Save-the-Date cards are one of those nice but totally unnecessary bits of wedding stationery. They used to be used only during long engagements, or when a wedding was falling on a known-to-be-busy weekend or in a place that would require above-average travel arrangements for guests.
Now it seems like the wedding world (aka the Wedding Industrial Complex) considers them de rigueur for any but the quickest of locals-only weddings. I don’t mind this, of course, since I love anything and everything to do with paper products. Even before I started working at the printing company, when I’d have to go there on afternoons with Mom I’d love looking through the wedding books–all those wonderful designs, all those fairy tale weddings to go with them.
And with an engagement of 2 years+, I figured we’d send ours out at the beginning of this year, even though it was a little early, but before I knew it March was here and I hadn’t finished designing them much less sent them!
I could blame the delay on our long search for a photographer and the necessary delay of our engagement photos–after all, many StD* cards feature a cute picture of the happy couple. You know, just in case the recipient forgets who you are just by your first names…
Rustic Overlay Save the Date design by Fine & Dandy Paperie (via Zazzle)
But I wasn’t really planning on going that route. The silhouette trend is really nice, and I do like drawing profiles (they used to be one of my weaker skills, so I included them in a lot of my comics and finally got the hang of it), but that direction still didn’t feel like us.
Silhouette Save the Date by Hello! Lucky
And neither of us are ever very far from our planners (Mr Road Trip is a Franklin-Covey devotee, while I lean more towards The Planner Pad), so a calendar-style Save the Date would certainly make sense.
Calendar Save the Date by Etsy seller Ever After Design Studio
But what was really catching my eye were the hand-drawn map cards. Unfortunately, our “map” would have to span half the country and that would take some of the charm out of it. On the other hand we could map our wedding venue, but it’s kind of in the boonies, so landmarks–especially ones pertinent to us–would be non-existent.
Custom Wedding Map by Etsy seller Efinestationery
Still, the images were charming, and the idea of plotting out places led me to another idea, the one I ultimately settled on.
*Most bloggers shorten Save the Date to STD, which brings up so many unfortunate mental images and is the butt of many a joke. Just by following the title-capitalization rules and making it StD looks a lot less like a social disease, you know?
How did you decide on your Save the Date Design?