Your opinions, please?

divinemsbee

So, my Mom has now decided that we absolutely must do Save the Date cards. I'm ambivalent about them; I wasn't planning on them, but she's thinking that we really should, so I'm rolling with it (my Mom is the queen of thinking most things aren't necessary, so I'm kind of enjoying her thinking these little post cards are so vital). 

First of all, when do we need to send them by so that they don't look really silly? Wedding's November 3, so they should go out in May, is that right? 

My Dad is a printer so we're really lucky that he'll be printing all of my paper products, we just have to buy the paper/ink. He also employs some graphic artists, so for their fee we can make pretty much what we want. Or we can order a pre-made PDF off of a site. 

So, here're a few ideas that I like so far:

1) http://www.etsy.com/listing/42474298/125-dallas-skyline-std-postcard-or-you

I really like the idea of doing the skyline of the city we're getting married in, my hometown, or even doing a silhouette of one of its more recognizable buildings, but that would require a lot more work on the graphic end.

2 )http://www.etsy.com/listing/88076088/love-story-save-the-date-printable-file

This is my favorite. I love the look and the color. I love the inspiration for it. I would change all of the wording, because "The Greatest Love Story" makes me a little queasy, but I like every other thing about it.

3) http://www.etsy.com/listing/75566290/book-cover-save-the-date

This is FI's favorite. I like it too, but it's pretty ornate. This one would be more of a jumping off point idea because we'd have to probably design something a little simpler in order to use it as a postcard, and also these are quite expensive. 

4) http://www.etsy.com/listing/89151114/bookmark-the-date-save-the-date-with

I think these are super-cute and unique, but I worry about being able to print out all the little moving parts and get them put together. I would have to get my Dad the PDF, he would have to print, and then mail all of the pieces back to me, then I would have to put them together, which could be more trouble than it's worth. These would have to be sent in envelopes, too. 

5) http://www.etsy.com/listing/67509702/shimmery-math-addition-love-save-the

These are my Mom's and my MOH's favorites. They are really clean and simple, I do like them, I'm just not completely won over. While they would be easier to make and send, they just don't seem as "us," but I wonder if that's really necessary. 

Anyone who made it through all of that, any opinions are welcome. I do have that favorite, but I'm not stuck on it. Also, if anyone has other ideas and wants to share, I'm all ears. 

LetsHikeToday

I love the idea of a city skyline but I don't really like the one that you posted. We almost did a city skyline and it looked like this http://www.etsy.com/listing/38860985/skyline-save-the-date-card-sample-new?ref=sr_gallery_18&sref=&ga_search_submit=&ga_search_query=City+skyline+save+the+date&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=US&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_facet=handmade

calindi

How many save the dates do you have to send out?

For us, we're inviting around 170 people, and that works out to be 92 invitations and save-the-dates.  I did a LOT of work on our save the dates, but it was worth it for me and didn't take as long in hours as I thought.  I don't think the bookmarks would be much work, and they're by far my favorite of the options.

That said, if you have to send out much more than the amount of invitations I am, then it might not be worth it.  My second choice would be the book - I really like it. 

Have you come up with a theme or style or color for your wedding yet?  That might help narrow down your options, if one goes with the theme or something better.

crownsuperstar

I love the book.

Rethany

Yes, you are correct in saying they would be mailed out in May!

Also, I really like number two and the last one!  I agree with Cal though, is there any sort of theme to your wedding or anything you could base them off of?  That way it will kind of set your guests up for what kind of wedding you plan to have in November.

Beachy730

STD's should be mailed out 6-9 months before, so you can send them anytime between now and May.  If you have a lot of OOT guests who would likely be flying, I would try and get them out ASAP so they can buy flights now if they want before gas prices skyrocket like they are supposed to.

STD's can be as formal or informal as you want, and it's up to you how much work you want to put in them.  To me, I didn't want to put in a ridiculous amount of money or work into something that people were going to look at and throw away.  We did ours on Vista Print for free (100 free postcards), and just paid for shipping.  

I like the skyline idea if you are getting married in a city, but I like the one Hike posted more than the one you had as an example.  

CAB1217

I love #2 and #3 the best

divinemsbee

Thanks guys! 

Hike-That skyline idea is waaaay better than the one I have, I wasn't particularly looking for skylines, so I just kind of saved one, but I like that. The one thing about the skyline is that I'm not sure people would recognize it, I'm hardly from a big city. The more I think about it, the more I'm worried that people would think we were doing some sort of sophisticated urban theme, and our wedding will not be that. 

Cal- We'll probably send around as many as you, maybe a few more, but not many. I know that we're not supposed to send STDs to everyone in case we have to list trim, but I am thinking that I'll have to fight with my Mom over that, because she's going to want to send one to everybody, and , quite possibly, their mothers. But that's another fight for another day. 

I think the bookmarks are cute, and books are definitely something very "us," well, books and math, but there aren't too many math themed STDs. I could probably use some of that clear sticky stuff to attach the bookmarks and make it a little easier, I just don't want to put too much on my Dad printing them. 

I guess right now we're going for classy fall wedding. We're using pumpkins, but trying to dress them up a little, lots of candles, linen tablecloths. But we're doing it in late afternoon/early evening with an open bar and heavy apps. We'll have tables, but it won't be a plated dinner or anything. It'll also be kind of short because most of my family won't stay a super-long time. So it'll probably go until 8 or 9 depending on how many friends come and how long they stay. We're trying to have a guy with a guitar or a small jazz trio (my Dad knows lots of musicians) for ambient music, I'm not expecting dancing. So, kind of low-key but elegant and fun. Colors are poppy red, vermillion, orange, and golden yellow; pretty much that spectrum. 

The church is pretty grand and old and downtown, the reception space is an older home built in 1840. It's one of the few homes to have not been burned to the ground during the Civil War when most of the city was, mainly because at that point it was outside of town (now it's in the middle of the city). 

Here're just a couple of pics:

This is the reception venue's front porch: 

This is a view of the front of the house, there's a huge trellis covered deck in the back that spans the whole thing, the inside has several larger fireplaces and hardwood floors:

And here's an idea of what I'd like to have on the front porch, sort of an overview of the theme:

calindi

Oooooh I love the idea of a front page on the venue!  And fireplaces!!!  So nice!  Gorgeous!!!!  I went to a friend's wedding at a country club with fireplaces and a porch in the fall - it was so lovely.

I sent STDs to nearly everyone, so I feel your pain.

I don't think it would be that hard to print bookmarks and a page to attach them to - you can print a bunch of bookmarks per sheet of cardstock, then use a paper slicer to cut it up.