Announcing your wedding date to your friends and family can be a very enjoyable experience, and we can prove it with these 14 fun, creative, and unique save the date ideas from traditional save the date cards to DIY messages in a bottle.
Find more creative ways to announce your engagement here!
14 of Our Favourite Save the Date Ideas
1) Wooden Display
Wooden display save the dates are very versatile—there are so many designs, shapes, and sizes available. You aren’t limited to just wood either, as you could opt for something like a laser-cut acrylic display instead.
Featured above: Laser Cut Wood Save the Date by Studio EQ Design
2) Magnets
These sweet love heart shaped magnets are very pretty save the date card alternatives, easily kept as a keepsake after the wedding.
Featured above: Save The Date Wooden Magnets
3) Handkerchiefs
Consider a pretty, personalised handkerchief, perhaps delivered with a small notecard.
Featured above: Play Bill, Parisian, and Elegant Type Save The Date Personalised Handkerchiefs
4) Cards
Save the date cards are the more modern route for many couples, as not only are they relatively fast and simple to arrange but they also come in so many styles.
Featured above: Classic Script Save The Date Card
Featured above: Dandelion Wish Tie the Knot Save the Date Card by SweetSights on Etsy | Love Birds Tying the Knot Save the Date Card by MyPlatinumPlanner on Etsy
Featured above: Kraft Save The Date Scratch Cards
(See some beautiful save the date cards inspiration here.)
5) Balloons
Whether used in a photo to send out on social media or as part of an engagement photo shoot, balloons are a simple, stylish, and striking way to announce your wedding date. Other options include sending a balloon and card to each of your guests that they have to blow up to see the message, or filling the balloon with a message and/or confetti that the receiver has to pop to see what’s inside in a kind of “pop to reveal the hidden message” (just like you might do when asking “Will you be my bridesmaid?”!)
Featured above: Fall Mountain Engagement, Colorado, by Rachel Havel Photography
6) Treats
Give your guests a taste of your wedding to come with a sweet save the date such as a chocolate treat, fortune cookie, a luxury box of treats like the below macarons, and even personalised teabags.
Featured above: “Love is Sweet” Chocolate Heart Wedding Favour by LittleIndieStudio on Etsy
Featured above: Vintage Tea Party Engagement Session by Christy Nicole Photography | Ladurée Inspired Macaron Box Save the Date Idea
7) Bookmark
Not too far removed from a save the date card, a save the date bookmark is a small, versatile stationery idea that can give your guests a lovely glimpse into your wedding theme.
Featured above: Save the Date Bookmark by ThePaperVioletShoppe on Etsy | Autumn Wedding Save the Date by envymarketing on Etsy
8) Message in a Bottle
Message in a bottle save the dates are so, so pretty. You could fill it with a rolled up note giving details of your wedding date, or (especially for a beach wedding or wedding abroad) include some sand as a bit of a teaser for what the big day will offer. Other ideas include filling your bottle with hot chocolate and marshmallows or tea leaves.
Featured above: Small Glass Bottle with Cork Stopper with Oasis Blue Twine and Key – Clover, Clock, and Wine Barrel Charms | Message In a Bottle Save the Date Idea by aLITTLEsmallTALK on Etsy
Featured above: Small Glass Bottle with Cork Stopper with White Ribbon and Open Format Small Favour Tag from our Garden Party stationery collection (also featuring Youthberry White Tea with Wild Orange Blossom Herbal Tea).
9) Film Canister
Another creative take on the message in a bottle is this lovely cinema-style film canister.
Featured above: DIY Film Canister Save the Date Idea from Oh So Lovely
10) Plantable/Seeded Paper
For those conscious of the environment and those aiming for an eco friendly wedding, plantable/seeded paper is a brilliant option that allows the receiver to grow anything from herbs to wildflowers when the paper is planted.
Featured above: Meg and Bryan’s Plant Marker/Plantable Save the Dates from Oh So Beautiful
Featured above: Plantable Seeded Paper Save The Date Invitation from Zed & Bee
11) Origami
If you enjoy getting hands on, fold-out save the date fans or origami paper planes (or even playground style “cootie catchers” that you may know as a “paper fortune teller”, “chatterbox”, “salt cellar”, “whirlybird”, or “paku-paku”) are brilliant options that look amazing.
Featured above: Buenos Aires Folding Hand Fan Save the Date from Ceci New York | Personalised Vintage Airmail Wedding Save the Date Paper Airplanes by HipHipHoorayStudio
12) Confetti
Consider a confetti push-pop with a personalised sleeve or label reading “Save the Date”, or a confetti-filled balloon that you’ve written “Save the Date” on. These are really fun ideas, and some people might even decide to put their message inside the push pop or balloon…but with the latter you should just be aware that your guests probably won’t appreciate a shower of confetti all over their living room that they then have to clean up.
Featured above: Rose Gold, “Modern Floral” Personalised Jewellery Box, Metallic Silver and Gold Confetti Push-Pop, Personalised Candy Wrapper, and a Metallic Gold Straw.
13) Art
Let your love of comics shine with a personalised comic save the date that you could even draw yourself. Or get artistic some other way, such as a simple chalk drawing or an elaborate piece of graffiti art that you can take a photo with.
Featured above: Comic Book Save the Date by AwkwardAffections on Etsy | Katie and Ian’s Superhero Themed Real Wedding
Featured above: Save the Date Chalk Art Photography by Kerstin Weidinger Photography
14) Photos
With that in mind, you can get very creative with save the date photos. Just some options include a message written in the sand, long-exposure photography with sparklers, and even scrabble pieces. Plus you can add some cute-factor too by incorporating your pet.
Featured above: Ran & Moran by Jen Sladkov | Long Exposure Photo Save the Date by Dan Kenemore
Featured above: Save the Date Scrabble Pieces via Oh One Fine Day
For more information on save the dates, check out our article on When to Send Your Save The Date & Wedding Invitations.
Furthermore, now that you know your wedding date, have you asked your best friend to be your bridesmaid yet? Be inspired by these bridesmaid proposal ideas.
