The Best Tropical Save the Date Designs From the Experts at Bliss & Bone
Is an island paradise party in your future? If so, you’ll want to check out the tropical Save the Date ideas at Bliss & Bone. Our Save the Date tropical theme templates are customizable and the perfect pair for almost any celebration. With a nod to your venue or overall design concept, these tropical Save the Dates will serve as a show-stopping reminder for your guests about your upcoming event.
In this guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know about your Save the Date tropical theme, and give you our own tips and tricks to handling this part of the planning process.
Creating a Unique Look for Your Tropical Save the Date Wedding Ideas
Whether you’re jetting off to Hawaii or Tahiti, or simply wanting a Save the Date tropical theme, there are so many ways to convey this style through your invitation suite. Below, we’ll explain a few tropical Save the Date designs and ideas from Bliss & Bone that will really make your invites pop:
-
Palm fronds: The Aaron tropical Save the Date features neutral tones and a background featuring an elegant palm frond. This is ideal for a couple who wants a clean, classic design for their tropical Save the Date cards.
-
Monstera leaves: Another visual that screams tropical is the monstera leaf. We’re partial to the Brando tropical Save the Date invitations, which shows a transparent look of the leaves with text over the design.
-
Birds and leaves: Our Raine Save the Date is a favorite among couples planning a tropical rainforest-style wedding. This beautifully crafted tropical Save the Date has everything you’ll need and will easily stand out from the crowd.
In addition to these Save the Date tropical wedding designs, there are also can’t-miss additions that can weave in your wedding theme, too. In particular, there are shadows of palm fronds and monstera leaves that subtly present drama and interest to your tropical Save the Date invitations. Even more, there are so many other complementary invites and features you’ll love from Bliss & Bone. You’ll love looking through the coordinating templates for customizable wedding invitations, wedding websites, rehearsal dinner invites and more.
And the Save the Date tropical theme designs don’t stop there. Many couples gravitating toward tropical Save the Date cards also love greenery and boho wedding invitations, among other styles. With all of these ideas in mind, you’re sure to find the Save the Date tropical theme that you and your partner really love.
What You Need to Know and Include in Your Tropical Save the Date Cards
If you’re set on one of these Save the Date tropical wedding ideas, you’re almost ready to start designing your very own (more on that later!). There are a few things you’ll need to confirm before sending out your tropical Save the Dates, and we’ve included a list of the essential information here:
-
Your budget: The first part of planning is sitting down with your partner and anyone else who has offered to help pay for your wedding. You’ll need to decide on your budget, how much you can spend overall and for each specific vendor and perhaps how you’ll save money. To give some additional perspective here, one major perk of online tropical Save the Dates is that you’ll save big compared to paper invites.
-
The date and venue: Before you can send people your tropical Save the Date cards, you need to know which date needs to be saved. In addition to finding a planner, determining your venue and date is one of the first things you’ll need to confirm in the wedding planning process. Do your research, visit your top venue choices, determine whether it’s within your budget and then put down a deposit to reserve the space. You’ll need to include the date (or dates, if you’re planning a full week or weekend of events) and city or the specific venue.
-
Your guest list: Even though your wedding might be months or even a year away, the beginning stages require you to confirm your guest list. Who do you want to invite to your celebration? This can be one of the most challenging parts of the process, but it’s key to determining how many tropical Save the Date invitations you need to send.
-
Your guests’ contact information: Once you’ve curated your list, it’s time to do a little outreach if you don’t have your loved ones’ emails or addresses. If you’re planning on sending a virtual tropical Save the Date, you likely only need email addresses. But if you want to send a physical tropical Save the Date, or even if you plan to send a formal paper invite later on, you need to gather your friends’ and family members’ home addresses. Depending on your comfort level and relationship, a quick text or call will do the trick. Plus, there are even sites that will collect this information for you, if you have your guests’ phone numbers.
Now that you’ve done this important legwork, it’s time to customize your very own tropical Save the Date! Our Save the Date tropical wedding templates have the key information you’ll want to include, but the must-haves are: Your names (make sure your guests know whose wedding it is!), the date, city or specific venue and usually the phrase, “Invitation to follow.” Another optional feature is your unique wedding website, which you can create at the same time as your tropical Save the Date invitations. This can get your guests even more excited and make it even easier to access up-to-date information about your event.
How to Word Your Tropical Save the Date
There are a variety of ways to celebrate your tropical Save the Date, and your theme can easily inform how you word it. You can keep the text simple, or get inspired by your surroundings. Whether you are interested in a unique phrase or more straightforward style, we are sharing a few of our favorite ideas. But first, let’s take a look at the essential elements that go into your tropical Save the Date:
-
Save the Date: You need to declare that this is, in fact, a Save the Date. By stating this at the top, everyone you invite will know that they need to mark their calendars for your upcoming event.
-
Your and your partner’s names: If you’re experiencing a wedding wave in your life, it can be difficult to keep track of who is getting married and when they plan to celebrate. By highlighting your names, you can ensure that there is no question about who is inviting them to a wedding in the near future.
-
The date: It’s in the name, but your tropical Save the Dates should share the date (or dates) that your event is taking place. It’s common for people hosting tropical weddings to prepare multiple parties before and after the wedding, especially if most of the guests traveled far to join them.
-
The city: Your wedding invitation will contain absolutely everything your guests need to know about your special day, but your tropical Save the Dates really just need to include the city where you plan to say, “I do.” Of course, you can word your tropical Save the Dates with your exact wedding venue name, but that is not necessarily required.
-
Extra details: You can then share your wedding website, which can connect them to an online hub that provides even more details about your special day. It’s also appropriate to add in a phrase like “Formal invitation to follow,” to signal that they can expect a more detailed invitation in the coming months.
The overarching rule is sticking to the basic facts about your wedding. Beyond that, you may also want to focus on addressing each tropical Save the Date appropriately. For instance, if you are planning to give your friend a plus-one, you can write their name, plus “and Guest.” This will inform them that they can expect to bring a date to your celebration.
Now that we have covered the required elements of your tropical Save the Date, let’s move on to the creative aspects of the invitation. These are a few of our go-to wording ideas for tropical Save the Dates:
-
Meet us on the island: If you are planning a tropical Save the Date, chances are you are getting married on a tropical island. In that case, you should make that clear in your Save the Dates. Guests will likely need to book flights and take time off for work, so emphasizing this is key.
-
Set your watch to island time: A slightly whimsical version of tropical Save the Date phrasing, telling your guests to set their watches to island time is a playful way to share the exciting news.
-
Let’s get tropical: For a more casual introduction to the festivities, kick things off with a phrase like “Let’s get tropical.” It’s inviting, informal and lots of fun.
-
Aloha: If you are getting married on one of the Hawaiian Islands, something as simple as “Aloha” (Hawaiian for both “hi” and “goodbye”) is perfect. And when it’s put in your tropical Save the Date, it will welcome your guests to learn more about your event.
When it comes to the wording of your tropical Save the Dates, there isn’t one correct way to do it. As you and your partner process everything with your stationer, consider the type of feel you want at your wedding. Do you want it to be an ultra-formal, black tie affair? Or are you more interested in a laid-back atmosphere? This one important choice can inform many of the other decisions you make about your wedding, including those surrounding your wedding stationery and tropical Save the Date.
Popular Destinations to Inspire Your Tropical Save the Date
If you haven’t yet decided where you are getting married but love the idea of a tropical celebration, there are quite a few options. In a 2023 report by The Knot, several tropical destinations were mentioned, and of the 12,000-plus couples polled in a survey, an impressive 15 percent shared that they categorized their wedding location as “tropical.” A few of the standout spots included Caribbean islands like Anguilla and Antigua, beachy places in central America like Costa Rica and more local escapes like the Florida Keys.
Before you decide on where to get married, you need to evaluate your budget and think about your guests. Even if you can afford to host your wedding in a faraway country, your guests might not be able to book such a trip. If that’s the case for you and the majority of your guests, a stateside retreat like Florida or even Hawaii could be more feasible than, say, Turks and Caicos.
Your destination will give you most of the inspiration you need for everything related to your wedding, from decor to wedding dresses to stationery. After you and your partner have discussed your budget, guest list and personal preferences, you should first decide on the “where” of it all. For many couples who choose tropical destinations—including those surveyed by The Knot—they are returning to a favorite vacation spot to exchange their vows. More often than not, there’s a sentimental element pulling these couples to a tropical area.
It’s important to remember that the farther you travel, it could compromise the number of attendees at the festivities. That being said, the earlier you share the news with your tropical Save the Date, the better. Guests will appreciate hearing about your wedding as soon as possible, so they can set alerts for travel and better prepare to celebrate you and your partner.
When to Send Your Tropical Save the Dates
Picture this: You’re ready to customize your very own tropical Save the Date, but is it too early? The answer is probably not. According to wedding expert EmilyPost.com, couples should send their tropical Save the Dates three to six months before the big day—or even earlier. The latter is especially true if you are planning a destination wedding. If you know there are a considerable number of guests who will need to fly, domestically or internationally, it’s always a good idea to send your tropical Save the Date as soon as possible. This way, they can track flights, request time off from work and handle anything else they might need to do ahead of your celebration. With the design and info provided by your Save the Date tropical wedding guests will be as prepared and eager as possible to celebrate you and your love.
How to Start Designing Your Tropical Save the Date
Your Save the Date tropical wedding theme is almost ready to make it to your guests’ inboxes! Once you’ve found your dream tropical Save the Date design, you need to personalize it. Simply go to the curated selection of tropical Save the Date invitations and click “Customize.” From there, you can name your project and even look through a variety of background options that work well with your Save the Date tropical theme.
With your tropical Save the Date cards, you can also add three-dimensional objects, texture and shadows (like those palm fronds we discussed earlier). Tropical Save the Dates are wide-ranging, so think through the exact design that speaks to both you and your partner. Of course, you’ll also need to update the text on these tropical Save the Date cards, so that it includes the accurate information about your event. Make sure that you update this information to give your guests the most helpful details.
After you’ve designed your tropical Save the Date invitations, click “Next” in the bottom right-hand corner. You’ll be taken to a page that also reflects your Save the Date tropical theme, where you’ll get a preview of what your guests will see when they receive your invite. You have the opportunity to write a message to your guests, add the start and end times, address and more. You’ll continue to be guided through this process as you add your recipients and ultimately send out your tropical Save the Dates.
At Bliss & Bone, we make it easy to create the perfect tropical Save the Dates and more that are customized to your specific event. Visit us online to begin designing unique Save the Dates, wedding websites, invitations and more. We are here to help you.
