Save the dates = an absolute necessity!  It’s so important with our busy lifestyles to let loved ones know the date of your big day and typically save the dates serve as a way to get the word out about your website, which will be the source of all wedding information in the future and could save you money when it comes to invitations.

The key to budget-friendly save the dates- whether they be chic and stylish, playful and fun, simple and elegant, or some combination of those is to create them without turning them into a mini/pre-invitation. The purpose of save the date is to celebrate your engagement and communicate basic information to your guests.  But they are also fabulous because they are a way for you to be completely creative with your wedding. They can introduce your wedding colors, tone and theme, or they can show how excited you are about your engagement, or the playful, less formal aspects of your personality. They can be professional or be your one DIY project. Oh the possibilities!

No matter which direction you take for your save the dates, here are ways you can do them for cheap:

1.       Price Shop online: There are tons of adorable paper and magnet save the date styles available from wedding invitation sites. Decide on your budget and shop around to find your favorites. Don’t forget to consider shipping costs and set up fees when comparing prices. We’ve personally had good luck with Magnet Street Weddings, Invitation Consultants and Wedding Paper Divas but there are many more!

2.       Want something slightly different? What about photo cards from Snapfish or Shutterfly? You can include a pic of you and your fiancé and add the basic info on the card—the date of the wedding and your website. And these are very budget friendly, with many options in the $.40 to $.75 range per card! (Don’t limit yourself to just wedding Save the Dates- there are some adorable Valentines day templates and holiday cards that we love, and are a little cheaper!) Added bonus?  These sites always have promotions! Keep your eyes open for codes for 15% off, a $10 credit, free shipping or a free gift with purchase, which come out fairly often. We’ll announce any deals that we find on the Belles Blog!

3.       Browse the wedding aisles at craft stores like Michael’s, A.C. Moore, Joann’s and Hobby Lobby. They have some ADORABLE  save the date and notecard sets that you can print from home. Use the weekly 40% off coupons to make this an even sweeter deal.

4.       DIY projects: Save the dates are a good option for those of us that like to dabble in DIY projects without committing to a really large project, like invitations or centerpieces. And, as with most DIY tasks, these can vary from fairly low key to rather involved. Here are a few of our favorites:

a.       Postcards ($.25 to $.75 each):  Getting married at a fun destination? Have a special place that is meaningful to the two of you or will play an important role in your wedding? How about using postcards from that place as your save-the-dates? Buy postcards from that beach, winery, amusement park, or town at a souvenir shop (or have someone who is local buy them for you)- you can usually get postcards for 4 for $1, although they may be as high as $.50-$.75 each depending on what you want (but really, that’s still a great deal!). Then set up your printer to print a save-the-date message on one side of the postcard and voila! You have personal, cute and fun, budget-friendly save-the-dates! Bonus: You can use postcard stamps to mail the save-the-dates, which means you’ll save on postage too!

b.      Create your own cards: Invest in some wedding-y stamps (or stamps that introduce part of your theme- wine, flowers, starfish, etc.) and a stamp pad or two—you can get these at any craft store, so keep your eyes open for sales or use those beloved coupons at A.C. Moore, Michael’s, Joann’s and Hobby Lobby. Get cardstock that you will cut into fourths or notecards from a craft store (branch out from the wedding aisle- usually big craft stores actually have blank sets of stationary for any purpose that are often cheaper than the blank wedding stuff) and get to work! Print your save the date announcement on the cards first, and then create your own design by having that signature stamp at the corner or mix it up by having different combinations of stamps and ink colors on each card. A perfect bridesmaid activity!

c.       Photostrips ($1-$1.50 each). Love Love Love this look! You can make your own by formatting your own digital photos (with you holding signs that say “Save” “The” “Date” and then the date) into a strip in a Word document, fit several onto one page, and print either on photo paper or magnet paper. Cut each strip and attach to a piece of cardstock with more info, like your wedding  website.  You can tie ribbons or use stamps to make the cardstock pretty, but really the magnet/photo strip is your main attraction! These are soooooooooooo adorable and very budget-friendly.

5.       Think like a company. Marketing and promotion material companies like Overnight Prints offer businesses and organizations  very affordable materials, but what you may not realize is that they are great sources for personal materials too! You can use one of their templates or upload your own pictures and designs to create a quick and professional looking Save the Date. And they are SO affordable! Check out their very cute save the date options for well under $1 each.

6.       Don’t forget postage! Just like invitations, shape, size, and weight matter when sending out save the dates. Try to keep it to at least the cost of a standard stamp and save the big bucks for the invitation mailing, or think about formatting your save the date as a postcard to save on mailing costs.