…for our STDs! (If you laughed, don’t worry—I did too!)
But really—we ordered our save the date cards! I had been wrestling a little with when we should actually send the cards because, as anyone who has ever planned a wedding knows, everybody has an opinion and all of them are different. I decided early on that we would send our invitations mid-January. Sending them then would ensure they didn’t get tossed out over the holidays, and it would give our OOT guests plenty of time (right around four months) to plan their travel and hotel stay.
But that left me with another question—when is an appropriate time to send our STDs? I thought that six months would be a good time-frame, which means I need to send them in October. Umm… it’s already October!? Boom, another reality check for me! Between ordering the STDs, waiting on them to arrive, AND addressing them all, I came to the realization that I needed to order them like yesterday. So order them I did.
I decided to go with Vistaprint*, in place of MOO cards. When it came right down to it, I had to consider that most people aren’t going to actually KEEP our STDs. More than likely they’re going to note the date somewhere and then toss them. So we went with Vistaprint. One side is our STD, the other has lines for me to write the address and use our fancy pants return address stamp (details on that coming soon!).
Our total for the STDs came out to $114 for 200 cards (and envelopes, not that I plan to use them)—a great price!
Now, I’m not going to reveal our STDs until they’re actually dropped in the mail, but I will reveal the two designs that we didn’t use. (And trust me—it wasn’t an easy choice!)
Just look at those beauties! It was very difficult to choose one of the three designs that Valerie sent over. And yes, for those of you who are observant—that is the same Valerie that is doing our photos!
So now—for some advice, when did you send your STDs? And…I’m afraid to ask…but, how long did it take you to address them?
* I have no affiliation with either of the aforementioned companies, I chose Vistaprint of my own free will and paid full price for our STDs.
** And for anyone wondering, Mr. Otter’s name only has 1 L. That was fixed before I ordered them. 
OMG, even the ones you left on the cutting room floor are adorable!!! I can’t wait to see the final product!
I’m so glad you posted about this because I’m trying to decide which company to use for STDs – Vistaprint, Zazzle or MOO cards. I agree, I think most people keep them for a bit and then toss them (I know I do) so it doesn’t make sense to spend a lot of money. Those designs are beautiful!!
Just to clarify, did you end up ordering it on a picture card or a postcard? And it came with envelopes regardless of whether it was postcard or picture card?? Good to know!
I really like the first one, I want to see the one you picked.
Both are very cute! We used Vista Print too (we did magnets) and were very happy with the final product! It’s hard to tell, because it’s blurred, but I’m pretty sure we’re date twins.. 
i printed on labels, so it was (relatively) easy to work on those as we were doing everything else – it’s pretty easy to do and you can get fun colored labels (i used onlinelabels.com … pretty clever name) then just mass print those babies.
I LOVE both ones you didn’t use, so I can’t wait to see the design you chose
I think you’ve got a good timeline for sending out the invitations. We sent our STDs 6 months in advance and our invites 9 weeks in advance. I printed the addresses directly onto the envelopes and it turned out really, really nice – I actually got a lot of compliments on the envelopes (random). I ordered mini Moos with engagement pics on one side and our website on the back, and I tied them around the STDs w/ baker’s twine. I loved the mini Moos so much that I ordered them for the invites too. They were high-quality, nice and thick, and just overall from a cool company.
Love the design of your STDs, especially the hand-lettered look over a photo background!
Miss Armadillo & Miss Wallaby: Thank you! Valerie made it really easy for us to choose one because we loved them all! Reveal coming very, very soon!
ED13: I ended up ordering the postcard option, and paid the extra $5 to upload our own artwork on the front and back (the back was plain with lines for me to write the addresses). They came out very nice!
Miss Toadstool: Coming up very very soon! 
Miss Gray Wolf: Thank you for that! I was just thinking about our invitations – I don’t want them to be hand-addressed, but I wasn’t sure where to start!
Mrs. Pain au Chocolat: Thank you! Valerie is great – she did an amazing job
These are both so cute, can’t wait to see the final design!
And, I’m with Grey Wolf-Labels FTW!!
We sent out our STD’s 7 months ahead of time, mostly because our wedding is over a holiday weekend (Memorial Day) and also because we have a lot of OOT guests that will need to make travel plans (i.e., they might not come for the holidays since they’ll have a reason to come in May).
As for addressing, I put some of my girls to work. One of my BM’s had a friend in from out-of-town with killer handwriting, so I promised her alcohol in turn for about an hour of her time. She and I addressed most of the invites, with my MOH and the BM handling the stamps and the return address labels. It took us maybe an hour and a half tops, from start to finish. It felt super efficient and I LOVED the final product!
Wow, I love both of these, especially that second one, so I can’t wait to see what you chose! I had the same issue you did: I planned to send them out 6 month in advance, which from our wedding would be November 4th–which is next week, and I finally just got around to ordering them yesterday! But I found online some people said 4-6 months, thank goodness, so they’ll still be “on time” (if there is an official “time” for this 
)
Def use labels for the addresses! I can’t wait to see what you chose because these two are adorable!
Too cute.. but you should never pay full price at vistaprint.. lol groupons galore or shopathome.com gives you a 50% off the site if you go through their link!
very very cute can’t wait to see the final one!
I think you’ll be surprised at how many people will keep them! We sent ours out in August for a June 2013 wedding and everybody seems to have put them on their fridge. They point it out when I come over, it’s great
Mrs. Otter, Indianapolis, IN Age and Occupation: 22, Freelance Social Media Consultant Fiance's Age and Occupation: 23, CVS Shift Supervisor Engagement Date: November 11, 2011 Wedding Date: April 2013 Venue: Mustard Seed Gardens About Me: I'm a born and raised Hoosier girl, but a diehard Michigan Wolverines fan. I have a tendency to take too many photos and spend full days having TV marathons. Mr. Otter and I met in high school, started dating a couple years later, and moved in after a month of being official. He is easygoing and makes plans on a whim, while I'm color coordinating my planner and organizing everything in sight. He hates glitter, but it's my favorite thing. I have tattoos and he still won't get one, despite my attempts to convince him. We're planning a small, rustic, and (hopefully!) peony-filled wedding to get our married life started. (And yes, there will be glitter involved!)
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