitely go the STD route though. Especially since I’ve know seen how many cute possibilities there are.

Conventional STDs

I think the most common route is to have a card printed in the same design and materials that your invitation will be done in. It’s your first chance to make an impression and set the tone for your wedding.

Source: Minted via Haselbride

PROS: Using the same stationery gives people a sneak peek as to what your invitation will look like and maintains consistency among all your wedding details.

CONS: You’ll have to have already made a lot of big decisions before you produce these, like what your color palette will be, and what paper, fonts and designs you’ll use throughout the rest of your invitations/RSVPs/programs/seating cards… you get the idea.

Magnet STDs

You can take your photo STDs one step further by having them made into magnets. I can personally vouch for the longevity of these - we still have on on our fridge from a friend whose wedding took place a year ago.

Source

PROS: Who doesn’t love fridge magnets? Plus they’ll keep your wedding front-of-mind for your guests.

CONS: Can sometimes be more expensive, depending on how you do them.

Photo STDs

A lot of couples these days get engagement photos done and this is a great way to share those with everyone.

Source

PROS: You don’t necessarily have to have these match your wedding invitations, which means you’ll still have lots of time to figure out color palettes and whatnot.

CONS: Not as easy to do if you didn’t get any engagement photos made (like us) or can’t find any other suitable, print-quality photos. Also, if you’re doing them yourself rather than using an online service, some mad photoshopping skills are required.

Message in a Bottle STDs

Some couples doing destination weddings even do the whole sand/seashells/message in a bottle which is really cute and gets your guests in the mood for a beach party.

Source

PROS: Guaranteed to make a splash with your guests.

CONS: Can be time-consuming and costly to put together. In addition, if you can’t hand-deliver them, or at least most of them, packing them up and sending them by mail will be an additional hit on your budget.

And other STDs that are a combination of the above and/or totally unique and amazing such as:

Source - I just had to include this as it’s one of my all-time favorites. To the point where I truly wish I knew this couple in person.

One thing that these STDs have in common, though, is… uh… a date.

I had always thought you needed to include the actual day of the wedding on these things, which is largely why I didn’t send one. By the time we got our wedding and travel dates sorted out, it was only seven months away, and truth be told, I sort of panicked.

But after reading a lot of forum threads on this, I now see that although most people do, some don’t. They just mention a certain week, or even just “a week in April”.

I guess if you’re planning it that far in advance and you want to let people know, there’s no such thing as too soon.

Plus, it’s sort of like staking your claim on that time of year. After all, is it just me or doesn’t it seems like every other friend of yours is either also planning a wedding or dangerously close to popping the question?!

Did you send out a Save The Date or have you ever received one that was spectacular?