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Updated Oct 14, 2024Exactly What to Put (and What Not to Put) on Your Save-the-Dates
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You've celebrated your engagement, the planning is underway and now it's time to get your guests in the loop with wedding save-the-dates. This pre-invitation officially announces your wedding date and lets guests know that they'll be invited to the celebration. Wondering what to put on save-the-dates? Technically a save-the-date can include whatever you want it to, with as much or as little information as you'd like to share with guests. Between travel arrangements and busy schedules, following proper save-the-date etiquette will increase guests' chances of attending your celebration. Just remember: You don't want to overwhelm your guests with details at this point, especially since some aspects of the big day might change. Below, we'll cover exactly what to include on your card once you've nailed down your save-the-date ideas and what not to include.
What to Include on Wedding Save-the-Dates
When it comes to the information to include on a save-the-date, it's okay to keep it simple and high level. At this point, you may not have figured out all the specifics of your day and that's totally okay. But there is key information you'll want to include. Here's what your save-the-date should definitely include:
Your Names
While this may seem obvious, more distant relatives and friends may not know your partner's name (or full name) and this information will be crucial when it comes to filling out a wedding card, purchasing a monogrammed gift or simply updating an address book.
Your Wedding Date
The most important to-do before sending save-the-dates is to choose a wedding date. Sound simple? That means you'll have to have the basic structure of your day nailed down. It helps to know where you'll tie the knot (to make sure your venue is all set to go on that given day). If yours will be a destination wedding, fill guests in on all the dates they'll need to attend.
Location
If you haven't yet booked your venue, but you know for sure where you'll wed, it's okay to simply include the town or city.
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Guest Information
Do you put "and guest" on save-the-dates? Yes! It's best to be clear about who's invited to the wedding, even this far in advance. By including the actual names of every intended guest on the envelope, you're less likely to have any assumed invitees (like your cousin's new boyfriend) or general confusion (is your seven-year-old niece invited?). Communicating who's invited up front also gives families with uninvited kids ample time to plan for child care and out-of-towners time to figure out travel and hotel plans.
Website Info
Ideally, your save-the-dates should also share your wedding website link, where guests can find more in-depth information about your big day. It'll give guests a sense of the type of celebration you'll be having and find out other pieces of pertinent information, like registry info and dress code.
What Not to Put on Wedding Save-the-Dates
There are a few things that should be left off of a save-the-date, whether as a matter of courtesy and etiquette or just simply because they aren't important. We'll dive into them below.
RSVPs
While extra-early RSVPs would ideally give you a head start on your head count, this plan has the potential to backfire, since the excess of cushion time might cause some guests to put off replying and forget altogether. So, at this point, an RSVP shouldn't be included on a save-the-date—after all, this is the correspondence that gives guests an opportunity to figure out what their RSVP will be beforehand. This is one of the biggest differences with save-the-dates vs. invitations.
Registry Information
Wondering: "Do you put the registry on save the dates? The answer is no. While your guests will likely want to know where you're registered, it's inappropriate to print this information on your save-the-dates. Guests usually know they can ask you, your family or your friends about registry details, otherwise, the best place to share that info is through your wedding website.
Overly-Specific Details
Don't make your save-the-date too specific—it's supposed to be very high-level. Think of it as a wedding day placeholder for your guests. That means there's no need to include specific details regarding the order of events, exact timing, color scheme, dress code or meal information. Just stick to some simple save-the-date wording. All of those details are better suited to the actual invitation or can be included on your wedding website for guests to browse.
Schedule of Events
Leave this off when it comes to save-the-dates. You likely haven't nailed down the deets yet, so it's best to omit them so guests don't feel jerked around.
