STD Confusion!

[soontobemrsdow]

Ok so I've been trying to find out the answer going through some older threads but I just can't find the answer anywhere! I'm getting married in Jan 2011 and want to send the STD's out by Feb so it gives guests enough time to save money if they want to come, since I know that will be the only way a lot of our family/friends can come is by saving. My TA says we can't start booking things until Feb/March at the earliest due to flight schedules not being released until that time so my question is if I can't book things until March or so what do I put on my STD's? I know we want to get married the last week of Jan but don't want to put a certain date on the card incase we can't get it. I also know we want to get married in Punta Cana but again, don't want to put a certain resort because when we book we're going to try and find a good resort at the best available price at the time. My FH and I think it's fine to put STD Jan 2011, Punta cana...more info to follow...with our wedding website for guests to go to but I'm getting a lot of mixed feedback on if it's ok to be that vauge or not. You ladies are the experts out there so please help meee! I never thought I'd be getting this stressed out over STD's!!

[*Karla*]

I think Punta Cana, Jan 2011 is fine. You are giving your guests a heads up to start saving. They will know to check your wedding website for updates. It's better to give a vague early STD, than a few months notice with lots of details.

 

I saw someones STD earlier today that said "Save the Week." If you know you want the last week in Jan, you could put Jan 23-30 (for example).

[debbmach]

The other thing you can do is just pick a week, and book the wedding during that week. Then you can write that week on the STD. I know that some people have to ask for their vacation almost a year in advance so some people may need to know this. The down side to this is if you, for whatever reason, can't book a date during that week. I think either the week or the month is fine.

[Jodimichelle]

I agree.. Send out your Save The Date and say either the week of or just simply say check out our web for more details etc etc. You def. want to give your guests time. Send it out and def post it on your web when you make your final arrangements.

[buckain]

I like the idea of the the "Save the Week"... and as others have said, i think more time is better than less for sure! I know we aren't planning until May 2011, and we already sent our STD about a month ago, and for the most part, people seem to be thankful for the time! others think we are crazy, but you cant make everyone happy! lol good luck!!!!

[Barrierunner]

We were in the same boat and were told we couldn't book flights for our July 2010 wedding because prices etc weren't available. But because I wanted to get things rolling, I contacted the Wedding Coordinator at the resort I was interested in and was able to book the date and time. Now that I have that, I have made my STD's magnets and have sent them out. We are using our website as the main means for communication. We just recently received some pricing back and they were too high. We were told that it is safe enough to book the flights a little later and closer to our wedding date. It is a little bit of a risk but we figure since we aren't getting married in peak season, we have room to do this. We probably won't book our flights until after spring break. Our wedding coordinator is fine with this also, she said as long as we allow at least 3 weeks if we have to cancel or change anything. :-)

[soontobemrsdow]

Thanks so much girls for your input...I'm feeling much better now that all of you think it is best to send them out earlier rather than later!

[becks1581]

My fiance and I are in a similar situation. We are down to two resorts in Playa del Carmen and know that we want to get married the weekend of May 7-8, 2011. BUT, we don't want to commit to one resort until we do our site visit in May of 2010. What we've settled on doing, is sending out our boarding pass STD for 'Playa del Carmen' and the weekend of our wedding. Once we officially lock down the resort, we want to send out an info brochure with more details re: accommodations and travel arrangements. Hopefully, this will give our guests time to save $ and vacation time.

I've also gotten mixed feedback from ppl but have found that there's no one way to do things so you just have to go with what feels best for you and your FI.

 

It's nice to know that other brides are debating over the same issues! None of my friends have had DW's so pretty sure they think I'm a little nuts ;-)

[QueenDiva]

I would definitely send out STD's as early as possible to let everyone know at least the month/year you've chosen for your wedding. The more time for everyone to save the better.

[KGraham27]

I am just starting this process. Thanks for all the info.