Here's your notice: SAVE THE DATE

So this morning I decided to start perusing invitation ideas because that seems to be a logical place to begin, right? (We have already started physically looking at wedding locations and researching officiates, and this is next on our to-do list.)

I found this incredibly horrible VerseIt.com website that prided itself on being a resource for invite wording; Zach and I laughed and laughed over them, especially the fishing ones and this gem ("Out of wind and prairie dust, a cactus flower stands: a tribute to our love so true are elements it will withstand.")

After looking at site after site, I noticed that many focused more so on "Save the Date" cards than on the actual invitations, the idea being that your invites take their cue from your "STD" cards. I am familiar with "STD" cards, having received them in the past for my friends' weddings. I also remember an episode of "Regis and Kelly" a couple years ago in which the co-hosts debated the etiquette behind "STD" cards. One of Regis's daughters was getting married and had sent out some "STDs;" her father insisted on how useless these notifications were. Shouldn't the invitations serve as your notice to "save the date?"

I agree with Regis. (Hey, I like Big Poppa.) So I began to look at "STD" etiquette. On one website, I found this statement:

Save the Date Cards are announcements that inform your guests of your future wedding in order to keep your special day free (DO THE INVITATIONS NOT SERVE THIS PURPOSE? THEY ARE SENT BEFORE THE WEDDING AND TELL YOU WHEN IT IS HAPPENING.).

They ("STD" cards) are essential in the following situations: if many of your guests are traveling to your wedding (AREN'T WE ALL TRAVELING IN ONE FORM OR ANOTHER? OK, OK, I KNOW...WE HAVE A FEW OUT-OF-CENTRAL AR AND OUT-OF-STATE GUESTS, BUT WE ARE HAVING AN INTIMATE WEDDING WHERE PRACTICALLY ALL OUR GUESTS HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED OF OUR QUICKLY APPROACHING NUPTIALS PERSONALLY. IF THEY CANNOT COME, WE WILL MISS THEIR PRESENCE, BUT IT WILL NOT MAKE OR BREAK OUR WEDDING.),

your wedding takes place on or around a holiday (NEGATIVE--SEPTEMBER 19TH IS NOT ON OR AROUND A HOLIDAY, EXCEPT MAYBE AUNT TAY'S BIRTHDAY. MY APOLOGIES.),

you are planning a faraway destination wedding (NOPE, ARKANSAS IS NOT FARAWAY FOR MOST OF OUR GUESTS.),

or your wedding will take place in a seasonally busy or tourist locale (WE'RE GETTING MARRIED IN ARKANSAS. THIS IS NOT A HAPPENING PLACE.),

where the flights and hotels perhaps book up early (I DON'T THINK THIS WILL BE A PROBLEM--IT'S ARKANSAS. I IMAGINE OUR OUT-OF-CENTRAL AR OR OUT-OF-AR GUESTS ARE RESPONSIBLE ENOUGH TO MAKE THEIR OWN ARRANGEMENTS.).

These are situations when "STD" cards are necessary, and I do not think these stipulations apply to our wedding. Traditionally "STD" cards were only used for the most formal weddings or those occurring on or around holidays, and obviously we are not going hoity-toity. Everyone is busy, year-round, so even if you sent "STD" cards three years in advance, there would still be invited guests who would or could not attend.

So here is your notice to "save the date;" we're gettin' hitched September 19th! HUZZAH! If you get an invitation within the coming weeks, we would be honored if you would attend as one of our guests. If not, you didn't make the cut; our location may be too small, so we will only be able to invite so many relatives and close friends. Sorry, but we want to crush all of your egos upfront. You matter, but it's OUR wedding. I hope your prayers and best wishes will still be with us, even if you have no need to save OUR date.