To send a save the date online, confirm the date and city first; the guest list and the design can take shape as you go. On Greenvelope, you choose an online save the date design, personalize it, build your mailing list, then send or schedule the mailing, and the Track step records delivery and open status for each card sent by email or text. One distinction is worth knowing before you start: a save the date announces the date, while formal RSVPs are collected with an Invitation mailing. This guide covers the five-step process, the email and text mechanics, and the RSVP handoff.
What You Need Before You Send
A save the date should not go out until the date is firm, so the one fixed prerequisite is a confirmed date and city; the venue details, schedule, and registry can wait. The other two inputs can still be in progress. The contact details you need depend on the channel: email delivery requires an email address, SMS delivery through Greenvelope requires a supported phone number, and a guest you reach through another messaging service can receive their personalized card link instead. A spreadsheet is a fine starting point, even with gaps. A sense of style helps but is not required, and if you are still deciding on look and feel, our guide to the best save the date templates online breaks down the major styles with examples.
How to Send Save the Dates Online in Five Steps
Step 1: Choose a design
Start with a design that matches the tone of the event, whether that is a photo-forward layout, classic typography, or illustrated artwork. Greenvelope’s collection is hand-made by independent artists, with no AI-generated artwork, and the photo save the date designs are built around a full-screen engagement photo. If you already have artwork of your own, upload it and use the platform for delivery and tracking.
Step 2: Personalize it
Swap in your names, date, and city, then adjust the wording, fonts, and preset color options the template offers until it feels like yours. You can also add a photo or background music that plays when guests open the card. If the design is photo-forward, our guide to making a digital save the date with a photo covers choosing an image that survives the crop and leaves room for the type.
Step 3: Import your guest list
Bring guests in from a spreadsheet, directly from your email contacts, or from your Greenvelope address book if you have sent with us before. To collect mailing addresses with this save the date, open the Details step, click the Information section, expand Advanced Options, and switch on Collect Mailing Address. Each guest is then asked for their address inside the card, and it saves to their contact profile when they submit it; opening the card alone does not supply an address. Our guide to save the date platforms with address collection compares how platforms handle this step.
Step 4: Review, test, then send or schedule
Before anything goes out, reread the names, date, and city on the finished card, then send yourself a test from the Send step so you see exactly what guests will receive. When the card is right, deliver it now to the contacts you select, or schedule it for a later date; email, SMS text, and personalized links all run from the same mailing, and the two sections below walk through each channel. Our guide to the best way to send digital invitations compares the channels on delivery speed and reply rate.
Step 5: Track delivery and opens
Once the mailing goes out, the Track step shows delivery and open status for each card sent by email or text, with optional daily summary emails. Collected addresses appear on each guest’s contact profile as guests submit them. Use delivery and open status to identify guests who may need a resend, and check separately for missing mailing addresses if you are collecting them.
How to Send Save the Dates by Email
Email is the channel most guests will experience. Once the card is personalized, the send works like this:
- Prepare recipient addresses. Add each contact to the mailing list with an email address, entered one at a time or imported from a spreadsheet or your email contacts.
- Personalize the mailing. Confirm the names, date, and city on the card, and check how each contact is addressed, since every card is delivered individually.
- Send a test. On the Send step, your own account is listed as a contact by default. Click Send next to your name to receive the card the way guests will, and use the Add Contacts button to send a test to another reviewer.
- Select the intended contacts. Tick the checkbox beside each contact who belongs in this send; the checkbox at the top left of the list selects everyone displayed.
- Send now or schedule. Click Send Invitations to deliver immediately to the contacts you selected. To deliver later, click Schedule Send and choose the date and time frame; a scheduled send goes to all unsent contacts at the send time, including contacts added after you schedule it, so finish editing the list before that time arrives.
- Review the results. The Track step records each card’s delivery and open status. If an address fails, correct the contact and resend from the Send step, or reach that guest by text or their personalized link instead.
A subject line can stay simple: Save the Date: [Names], [Month Day, Year].
How to Send Save the Dates by Text
Yes, you can send save the dates by text message, through one of two routes. If a contact’s phone field holds a number that supports texting through Greenvelope, the card can be delivered by SMS: a contact with no email on file is sent by text automatically when the send completes, and a contact with both email and phone can be sent by text instead. Delivery and opens for texted cards are tracked on the Track step like email. Texting allowances vary by account, so review the texting and personalized link guide before a large SMS send.
If a number is not supported for texting, share that guest’s personalized card link yourself through WhatsApp or another messaging service. The link is tied to one specific guest, so send each link only to its own household, and note that Greenvelope cannot verify delivery of a message you send through another app. Copying a guest’s personalized link requires a paid mailing; trial mode does not include it. A short message works: Hi [Name]! We’re getting married. Save our date: [Month Day, Year] in [City]. Your card: [link]. Invitation with details to follow.
Can You Add Online RSVP to a Save the Date?
On Greenvelope, RSVP functionality is included with Invitation mailings only, so a Save the Date mailing does not accept formal RSVPs, the same as Announcements and Cards. A save the date can track delivery and opens and collect mailing addresses, but keep the categories straight: an open is not a commitment to attend, and a submitted address is contact information, not an RSVP.
That leaves a clear choice. To announce the date now, send the save the date and follow it with an Invitation mailing once the details are set; the invitation is where responses, plus-ones, meal selections, and RSVP reminders live, and any collected addresses are already in your address book, ready to import. If you need an actual attendance answer right now, create the mailing as an Invitation instead. A mailing’s type can be changed any time before it has been sent, under Advanced Options on the Details step; once sent, it cannot be converted. Our save the date vs. invitation guide covers the etiquette behind the split, and our guide to when to send wedding invitations and save the dates works the calendar backward from the wedding day.
What It Costs
Greenvelope pricing is transparent and includes the full platform at every tier: the designer artwork, animated envelope, personalization, delivery tracking, address collection, and an ad-free experience for every guest. A single save the date mailing starts at $19 for up to 20 guests and scales with guest count. A trial account lets you design the card and send it to up to 10 people before you purchase, though trial mode does not allow copying a guest’s personalized link or creating a shareable link. The full pricing guide lays out every tier.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best way to send save the dates online?
The best way to send save the dates online is through a dedicated digital invitation platform rather than a plain email or a shared image. Greenvelope lets hosts choose an artist-designed template, personalize it, and send by email or text with delivery and open tracking built in, and the mailing addresses it collects save to your Greenvelope address book, ready for the invitation that follows.
How do you send save the dates by email?
Choose and personalize a design, add each contact to the mailing list with an email address, and send yourself a test from the Send step. For immediate delivery, select the intended contacts and click Send Invitations. Schedule Send delivers later to all unsent contacts, including those added after scheduling. Each guest receives an animated envelope in their inbox, every email address is validated before sending to minimize bouncebacks, and the Track step shows who received and opened the card.
Can you send a save the date with a photo online?
Yes. Choose one of Greenvelope’s photo save the date designs, drop in a full-resolution image, and the mailing sends by email, text, or personalized link like any other, with the same animated envelope, open tracking, and address collection. If a photographer or stationer already made the design, upload the finished file and send it through the same flow.
Can a digital save the date include online RSVP?
On Greenvelope, formal RSVPs are accepted on Invitation mailings only, so a Save the Date mailing cannot collect attendance responses. A save the date tracks delivery and opens and can collect guest mailing addresses, which save to each contact in your address book. If you need attendance answers right away, create the mailing as an Invitation instead, or change the mailing type before sending; once a mailing has been sent, its type cannot be changed.
How long does it take to send save the dates online?
There is no printing, addressing, or postage involved, so preparation time comes down to the design and the recipient list. A spreadsheet import saves the data entry of adding contacts one by one, and a guest whose email or supported phone number you do not have can receive their personalized card link. With those ready, a mailing can be tested and sent or scheduled the same day.
Can you send save the dates by text message?
Yes. Greenvelope can deliver a save the date by SMS text message when a contact’s phone number supports texting through the platform, and a guest with no email on file is sent by text automatically. For numbers that are not supported, share that guest’s personalized card link through WhatsApp or another messaging service. Guests who receive the card by text or link see the same design and can still submit their mailing address when they open it.
How much does it cost to send save the dates online?
Greenvelope save the dates start at $19 for a single mailing to up to 20 guests, with every tier including the designer artwork, animated envelope, delivery tracking, address collection, and an ad-free guest experience. A trial account can send the card to up to 10 people before you purchase.
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