live. breathe. design.

check out the new prices on everything in my etsy store. hand printed note cards and shower invitations, plus more to come!

• destination wedding: the sooner the better. preferably 12 months in advance so guests can plan accordingly.
• many out of town guests: these guests need to be able to plan ahead for lodging and travel. they need at least 6-8 months for booking flights and hotels, taking vacation days and finding someone to watch fido.
• holiday wedding: this includes religious holidays that affect your family and guests and national holidays such as labor day. people typically have made plans far in advance for holiday weekends. similar to the destination wedding you should send these as close to 12 months ahead of time as possible.
• seasonally busy region: is your wedding during the hot time for tourists to come to your area? give your guests the heads up as soon as possible, 8-12 months so hotels and flights aren’t limited.
• a traditional wedding at home: 4 -6 months is usually a good rule of thumb – guests can keep your date clear when they are scheduling travel and other events.
• what if i just got engaged and i am planning my wedding for 4-6 months from now? send the save the dates anyway! these are just guidelines to help you out in your planning. they are not hard and fast rules. no matter when you send the save the dates they are still useful!

look for follow up posts in this series:

• the who… who on your list should get a save the date?
• the what… what is the important info to include?
• the how…  how do you do it? post cards? magnets? etc?
• the green… ideas to keep it eco-friendly.

this month i was fortunate enough to design engagement announcements for my two close friends. congratulations to lauren and chris!

classic silly photo strip theme with a modern twist!

i love the simplicity of this bird sculpture. available from wikiwikiwoo on etsy .