Save-the-Dates through VistaPrint.com?

br0wneyeddoll

Hi Knotties!

I was on theWeddingChannel.com's boards and ran into a bride who was looking for inexpensive ideas for her wedding.  Anyway, two brides recommended using Vistaprint.com for your save-the-dates as they only had to pay for like shipping and handling and that was it.  It sounds too good to be true--so I just wanted to see if any of you guys had used it and, for those of you who have, how happy were you with the final prodcut?  Did the print come out nicely or can you provide any and all feedback on the print , delivery time and their services?  I went on the website for a quick second and, with them giving out so much free stuff, i'm wondering what the catch is/how they make their money if it's so cheap and how the final product looks. 

Oh, and I'm also hearing conflicting things about when to send our save-the-dates--some people and timelines are saying that i should send them bascially NOW for our End of October wedding.  Can anyone offer the etiquette on that one?  Ok, thanks everyone for your help!

Marick

We used Vistaprint for Save the dates and it worked out great!  It cost about $20 total (including shipping and tax) for 100 postcards (for OOT guests) and 50 refrigerator magnets (for local people), it worked well for us but we also uploaded our own picture so we didn't use the designs they had.
We sent ours out in August for an April wedding, which was early but allowed our guests to "save the date" in their calendar.
HTH!  Happy planning!

kimmymaz

We used VistaPrint!  I just ordered more and it was still free!  It does sound too good to be true, but it really is free!  I figured all I had to lose was the shipping cost, but I loved it!  I ordered the Save the Date magnets from there and they are great!  And like I said, I ordered a second batch, which were free also!  I highly recommend them!
Our wedding is in August.  We are going to send our STD when we get our second batch in (the end of next week sometime).  I don't think it will be an issue if you send yours out soon for an Oct. wedding!

sallythatgirl

We used Vistaprint for our STD postcards and everyone thought they were great (I have a pic of them in my profile...well apparently theknot deleted my old bio so here's a link to them: http://lh3.ggpht.com/_EAyZnthEt3E/SasTmjItzqI/AAAAAAAABa0/NERZ4IvshkI/s640/front_final.jpg and http://lh6.ggpht.com/_EAyZnthEt3E/SasW_sewgZI/AAAAAAAABa8/bC7dFip65Eo/s640/back_Final_ed.JPG). We designed it ourselves and only paid for shipping. They offer promotions all the time; just sign up for their emails. You can use up to three different promotions, so we used the free 100 postcards and free photo uploads for our order.

For our November 28th wedding, we sent them out in March/April. Our wedding was the Saturday after Thanksgiving and all of DH's family is OOT so we wanted to make sure we gave our guests enough time to plan for the holiday weekend. I've received some up to a year in advance; but I think around 6-9 months is a good time frame.

sdaloha09

I've used VistaPrint for folded cards, and the quality is great. You can usually find deals from their email announcements.  Their magnets are good, heavy duty quality, as well.

htilko

I've used Vista Print for several invitations to different parties over the years and they've been consistently great!  I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them!

tinalv

I have used VP before and their prints are nice, but I didn't like going through 5 pages of "special offers" before you can checkout. Be careful to uncheck all the boxes that sign you up for X service and charge you a monthly fee. I've heard horror stories about this!

kerristarr

Hello,
I ordered save the date magnets from Vista Print.  I edited one of the wedding themed ones, with the shadow picture of the woman and guy kneeling down with hearts all around.  They came out just perfect!  A tiny bit thinner than i expected but overall i was pleased.  I think I paid about $40-$50 and got 100 of them.  The only other catch was I didn't order envelopes....their envelope prices were high! I easily found an envelope at staples that fits the postcard size manget perfectly for aroun$10 for 100.  I also did not order the online proof they offer.  I remember it being $20 I think, I didn't choose that option, just proofed what I did, and they came out fine.  We even inserted a picture of us on the magnet. 

I do know that the save the date postcards have the Vistaprint logo printed on the back, so I am not sure if the save the dates do as well.  The magnets did not have any vistaprint advertisement on them.

Everything I read has said to send save the dates around 6 months ahead.
We sent ours out about 4...we were behind.

Good luck!