Save the Date - Evening guests?!

Hi, how exciting that you have set the date!! We wondered the same thing but didn't in the end as we were worried they might assume if we were asking them to save the date that they were invited to the whole day! We sent out save the date fridge magnets in little envelopes so to make clear it was eve only it would have meant writing a separate note explaining which didn't seem right! Also, personally I didn't think it was fair - if that's the right word - to ask people to save the date if they weren't invited to the whole thing. It might mean some of our eve guests can't come cos they're on hol (we're getting married in Aug too but this year), but we decided that was fair enough really, and that we didn't want to impact on an evening guests holiday plans!

I ended up telling a lot of eve guests the date though in conversation which you'll probably do as you've got quite a while 'til the big day - so you can always sort of informally ask them to save the date!

Phew, long reply or what! x

I've never had a save the date for an evening only do. Don't see it's necessary really.

I dont know if i would send save the dates for an evening do. I just sent an email to my far away relatives as a save the date. I kind of knew it wouldn's suit them to come but to give them a chance just incase they would. Evening guests I haven't said to tho. Did hear my OH telling some of his friends to "keep the evening free".

I suppose this is a personal preference (as many wedding plan things are!) but I am only sending Save the Dates out to day guests. For a few reasons. First of all because our wedding is over a year away we may change our mind on who we invite to the evening (sounds negative I know but we may fall out with people or lose contact with people or I may change jobs and not want to invite people from my old work etc etc). Also because people are more likely to be free in an evening anyway (our wedding is a weekday). And lastly because like yourselves are evening numbers are almost double day numbers so to save the extra expense of sending STD cards!!!

But if I was sending them to evening guests I would definitely make it clear it was evening only (in the most tactful way possible!) E.g. 'save the date for our evening reception'????

We only sent save the date cards to our day guests. I like VickyJay's suggestion of 'save the date for our evening reception' if you wanted to send to the evening guests.

Good question I was not sure either.........

How far in advance do you sent them?? I am getting married on a bank holiday weekend too x

I think the general guide is approximately 12-14 months before (think I read that in a magazine!!)

We are sending ours out in the next couple of weeks and our wedding is June 2011. Love the fact that it means I don't need to rush with our invitations! We also have set up a wedding website with weddingtv.co.uk and we are putting the web address on our save the date cards so hopefully people will know most things they need to know before they even get the official invitation.

People on here generally say not to. But as there's people who were just on our evening list that I did really want to come I did. I just said on them "to celebrate the wedding of" - as that's fairly neutral - could be daytime or evening. That also leaves you open in case people say they can't come to the daytime and you want to budge evening guests up.

We sent ours out at the beginning of April for our March 2011 wedding, although because of Easter people didn't receive them until about the 15th!

Hi Lauren

We are also getting married on 28th August 2011

I think I am going to send out save the date cards to both day and evening guests especially as its a popular bank holiday weekend but will just state something like save the date for our evening reception. I guess its just down to personal preference. Haven't worked out when I will be sending them out yet, do you know when you will send yours?

Rachael

Lauren - our numbers are roughly the same as yours for our wedding next August. I have ordered Save the Date magnets, but we're only going to send them out for daytime guests, as we don't want people to get confused and think they're invited to the whole thing. We're getting married on a Friday, so wouldn't want people to take the day off work if they're only invited to the evening...!!! Most of the evening guests will be work colleagues who know the date already. Also, we don't know who can come to the day yet and might 'promote' some evening people if there are people who can't make the it.

Probably going to send Save the Dates out when we get back from our holiday in August this year. x

I was going to send them to evening guests with "save the date for our wedding reception on the evening of................." which I thought made it more than clear!

I just send them to the people who are comming to the day do. i'm not sure that if i were in the guests i'd put off doing things for the bank holiday weekend just to attend an evening do.

Personally, we will. Seeing as we are getting married on 23rd Dec (next year) and it's the Xmas weekend, we thought necessary to send save the dates to evening only guests too, unless we want an empty room! I would say being BH people may have longer weekends away etc so I would send them. But it's your choice...

Hi... My wedding is in August , but haven't got the invites out yet! So I decided to do a Save the Date Facebook event that I sent our to all my intended guests with details of the day guest times and evening guest times. I also posted on there a message thanking everyone for there kind words and explaining that I had sent this just as an idea to everyone as a lot of people were asking and telling my mum that they knew of other peoples weddings on that date! I also put on there that Official invites were to follow and that the if people receive an evening only invite, it wasn't because we didn't love them or didn't want them there, we just cant have everybody we'd like to but that we wouldn't want them to miss the party in the evening....... I thought this was for the best, but now ive seen your other comments, should i not have done that?? Have I done something wrong??

Advice please!

I wouldn't send them to the evening guests. If I received a save the date i'd assume it was the whole day hence the keeping it free so wouldn't want anyone else to misunderstand the same way.