Save the Date - Postcard or Card/Envelope

Vista print has sales and the cost is like $1 each but with promo code you can get it for less. Me and my FH are doing magnet S.T.Ds.

I'm having the same issue. My concern with the postcard is how it travels in the mail. By the time it gets there how messed up will it be?

I did a postcard save the date. Image on the front with our names (the image was not of us!), date, and location. A few suggestions for accommodations on the back since it's a 2 hour drive for nearly all of our guests. When I visited people at Christmas, I noticed the save the dates on a lot of fridges, so I'd say it worked out well.

I designed them myself and got them printed at a printshop. Etsy has some good options if you're looking to save some money and want a PDF file. People on here seem pretty satisfied with VistaPrint, but I've never used it.

Just make sure your postcard is regulation size so you can get postcard stamps. Cheaper.

ETA: The postcards all looked fine even after traveling in the mail. A friend I sent one to in India snapped a photo and sent it to me when he got it and it was in great condition. Order an actual postcard material and you'll be fine. Sending a white or ivory 90lb paper through the mail is bound to get a creased corner/smudge or two, but getting an actual postcard material will ensure it stays in great condition.

We did postcards, and they were fine. Honestly, STDs can be much more informal, so if they get a little bit bent or dirty, it's not a big deal. I saw some of ours that had gone out in the mail (sent one to my roommate, haha) and they were fine! Cheaper to make postcards AND cheaper postage!

@Sequin...postcard stamps are cheaper than regular card stamps? This is good info to know.

I can design them myself, and get them printed...is that cheaper than using a VP template?

I recently received a postcard save the date and it was a little banged up but in good shape. I was a little weird about that too until I saw this one come in.

I thought about magnets, but if a regular card/postcard costs less I will just do that. Ppl can put a magnet on it to put it on the fridge or pin it to a cork board or whatever, I do it all the time with the ones I receive.

Good to know about the postage, I didn't think of that. Thanks much!

A post card is fine, but honestly, you don't need them at all. The problem with STD's is that they get printed and sent early in the process; as you see from so many conversations here, budgets and relationships change, but once you've sent the STD's you're pretty much locked in.

If you've got oot guests, call them, send them an online STD or a note but if the date or the location doesn't present a major problem, I'd skip them.

Yea postcards stamps are 35 cents!

We had postcards STDs and the only issue I saw with them was we had a few that got returned to us and they looked like they had been through the ringer. The way I see it, even an envelope can get beaten in the mail and turn up looking a little rough. Post cards are less expensive to mail and that's a big plus.

I ordered my STDs from Pear Tree Greetings. Pretty inexpensive, easy to use, and great customer service.

Paid $60 for like 100-120 STD from Vistaprint using one of their templates. Add another $20 or so for stamps on the ones we needed to mail out. Not bad at all IMO

Edit: these were magnets FWIW

@Celia, I agree...and you make a good point about being locked in.

We weren't going to do Save the Dates at first. And if we did, we were going to do a slideshow w/ music and email it. But FH is pushing for it since he recently learned of 2 other weddings near our date, so he's concerned ppl won't be available or someone else will take our date. I'm pushing for an email slideshow bc that's free and more fun :o) haha only problem is my side of the family is email/text challenged so we would have to call.

Something to consider. Thanks for the feedback

We are doing postcard STDs - we bought kraft paper cardstock, and used a stamp a friend of ours designed for the actual information portion of it all.

Since it's already a bit on the 'distressed' side (not sure of a better word for it) - and our wedding is in an old warehouse with a more vintage style - we aren't too concerned about it getting a bit 'battered' in the mail.

We may do postcards. I was leaning toward email, but fiance made the point that seeing it on the fridge constantly is a much better reminder than an email you only see once. Do remember that you only need one STD per household, not one per guest! Unless you're inviting 400 people, you probably don't need 200 STDs.

We did post card save the dates. They all arrived just fine and I enjoyed the cheaper stamp.

I didn't read all the comments, but just remember that you don't need STDs and invitations for every single person invited, just for each household. I just noticed you were looking at 150-200 and that seems like a lot.

I think that postcards are the way to go to save some money as well on postage.

Oh yeah, that too! ^^^^ You only need one per household, and only for people you are absolutely 1000% sure you want to invite!

I did postcard save the dates, and it worked out just fine. The only thing I didn't think about was the limited amount of space to write out peoples' names and addresses. It got a little cramped for some of them, but I don't think anybody cared, plus we'll be doing regular size invitations, so that's when everything will look pretty

Wedding Paper Divas was doing a sale, and I was really pleased with the quality and customer service!

We're inviting 275-325...expecting 250-300 to show up. In our culture that is a small wedding lol.

Thanks much for all the feedback

We are skipping save the dates all together. It's a stupid expense in my eyes. Postage alone angers me. People will throw them out once they get the invitation anyways (unless it's an expensive magnet). Most of our wedding is family and we are just going by word of mouth, Facebook, etc to spread the word. It'll save us about $300

My postcard save the dates went out and looked great. I will say that I took them inside the post office and handed them to the people working to eliminate some of the processing steps (dropping in mailbox, running through machine, etc). As long as you pick a sturdy paper, it will be fine.

For me, I spent about $40 on 100 save the dates (including postage). I created the design myself and printed though a local shop.

Good luck