Your Save the Date is the very first teaser for the most important event of your life. So why settle for “okay” when you can make people say WOW before they even see your formal invitation? With a few simple tricks that professional designers swear by, you can take your Save the Date from “nice” to “where did you get this made?!” – and the best part is, you can do it all yourself.
After designing hundreds of Save the Dates for couples (and seeing plenty of DIY attempts…), we can tell you: a few small design choices make all the difference. Here are 5 pro tips that will transform your Save the Date – whether you’re using welcome!’s design tool or a platform like Canva.
White belongs on printer paper, not your wedding stationery. One of designers’ best-kept secrets is replacing stark white with a soft, subtle tint.
Think cream, pale butter yellow, soft grey, or pearl. Even if it’s barely noticeable, it adds depth and sophistication that plain white can’t deliver.
Pro tip: Choose a background color that complements your wedding’s color palette but is still light enough for text to be readable. For example, a very pale blush (almost white) can create a romantic and refined vibe for a pink-and-red-themed wedding.
With welcome!’s custom color palette, you can easily pick subtle tones that make your design look professional instantly.
A blurry, pixelated photo is like showing up to a job interview with a ketchup stain on your shirt. We all carry high-quality cameras in our pockets, so there’s no excuse for low-res images.
Your picture should be sharp, bright, and high resolution. If using a phone, shoot in good lighting. Better yet – book an engagement photoshoot. Those pictures will serve your Save the Date, your wedding website, and as a lifelong keepsake.
On welcome!, you can upload high-quality images without the platform downgrading them, ensuring your design looks sharp on every screen.
There’s a reason designers adjust letter spacing (or “tracking”). Slightly increasing the spacing between letters – especially in large headings – creates a light, elegant, high-end look.
Pro tip: Increase letter spacing by 5–20% for main headlines, but don’t overdo it or you’ll hurt readability.
With welcome!, adjusting letter spacing is just a click away, so you can get that magazine-worthy typography instantly.
Here’s a designer secret: you don’t always make text stand out by making it bigger – sometimes, you make it smaller. Using ALL CAPS in a smaller font size with wide spacing creates a refined, understated elegance.
Pro tip: For your main headline (“SAVE THE DATE”), use all caps, keep the font size small, and space the letters generously. For other important details like the date, play with different sizes and styles for visual hierarchy.
On welcome!, you can experiment with these settings and see the changes live.
Using just one font can be boring. Using too many can look chaotic. The sweet spot? No more than two fonts – or better yet, one font family with different weights (regular, bold, thin, italic). This keeps your design cohesive while adding visual interest.
welcome! offers a wide range of premium fonts and full font families, so you can create combinations that look effortlessly stylish.
You’ve nailed the design – now make sure it stays perfect when you send or print it.
Pro tip: For digital sharing (WhatsApp, email), export in high-quality PNG or JPEG. For printing, always use a high-resolution PDF with proper bleed if needed – check with your printer.
Your Save the Date sets the tone for your wedding. With these tips – a soft background color, high-quality imagery, elegant letter spacing, a refined all-caps style, and smart font pairing – you can create a design that looks like you hired a pro.
Most importantly – make it yours. Your Save the Date should reflect your personality as a couple. Take these pro tips and adapt them to your own style.
With welcome!, all the tools are right at your fingertips, so you can design a perfect Save the Date yourself – and wow your guests before the big day even arrives.
Written by the design team at welcome!, blending professional design expertise with the experience of creating thousands of Save the Dates.
