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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, and "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 | Yes | The whole point. |
| Date | Yes | The whole point. |
| City or region | If guests travel | Enough to book a flight and a hotel around. |
| "Invitation to follow" | Yes | Makes the omissions read as deliberate rather than forgotten. |
| Venue name | Only if certain | Venues change more often than couples expect. |
| Ceremony time | No | 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 | No | There is nothing to reply to yet, and some guests will try. |
| Registry | No | Reads as a gift request months before an invitation. |
| Website | Optional | 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