If you have recently taken some engagement photos and you’re planning to use them on wedding stationery, you’ve come to the right place! One of the easiest ways to incorporate them is with engagement pictures on save-the-dates, where guests get the first glimpse of your wedding day plans.
It’s easy to create photo save the date announcements: in this blog post, we’ll show you how to incorporate engagement pictures on save the dates and what style cards are available.
Do you put pictures on save the dates?
Does a save the date card need a picture? Not necessarily, although it is nice to have.
As a rule of thumb, you do not technically have to include pictures on save-the-date cards. There are many card templates with a solid design and no photo space, while others feature 2, 3, or up to 4 photos on a single card.
On a personal note, the most memorable cards I recall are those that include a picture. A photo save-the-date adds a uniqueness to the card that cannot quite be captured in motif alone; pictures give save-the-dates tons of personality! Plus, who wouldn’t love to see your smiling faces?!
When to Take Engagement Photos
If you haven’t taken yours yet, make an appointment with an engagement photographer as soon as possible. The best time to take engagement pictures is within the first two months of getting engaged. This gives you that perfect period of time where you’re enjoying the news — you’re engaged! — and you’re just starting to plan.
Using engagement snapshots for wedding stationery is one great motivator, but it makes sense to have pictures taken to get comfortable in front of the camera before the wedding. It also provides you with the opportunity to meet your prospective wedding photographer, get to know him or her, and see if it is a good fit for your nuptials.
Picture Save-the-Date Card Ideas
For fresh ideas on incorporating engagement pictures on save-the-dates, keep reading! I’m rounding up a few popular save-the-date templates with pictures from Minted as one example. The design customization tool they offer makes it easy to upload a photo(s) to the card you select, directly from your computer or Smartphone gallery.
You simply choose a card template here, upload the photo file(s), and edit the text to your liking. It’s so easy!
You can choose three photos save the date printing options:
– Save the Date Postcards with Photos
– Classic Save-the-Date Cards (5″x7″)
– Picture Save the Date Magnets
Here are a few suggestions.
1. Save the Date Images
In this first example, the “Save the Date” lettering is brightly shown in gold foil alongside your name, the wedding date, and the location on a vertical card. Four of your beautiful photos accompany the text: you’ll see three small images on top and one larger picture on the bottom. Card by Stacey Meachem.
This card is especially perfect for couples on a budget: it is a postcard style, so you do not need an envelope. You do not need a standard postage stamp, but a cheaper postcard stamp. It’s a great way to save money vs. classic sized-cards with envelopes.
It is also available in classic or magnet save the date styles here.
2. Photo Album Card
For a photo save the date card that includes six stunning images, choose this style! It is set on a vertical card and includes a collage of your favorite snapshots. This is the best way to incorporate engagement pictures when you can’t decide on just one or two. Include all of your favorite images! By Juliana Zimmermann.
3. Photobooth Save the Dates
Show off your favorite snaps on this photobooth style save the date card which has a design like a photo strip! It has generous space for six fantastic photos, so you don’t have to choose just one. By Amy Payne.
4. 2-Photo Card
This foil-pressed card is horizontal in style and includes space for two of your favorite engagement snapshots with your names along the bottom in bold modern lettering. By Melanie Kosuge.
5. Arch-Shaped Card with Pictures
This modern style is a lot of fun, particularly because it features a couple with their dog (love that!) The snapshots are incorporated nicely into the card with plenty of room beneath for your names, the wedding date, ‘save the date’, and the location. By Lauren Chism.
6. Modern and Bold
I love this style of save-the-date card because the contrast makes the lettering really pop! It features two square-sized photos in the lower section of this vertical card and has elegant gold foiling on top. By Connie Malesic.
7. One Picture Save the Date
When you have one perfect portrait, put it in the spotlight! This card features one picture as the full-size image on the background in a vertical shape. Atop the portrait, your lettering is large and bold so guests can read it easily. By HeyThird.
Polaroid Picture Save the Date
If you wish to make a unique Polaroid picture inspired card, here is a template with space for one perfect portrait. The card is designed to look like you snapped a retro photograph and included it on the card. I love this style. By EkkoStudio.
Once you choose which template to use, decide how many photos you’ll need to select. For this step, here are a few helpful tips on which pictures to choose for save the dates.
Do You Use Engagement Photos for Save the Dates Cards
Yes! Save the dates are the perfect opportunity to put those engagement photos to good use.
Since you will need large, high-resolution images for your save-the-date cards, using the photos you took with a professional photographer makes sense. You’ll look your very best and your cards will print perfectly whether you select one photo or multiple pictures for save-the-dates.
What Photos to Choose for Save the Dates?
When you’re choosing which pictures to use on save-the-dates, consider these tips:
1. High-Resolution Engagement Picures
Choose a quality photo with a high resolution so it won’t be fuzzy or grainy when it prints.
2. Engagement Photos That Tell a Story
Select pictures that show some element of you as a couple. Perhaps your engagement location will provide some background about where you met, where you plan to get married, or a hobby you enjoy together. For instance, if you met at a baseball game, you may be planning to borrow elements of your favorite sport, right down to baseball themed favors. You could snap some engagement pictures at a baseball stadium as one example.
On the other hand, maybe you met and spent hours chatting about your love for hiking and the outdoors. An engagement shoot in the woods provides a nice glimpse into the story of how you met or what you enjoy together. In this way, you could choose a favorite picture for save-the-dates with your favorite hiking locale in the background.
Choose one picture that adds an element of your story in it for an extra-personal touch.
3. Your Faces
A picture save-the-date works best when it includes clearly visible photos of your faces. Smile, and get comfortable in front of the camera! It’s a great way to practice a bit ahead of the wedding day portraits.
4. Pets
People love when you include pets in your engagement photos, as well as save the dates. Don’t be afraid to bring along your pup or cat for a few snapshots with you.
5. Your Engagement Ring Photo
Include an up-close view of your ring as one of the pictures on save-the-dates.
6. The Proposal / Engagement Pictures
If you hired a photographer to snap secret footage of the proposal as it happened, including one of the photos on saving the dates for guests to see. It’s way more personal on a card than simply a social media post. :)
Do Engagement Photos Have to Match Wedding Theme?
No, there is no reason why your engagement pictures need to match your wedding theme. As a general wedding rule, the save-the-date card is more casual than an invitation. In this way, you needn’t match the colors, theme, or style of the wedding necessarily.
This isn’t just because of save-the-date etiquette, but rather since many couples don’t know the wedding theme quite yet and that’s OK.
Save the date cards are sent out 6-8 months before the wedding, so you have plenty of time to nail down the wedding theme, colors, and details at a later date. For now, focus on using your engagement pictures on save-the-dates so your guests can get a glimpse into the beautiful couple getting married: YOU!
No Picture Save the Dates
Are you skipping engagement pictures altogether? No problem! Some couples do not include engagement photos in their wedding must-haves list, and that’s OK. If you aren’t taking professional pictures, you don’t have to forgo picture save-the-dates. Simply choose a favorite snapshot (or two) from your gallery.
If you don’t want to include a picture on save-the-date cards, that’s OK, too! Skip it! For some couples, they prefer no picture save the dates and there’s nothing wrong with that. Instead, you can choose a style like one of the cards below which provides the details your guests need to know minus the picture.
As an example, this card features no picture; instead, the words, “It’s Happening” and the date, your names, and an elegant color palette make it perfect for any couple! By Itsy Belle Studio.
Another idea is to let your save the date card do the talking with the background design or theme alluding to your upcoming wedding. Perhaps you don’t have a photo of you two in a wintry scene, but you’re planning a winter wonderland wedding. In this case, you can choose a no photo save the date card like this one by Anastasia Makarova to set the stage for the seasonal wedding ahead.
Whether you choose picture save-the-dates or no photo cards, you can’t go wrong when you choose what works best for you as a couple.
Guests will appreciate receiving a save the date in the mail, an informal way of letting them know they’re invited!
Where to Shop Engagement Picture Save the Dates
You can browse both pictures save the dates and no photo cards here with endless options in your favorite colors and themes.
I hope this helps you figure out how to incorporate engagement pictures on save the dates. Do you have any tips to add? Were there any picture suggestions you’d like to put on our list? Tell me in the comment box below!
xo
Emma
