Do I need to send save the date cards?

Nope, I wouldn't bother.

I would just tell my nearest and dearest the date (or anyone I 100% want there).

I'm glad we didn't send save the dates as our guest list changed over the duration of our planning.

I'm only sending them cos we're getting married on a Friday during Easter hols next year so it's just in case people were thinking of booking holidays while the kids are off or need to book a day off work. I made mine for next to nothing but I've got the craft bug at the moment. OH hasn't posted any of his yet, he seems content to do it in person or electronically and I'm sure most people would be fine with just a heads up before the actual invitations go out.

In my (pretty traditional and probably a bit snobby) opinion, using Facebook as a communication method for something as important as a wedding is a bit naff, but I appreciate that makes me sound like a pompous ar$e.

I sent out Save the Dates as we are marrying on a weekday in term time, so we wanted to give people notice. They cost me about £30 to send out but you can get them cheaper than that on Vistaprint. But if you send you're invites out in plenty of time, you can get away with not doing Save the Dates.

It's completely up to you, although I would say Facebook is not the best way to communicate to the guests if you aren't going to send STDs out. Some people don't check their account regularly, and a lot of the time when someone says to me "oh you free this date? Want to do something?" online or via FB, for example, I just say yes and sometimes then forget about it, whereas when I get an invitation for somewhere, I usually pin it up on the calender board in my kitchen so I remember "Ah! That's so and and so's wedding" or whatever. Another thing I would worry about is relying on other people to spread the word.. You could always send out the invites early, it would save you having to send Save the Dates out, spending time messaging everyone and checking they read the message perhaps

I'm intending on sending the official invites within a month or two of us finding the venue as my OH is going to design them as he is an artist. I think that should be enough time not to justify sending save the date cards. I've already told my close family that it will likely be a weekday wedding and the rough week that I am going to do it, so they are all aware of that already.

It never even occurred to me to send them. We got married on August Bank Holiday weekend, so I guess we might have inadvertently not accounted for peoples' holidays. Oh well, nobody was on holiday - presumably they waited to see the wedding date before booking ?

Is never heard of them until a friend did them last year. My first opinion of them was they were a bit show offy. Now I can see why some people would find thenmm useful, busy time of year, weekday, far away guests. But with all our guests being people we actually talk to for us we felt it was a waste if time and money. So don't bother just because you think you should.

I'm not sending out save the dates, I've never received one, just a wedding invite. I will let some relatives no as soon as we have booked the date because they live 80 miles away and will need time to save and look into hotels ect, x

I've only ever received one Save the Date and I've been to a LOT of weddings!

I tend to know about good friends' and family's wedding dates through word of mouth before the invitations are sent anyway.