After you’ve picked the venue, sent out your save the date cards and finalised your guest list, now is the time to sort out what to do for your afternoon/evening reception and who is invited to the whole day, and who to just the after-party. You may be limited by budget and this is where you can get creative with your reception and offer something a little different.
On average, 50-60% of a wedding budget is spent on the food and drink alone, so don’t feel pressured into providing what is ‘expected’ but instead focus on what you truly want from your food and drink. A good way to keep costs down and to have a more informal affair is to include on your save the date cards that you plan on having a dessert reception.
By including it on your save the date cards (and following up on your formal invitations), you are letting your reception guests know that you’ll feed them with cake but not with a main meal. This also means that you can have a vast array of different desserts to choose from – which is a plus in my book! Kids will also be over the moon and your reception will officially be known as the best wedding of the year to any children attending the event!
When it comes to purchasing your save the date cards, a good recommendation can be vital to making sure you are dealing with a company who can delivery on time and at the right price to suit your budget.
Your save the date cards will often be one of your very first purchases if you are planning a wedding and the company that you choose to use really does matter. Word of mouth and referrals have traditionally been a significant source of business for companies in the wedding stationery industry. This is because people trust recommendations from others – especially if it comes from friends and family. People planning for their wedding day are surrounded by the wedding business all the time and they talk about it with others, sharing both the positives and negatives of the experiences that they have had. A solid reputation amongst customers can help to drive success for a wedding stationer for many years to come.
When you are thinking about which company to trust with your wedding stationery needs, have a look for online testimonials and forum feedback on the company you are considering to do business with. When you are confident is which one you want to go with you can relax, gets those save the date cards ordered and get on with planning your wedding.
If you are looking to save some money when it comes to your wedding save the date cards then it may be worth thinking about making your own.
You can purchase packs of blank cards from many craft stores and have a go using a theme which is personal to you and your new bride or groom. If he is into golf, then try making a golf-inspired card, or use green as your base colour. If she loves everything pink and fluffy then take this into account and make your save the date cards accordingly.
If you are not up to the challenge of creating them from scratch but still want something very personal, head to TheCardGallery.co.uk where you can use their card designer to personalise some beautiful save the date cards which will impress your guests.
