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Save-the-date
wording.
The wording is the easy part. The value is knowing what to leave off — because a guest who has your first version will act on it.
What goes on a save-the-date?
Four things and no more: the words "save the date", the names, the date, e "invitation to follow". Add the city if guests will need to book travel. Leave off the ceremony time, the reply deadline, the dress code and the registry — all four are still likely to change.
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01
On, or off?
| Detail | On a save-the-date? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Names | Sim | The whole point. |
| Data | Sim | The whole point. |
| City or region | If guests travel | Enough to book a flight and a hotel around. |
| "Invitation to follow" | Sim | Makes the omissions read as deliberate rather than forgotten. |
| Venue name | Only if certain | Venues change more often than couples expect. |
| Ceremony time | Não | Almost always shifts. A guest who booked around it will be annoyed. |
| Dress code | No — except white or black tie | Those two cost money and need notice. Everything else waits. |
| RSVP details | Não | There is nothing to reply to yet, and some guests will try. |
| Registry | Não | Reads as a gift request months before an invitation. |
| Site | Opcional | Useful if it already exists and has real content on it. |
02
Common questions
When do save-the-dates go out?
Six to eight months before a standard wedding; a full year for a destination one. Any earlier and guests file it somewhere and forget.
Does everyone who gets one get an invitation?
Yes — with no exceptions. A save-the-date is a promise, and the guest list can only shrink afterwards by causing hurt.
Digital or printed?
Digital is entirely acceptable for a save-the-date and often better, since the job is information rather than ceremony. Save the printed piece for the invitation.
The first piece guests see.
A save-the-date sets the expectation for everything that follows. When it comes from the same design as the invitation, the whole sequence reads as one event.
See save-the-dates