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Create a Wedding Save the Date to get the party started in-style! Introduce design elements that hint at your overall wedding vibe and set the tone for your celebration. Since things are bound to change and evolve—keep it simple yet stunning. Include a photo of yourselves or the landscape of your venue for that added personal touch.
Your wedding save the date is the first thing guests receive — and it sets the tone for everything that follows. Browse hundreds of designs, choose your paper stock, and create printed wedding save the dates that feel as considered as the day itself. Each design can be matched to your wedding invitations and wedding website for a cohesive stationery suite from start to finish.
A wedding save the date is a short advance notice sent to guests before your formal invitation — typically just your names, the wedding date, and the city. It gives people time to clear their calendars, book travel, and arrange time off work, well before the full details are ready to share. Save the date cards are usually sent 6 to 9 months before the wedding, with formal invitations to follow closer to the date.
Printed save the dates do something a digital notification can't: they land on the fridge. A physical card stays visible for months, keeping your wedding top of mind in a way that an email simply doesn't. There's also the tactile dimension — the weight of the paper, the impression of letterpress type, the sheen of foil — details that signal to your guests that this wedding is worth showing up for.
Printed save the date cards also serve as keepsakes. Close friends and family often hold onto them long after the wedding, tucked into a box or pinned to a board alongside other mementos. If you're planning a destination wedding or have guests traveling internationally, a printed card carries an added sense of occasion that matches the ask you're making of them.
Prefer to go digital? Our online save the dates start at $0.90 per send.
The standard rule is 6 to 8 months before the wedding for local or regional guests, and 10 to 12 months for destination weddings or events that require significant travel. If your wedding falls over a holiday weekend, err on the earlier side — guests will be weighing multiple commitments and booking travel sooner than usual.
For destination weddings specifically, earlier is almost always better. Guests need to arrange passports, book international flights, and plan time off work — a 12-month notice is not excessive, and for popular destinations during peak travel seasons, it's advisable. A printed save the date carries more weight than a digital one in this context; it signals that the ask is real and the planning is serious.
Printed save the dates should be mailed with enough lead time to account for postal delivery, so factor in an extra week or two beyond your target send date. For more detail on timing, see our full guide to save the date etiquette.
Keep it simple. Your printed save the date card needs only four things: both of your names, the wedding date, the city or region, and a line indicating that a formal invitation will follow. If your wedding website is live, include the URL — it gives guests a place to find answers before invitations go out.
Leave venue-specific details, dress codes, and registry information for the invitation itself. The save the date's job is to claim the date on your guests' calendars, nothing more.
Only send save the dates to people you're certain will receive an invitation. Because save the date cards precede the formal invite, receiving one is understood as a commitment from you that an invitation is coming. It's also worth noting that whoever receives a save the date should be invited with any established partner — address the card accordingly.
For more guidance on wording, addressing, and guest list decisions, visit our save the date etiquette guide.
The best save the date designs take a cue from the wedding itself — same palette, similar typography, a design sensibility that carries through to the invitation. At Bliss & Bone, each save the date template can be matched to a corresponding invitation design, so your stationery suite reads as intentional rather than assembled.
A few directions couples consistently gravitate toward:
Letterpress. Deeply impressed type on thick cotton paper — the most tactile option available, and the one most likely to be kept. Letterpress save the dates work especially well for formal, classic, or minimalist weddings.
Floral and botanical. Illustrated botanicals, watercolor florals, and pressed-flower aesthetics suit garden, outdoor, and spring and summer weddings. Pairs naturally with boho save the dates and rustic save the dates as well.
Modern and minimal. Clean layouts, strong typography, and restrained color palettes. Modern save the dates age well and complement almost any venue — a safe choice that never reads as generic.
Destination and tropical. If your wedding requires travel, your save the date should signal that from the start. Tropical save the dates and destination-inspired designs set expectations early and get guests excited about the trip.
Photo save the dates. A favorite for couples who want something personal — upload your own image and build the design around it. Photo save the dates work across every wedding style and tend to have the highest open rates when mailed.
Seasonal. Design to your date. Fall save the dates lean into warm tones and organic textures; winter save the dates suit stark palettes and formal type treatments.
Whatever direction you choose, the design you land on here will set expectations for the full stationery suite. Take the time to get it right.
The save the date and the wedding invitation serve different purposes and shouldn't be confused. The save the date arrives first — sometimes 6 to 12 months out — and contains only the essentials. The invitation follows 6 to 8 weeks before the wedding with full details: venue address, ceremony and reception times, dress code, RSVP instructions, and any enclosures.
Think of the save the date as a reservation and the invitation as the full brief. Both matter, and both benefit from a consistent design.
One of the advantages of designing with Bliss & Bone is the ability to carry a single design across your entire wedding stationery suite. Your save the date, wedding invitations, and wedding website can all draw from the same template family — same fonts, same color palette, same overall aesthetic. It's the kind of detail guests notice even if they can't articulate why everything feels so cohesive.
You can also add a wedding monogram or wedding logo to your save the dates and carry it through every piece of stationery, your website, and day-of details.
Bliss & Bone was built for couples who care about design. Every save the date template in our collection is crafted to a high editorial standard — no generic stock layouts, no cookie-cutter typography. You customize directly in the browser, with real-time previews, and can order paper samples before committing to a print run.
Our save the dates are available in multiple paper weights and finishes, with letterpress printing available on select designs. Every design that ships as a printed save the date is also available as a matching online wedding invitation and wedding website, so you can mix formats depending on your guest list without losing visual consistency.
Browse the full collection above, or see how Bliss & Bone works if you're just getting started.