Your save the date is often the first piece of wedding stationery your guests will receive—and the first glimpse they’ll have of the celebration you’re planning. Whether you’re dreaming of a destination wedding, a coastal celebration, an elegant venue wedding, or something completely your own, the right save the date template can introduce your wedding style long before the invitation arrives.
At Do Tell A Belle, watercolor artist and invitation designer Victoria Grigaliunas creates save the dates featuring original hand-painted artwork, from tropical sea turtles and coastal landmarks to lemons, florals and wedding venues. Couples can personalize existing save the date templates, order professionally printed cards, or work directly with Victoria to create custom artwork for a truly one-of-a-kind design.
Keep scrolling to find ideas for digital and printed save the dates, watercolor designs for destination weddings, wording suggestions, timing advice, and inspiration for incorporating your wedding venue—or even a watercolor portrait of the two of you—into your save the date.
What Is a Save the Date Template?
A save the date template is a pre-designed layout that can be personalized with your names, wedding date, location and other details. Instead of beginning with a completely blank design, you choose artwork and a layout you love and customize it for your celebration.
Templates are particularly helpful for couples who want distinctive wedding stationery without commissioning an entirely custom design.
Depending on the template and where you purchase it, your finished save the date may be professionally printed and mailed to you, downloaded as a digital file, or shared electronically with your guests.
For couples who want something more personal, semi-custom and custom save the dates offer additional opportunities to incorporate meaningful artwork, such as your wedding venue, destination, favorite flowers or a watercolor portrait.
How to Create Custom Digital Save the Dates
Creating a custom digital save the date doesn’t mean you have to design one from scratch.
Start by choosing a customizable design that reflects the feeling of your wedding. Personalize the template with your names, wedding date and location, and add your wedding website if you already have one. Depending on the design and platform, you may then be able to download the personalized design and send it electronically to your guests.
Many of my watercolor save the date templates on Zazzle can be personalized online, and eligible designs can be purchased as a digital download as well as ordered as professionally printed stationery.
This can be especially convenient for destination weddings, shorter planning timelines or couples with guests living in several different locations.
Where Can You Purchase Personalized Printed Save the Date Cards?
Couples looking for personalized printed save the date cards have several options, ranging from customizable online templates to completely custom stationery.
If you already know the style you want, a professionally designed template offers an easy way to personalize your save the date while still having it professionally printed. Do Tell A Belle’s Zazzle collection includes watercolor save the dates that can be customized with your wedding information and ordered in the quantity you need.
For couples who want more personalization, semi-custom and custom stationery can incorporate artwork selected specifically for the wedding.
The best choice depends on how much customization you want:
- Save the date templates are ideal when you love an existing design and simply want to personalize it.
- Semi-custom save the dates provide more flexibility while using existing artwork as the starting point.
- Custom save the dates can be created around your wedding venue, destination, flowers, story or another meaningful detail.
Unique Watercolor Save the Date Ideas
Watercolor artwork gives a save the date a handmade quality while offering far more possibilities than a traditional photograph or typography-only design.
Instead of simply announcing when you’re getting married, your save the date can begin telling guests something about where you’re getting married and what your celebration will feel like.
Here are several ways to make it personal.
Watercolor Wedding Venue Save the Dates
Your wedding venue can become the centerpiece of your save the date.
A custom watercolor venue painting gives guests their first glimpse of the location where you’ll be married and creates artwork that can be used throughout the rest of your wedding stationery.
The same venue illustration can later appear on your wedding invitation, envelope liner, details card, wedding website, welcome stationery or day-of pieces. Rather than creating an unrelated save the date and invitation, the artwork becomes a visual thread running throughout your wedding.
For couples getting married at an architecturally distinctive venue, historic property, resort, church or destination location, a watercolor wedding venue save the date can also become a keepsake long after the wedding.
Watercolor Couple Portrait Save the Dates
An illustrated couple portrait offers another way to create a save the date that feels completely personal.
Instead of using an engagement photograph directly, a favorite image of the two of you can become the inspiration for a hand-painted watercolor portrait. Your portrait can then be paired with your names, wedding date and destination to create an artistic alternative to a traditional photo save the date.
This is especially fun for couples who want their personalities represented in their stationery or who have an engagement photograph they love but want something more unexpected for their save the date.
The finished watercolor artwork can also be carried into other wedding details or displayed in your home after the celebration.
Destination Wedding Save the Date Templates
Destination weddings are especially well suited to watercolor save the dates because the artwork can introduce guests to the location before they ever book a flight.
Tropical foliage, coastal wildlife, architectural landmarks, citrus, ocean scenes and regional details can all hint at what’s ahead.
Here are a few destination-inspired designs from Do Tell A Belle.
Tropical Watercolor Sea Turtle Save the Date
Planning a tropical or Hawaiian wedding? This watercolor sea turtle design combines shades of turquoise, blue and green with tropical monstera leaves for a relaxed coastal feel.
The watercolor artwork introduces the colors and atmosphere of an island celebration while keeping the design light and elegant.
For a destination wedding, artwork like this can do more than decorate the card—it can immediately tell guests that sunshine, water and a tropical setting are part of what’s ahead.
Florida Keys Watercolor Save the Date
For a Key West or Florida Keys wedding, local imagery can give your save the date a sense of place.
This colorful watercolor rooster was inspired by the famous roosters found throughout Key West. Vibrant reds, blues, greens and oranges make the design particularly fun for couples planning a relaxed, colorful Florida celebration.
It’s an example of how regional artwork can turn a save the date into something connected specifically to the wedding destination rather than simply using a generic beach theme.
Jupiter Lighthouse Save the Date
For couples planning a wedding in Jupiter or Palm Beach County, the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse is an instantly recognizable piece of the local landscape.
This watercolor lighthouse save the date captures the coastal character of Jupiter, Florida while giving guests a preview of the location surrounding the celebration.
Landmark artwork can be especially meaningful when the location is part of the couple’s story—whether it’s where they live, where they met or simply the place they’ve chosen to bring everyone together.
Italian Lemon Save the Date
Lemons, blue-and-white details and Mediterranean-inspired artwork are a natural fit for an Italian destination wedding.
A watercolor lemon save the date can introduce an Amalfi Coast, Lake Como, Tuscan or Italian-inspired celebration without needing to spell out the entire wedding aesthetic.
Citrus artwork can also carry beautifully into the invitation suite through envelope liners, details cards, menus, place cards and other wedding stationery.
Coastal Watercolor Save the Date
A watercolor blue crab is a playful choice for a coastal wedding and works particularly well for celebrations along the Atlantic coast, Chesapeake region or Carolinas.
Coastal wildlife gives couples an alternative to the more expected seashells and anchors while still communicating the location and atmosphere of the wedding.
Other watercolor motifs such as sea turtles, seahorses, herons, sailboats and coastal botanicals can accomplish the same thing.
How to Choose the Right Save the Date Template
Before choosing a design, think about what you want your save the date to accomplish beyond simply announcing the date.
If your wedding location is an important part of the experience, consider a design featuring destination artwork, a landmark or your actual venue. If you want something highly personal, a watercolor couple portrait or custom illustration may be a better fit.
Also consider how the save the date will relate to your future wedding invitation suite. The two pieces don’t have to match exactly, but repeating an illustration, color palette, monogram or watercolor element can create a cohesive look from the first announcement through the wedding day.
Finally, decide how you want to send it. A digital save the date can be convenient and quick, while a professionally printed card gives guests a physical keepsake. Some couples even use a combination of the two depending on their guest list.
Save the Date Wording Ideas
Save the date wording can be very simple. At minimum, guests need to know who is getting married, the wedding date and where the celebration will take place.
A traditional version might read:
Save the Date
Samantha & Maxwell
June 21, 2027
Jupiter, Florida
Formal Invitation to Follow
For a destination wedding, you might make the location more prominent:
Save the Date
for the wedding of
Samantha & Maxwell
June 21, 2027
Lake Como, Italy
Invitation and Travel Details to Follow
For a more casual celebration:
We’re Getting Married!
Save the Weekend
June 20–22, 2027
Key West, Florida
Details at ourweddingwebsite.com
You don’t need to include every wedding detail on the save the date. Ceremony times, reception information, dress code and RSVP instructions can generally wait for the formal invitation or wedding website.
Frequently Asked Questions About Save the Dates
When should you send save the dates?
For many weddings, save the dates are sent approximately six to nine months before the wedding. For destination weddings or celebrations that require significant travel, sending them approximately nine to twelve months in advance gives guests more time to make travel and accommodation arrangements.
If you’re planning to use a custom save the date featuring commissioned artwork, such as a watercolor wedding venue or couple portrait, contact your artist well before your planned mailing date. Original artwork takes time to sketch, paint, approve and incorporate into the finished design, followed by printing and delivery. Booking your artist early also gives you the opportunity to reuse the artwork throughout your wedding invitation suite and day-of stationery.
Your exact timeline may vary depending on your destination, travel requirements and how much customization is involved, so it’s helpful to work backward from the date you’d like your save the dates to arrive in your guests’ mailboxes.
What should you include on a save the date?
A save the date should include your names, wedding date and wedding location. If you have already created a wedding website, you can include the URL so guests can find updated travel and accommodation information.
Many couples also include wording such as “Formal invitation to follow” so guests understand that the save the date is not the wedding invitation itself.
What should a destination wedding save the date say?
A destination wedding save the date should make the location clear and give guests enough information to begin planning.
For example:
Save the Date
Samantha & Maxwell
May 15, 2028
Amalfi Coast, Italy
Wedding Weekend Details at ourweddingwebsite.com
Formal Invitation to Follow
If guests will need passports, airfare or accommodations, your wedding website can provide additional information without overcrowding the save the date.
Can you send digital save the dates?
Yes. Digital save the dates can be sent by email or electronically shared with guests and are particularly useful when timing is tight or guests are spread across different locations.
Couples who prefer the look of printed stationery can choose professionally printed cards instead. Some customizable save the date templates can be purchased digitally or professionally printed, allowing you to choose the format that works best for your wedding.
Can your save the date be different from your wedding invitations?
Absolutely. Your save the date and wedding invitation do not need to be identical.
However, carrying one or two elements from the save the date into your invitation suite—such as watercolor artwork, colors, a crest or typography—can make the stationery feel intentionally connected.
For example, a watercolor venue illustration introduced on the save the date could reappear on an envelope liner or details card when the formal wedding invitations are mailed.
Can you use your wedding venue on your save the date?
Yes. Your wedding venue can become the main artwork on your save the date.
A custom watercolor painting can feature the venue’s architecture, surrounding landscape or another recognizable view. This is particularly effective for destination weddings and venues that are an important part of the guest experience.
Because the artwork is created specifically for your wedding, it can also be reused throughout your invitation suite and day-of stationery.
Can you use a watercolor couple portrait on a save the date?
Yes. A watercolor couple portrait can be created from a favorite photograph and incorporated into a custom save the date.
It gives couples the personal quality of a photo save the date while creating something that feels more like artwork. The portrait can also become a keepsake after the wedding or be incorporated into other stationery and wedding details.
Digital, Printed or Custom: Which Save the Date Is Right for You?
There isn’t one format that’s right for every wedding.
If you want an easy way to personalize existing artwork, start with a save the date template and customize it with your wedding information.
If you want professionally printed cards without commissioning completely new artwork, choose one of Do Tell A Belle’s existing watercolor designs and have your personalized cards printed for you.
And if you want your save the date to feature something that belongs specifically to your story—your wedding venue, destination, flowers or a watercolor portrait—a custom design gives you the freedom to create it.
Find Your Save the Date
Whether you’re planning a wedding close to home or inviting your guests to travel across the world, your save the date is the beginning of the experience.
Browse Do Tell A Belle’s watercolor save the date templates for designs you can personalize, order professionally printed cards, or work directly with Victoria Grigaliunas to create custom watercolor artwork for your wedding.
Customize a Save the Date Template
→ Zazzle collection
Shop Watercolor Save the Dates
→ Etsy save the date listing
Create a Custom Watercolor Save the Date
→ Do Tell A Belle custom services
From a watercolor wedding venue to a portrait of the two of you, your save the date can become much more than an announcement. It can be the first piece of artwork created for your wedding—and the beginning of the stationery story your guests will experience from now through your wedding day.
