DIY Wedding: Homemade "Save the Date" Cards for a Fall Wedding

If you are inviting many out-of-town guests to your fall wedding and know the date in advance, it is good etiquette to send "save the date" cards to your guests so they can put it on their calendars and start making arrangements. There are many companies you can find online that will print these for you, and some that even print them on magnets and other fancy things, but if you are on a budget, one option is to make your own save the date cards.

Fall Wedding Themes for Save the Date Cards

Because so many couples choose to have summer weddings, you will want something on your save the date cards that will remind people that your wedding is not happening until the fall. Classic ideas for this are brightly colored fall leaves, or a variety of fall pumpkins and squashes. Pick a color palette for your save the date cards that includes deeper reds, oranges, and even purples.

Information to Include on Save the Date Cards

Obviously, the date of your wedding should be a focal point on your save the date cards, as you want your guests to know that date and be available to come to your wedding. The city the wedding will be held in is another important piece of information for out-of-town guests who will need to travel. In addition, you will want to put the names of the couple, which is important for friends and relatives who won't know your fiancé. Many couples also choose to put a fun photo of themselves on it, which makes the save the date card significantly more personal.

Designing Your Save the Date Cards

Your save the date cards can be designed in any computer program, ranging from Microsoft Word through high-end design programs. If you have the Adobe suite of programs, InDesign and Illustrator are both good choices. If you have a more basic set of programs to work with, Microsoft PowerPoint can actually be a better choice than Word because it has more ability to move pieces around the page.

The first step is to pick the size of your cards. Many couples find that quarter sheets work well, although some opt for an even smaller size. Split your page into that many rectangles, and work on just one of them, copying and pasting to the rest once you have the final product. Make a text box and input all the text that you will want on your cards, possibly in separate boxes so you can move them around as you need to. At this point, also bring in any images you will want to use and resize them to an appropriate size.

To make your save the date cards more exciting and festive, you will want to choose a font for your text that is both interesting and legible. Then bring in different design elements to tie together the pieces on the page. Consider putting a colored shadow behind your photo (either by adding a shadow to the photo if your program does that, or just by making a colored rectangle and moving it to the back of the page), and using that color and others in your text. You can also incorporate vertical and horizontal lines or borders to help lead the eye from one piece on the save the date card to the next.

You will want to print your save the date cards on a heavier weight paper, perhaps even something with some texture to it. You can buy paper at specialty stores and print them at home, or you can save your file as a pdf and take it to a print center, where there will be many choices of paper and high quality printers.

Crafty Fall Wedding Save the Date Cards

If you prefer to make your save the date cards with special materials, paper, and your hands instead of on the computer, there are many crafty ways to make save the date cards. One idea, although you may have to plan a year in advance for this, is to collect pretty fall leaves and use them as the background for your cards. If you glue them to the paper and then glue a printed card of information on top of them, you will have a beautifully framed notice of when and where your wedding is taking place. You will probably want to laminate these cards to protect the leaves from crumbling off and making a mess. There are a number of at-home lamination kits that you can purchase at craft stores for this step.