I know you want your guests to attend YOUR wedding above all others. You don’t really want to admit it, but it’s true. :) To make sure guests want to come to yours, and keep their date open, it’s crucial to send save the dates to them at least 6 to 8 months prior to the wedding date. You know you can send them electronically, but there’s another type of card you can send that I wanted to tell you about: digital save the dates. And if you’re thinking about going digital, there are some things to know about it first. Let’s discuss it!
Electronic Save the Dates vs. Printed
As you can imagine, digital is so much cheaper than printed. But I want to show you the exact costs so you know what you’re up against.
Cost and Convenience
Cost
There is a huge difference in the cost of digital and mailed save the dates, simply because one is printed on actual paper.
E-mail save the dates have affordable designs you customize and email, and some of them are even free. So, if cost is the major issue preventing a couple from sending save the dates altogether, this will be a huge benefit.
Convenience
Secondly, email save the dates are extremely convenient for a couple who is on a tight timeline, forgot to send save the dates altogether, or wants to send them at the last minute. Since email is instantaneous, and you don’t have to wait for cards to be printed and shipped to you, it’s obviously the quick, last-minute option for most.
However, cheap and quick isn’t always the best answer. What if you don’t want your cards to look thrown together at the last minute? What if you don’t have everyone’s email address? There are some pros to sending electronic save the date cards, as well as major cons. Let’s discuss those.
Reliability and Design
On the other hand, digital isn’t always reliable. Let’s explore some cons of electronic save the dates.
Poor Delivery Rate
How’s the delivery of save the dates through email? Not that great, if I’m being totally honest. Technical issues can always occur with digital save the dates. Most people don’t look to their email inbox to receive a save the date, and it can get shuffled or lost among all of those constant reminders, sales alerts, and meeting requests your loved ones are bombarded with on a daily basis. Plus, do you really have everyone’s email address?
On the other hand, mailed save the dates can get lost in the mail as well, although it’s not typically as frequent – and you likely have the correct mailing address of your guests vs. their email.
When you send a save the date to someone’s email, you’re guessing they received it. You’re hoping it went to their inbox, and not “Promotions” or “Spam”. How many times have you checked those folders, only to find important emails that you never saw in your inbox? It’s happened to me dozens of times, and I’d hate to miss a save the date inside the folder.
Not everyone uses email daily, so you may find that guests don’t realize they received it for quite some time. But mailed save the dates appear in their mailbox and you can almost guarantee they saw it and put the date on their calendar (the ultimate goal).
Lack of Personalization and Design
When you send a mailed card, there is a huge difference in the design, personalization, and the wow-factor. It looks like you put a lot of effort into your cards and it shows. From the quality of paper you select to the colors, the wording, and the way you express your anticipation for the wedding shows more on a mailed card than in an email.
Most email save the dates have a standard, boiler-plate design that is strictly upload, send, and that’s about it. There is a major disadvantage of email save the date designs vs. mailed, and it’s rare I find a digital design that even compares. Plus, parents and grandparents love a traditional mailed card. :) You can’t argue with that!
Mailed cards have endless possibilities of custom touches, and you can even customize your own design.
Based on what I’m seeing here, the answer to which is better – digital vs. mailed save the date cards – falls on your own personal preference. There’s no right or wrong was, as I see it.
It’s far better to send save the dates at all than to skip them altogether, so if budget is the primary issue then electronic save the dates makes fiscal sense. You can even send free or discount cards like these, if cost is an issue. Furthermore, if your timeline got away from you and you’re freaking out over not sending them yet, email is the fastest way to get it checked off of your list.
On the other hand, save the dates aren’t really that expensive – especially when you know where to look – and they are the first impression you’ll make on guests. If you wish to set a formal and elegant tone, I strongly encourage you to send mailed save the date cards and customize them to suit your style, show off your personality, and provide guests with a brief preview of the fun celebration ahead.
► If you need design suggestions, check out these new styles at Minted. There’s something for everyone! You can even get a free personalized sample to help you decide.
I think the most important lesson here is that every couple should send save the dates, whether email or mailed, so that guests have ample time to plan ahead and attend the celebration. Your ultimate goal is to have as many smiling faces celebrating the occasion with you, so decide with your partner which type works for you and go from there.
I hope it helps! Tell me in the comments which one you’re choosing. Will you send save the date cards online? Or do you plan to mail save the date cards instead? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this topic.
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Happy Planning!
xo
Emma
