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Someone else has scheduled their wedding for the same weekend. Your chosen venue suddenly becomes unavailable. A VIP guest like your darling great-grandma can’t make your original date. There is suddenly a pandemic shutting down half the world. There are tons of reasons you might need to abandon your original plan for your wedding and schedule a new date.
Here are some change-the-date designs that’ll help you get the word out to your guests that you’re regrouping and switching your I dos to a new day.
1. Hold Until
Sometimes you know right away when your new wedding date will be. Other times, you have to postpone and it’s not immediately clear when you’ll be able to hold your ceremony and reception down the road. Hold Until lets guests know that your big day is “on hold until a later date,” with the text-heavy stationery alerting recipients you’ll be in touch with new dates and celebration details as they become available.
2. Celebrate on a New Date
Celebrate on a New Date is bold, modern, and straight to the point. The no-nonsense contemporary lines and block lettering are softened just a touch by the sloping sides of this shaped change-the-date card, and the new date for your nuptials appears in eye-catching lettering so it’s not easily missed.
3. Plans Have Changed
Dear friends and family…Plans Have Changed. Sometimes even the best-laid plans go awry. Now you can use a special photo — perhaps a second choice from your engagement shoot that you weren’t able to use on your original save the dates — and soft coloring to ease guests into the bad news and create another beautiful keepsake to represent this tiny hiccup in an otherwise wonderful journey.
4. Blooming Patience
Flowers, flowers everywhere! From the bouquet of huge peony blossoms that look hand painted onto the upper left-hand corner of Blooming Patience to the eloquent use of the phrase “love is patient,” this change the date is both pretty and informative — perfect for a spring wedding or ceremony with a floral theme.
5. Well, This Stinks
Sometimes you just have to laugh, especially when things are not going to plan and you’re forced to change your wedding date when you might not really want to. Give guests a giggle with Well, This Stinks, a simple yet impactful design that gets straight to the point: this postponement stinks, but better days are on the way!
6. On Hold
You need to press pause, and there’s no telling yet when it’ll be wedding time again. No problem. On Hold clues guests into the unforeseen delay, plus you have a chance to share a new picture of you and your sweetheart so loved ones can still share in your happiness even if it’ll take a little while longer to celebrate in person.
7. Change to Come
Elegant yet playful, Change to Come gets plenty of attention thanks to a large, brightly hued watercolor brushstroke that highlights the words “change the date” on the front of the card. It continues on the back for a wall-to-wall wash of watermelon pink. Switch up the coloring to better match your wedding palette or go with whatever color makes you feel happy as you work to rearrange the biggest day of your life.
8. Romantic Change
No frills, no fuss. Just a beautiful background, notice that you’re changing your wedding date, and an apology to your guests for any inconvenience the change might cause. There’s space at the bottom of Romantic Change to include details of your new wedding date and where you’ll be tying the knot, too. Opt for the postcard version of this change the date and you’ll get extra space to ask guests to save the new date in anticipation of a very memorable celebration.
9. Classic Postponement
Talk about chic! Classic Postponement combines a neutral coloring, block lettering, and chic lines to create a contemporary design that makes it easy to scan and remember all the information included. Your new wedding date is highlighted by a circular frame, while sections near the bottom of the card reiterate the new date, add a time, and share the address so everyone can easily get where they need to go.
10. A Later Date
No need to bury the lede. A Later Date starts off with an announcement that the festivities are “postponed,” then follows up the beautifully scripted word with a few more details and a link to your wedding website, where guests can get more details as they become available. The back of the card features a sprinkle of polka dots that inject a little levity and a lot of charm.
11. Simple Change
Here’s a design that might appeal to couples who prefer a more lavish change-the-date card. From the shaped edges of the bracket-style card to the lush greenery in the floral border and a flowery arch on the card’s reverse that’s a true work of art, Simple Change feels totally bridal so you can maintain a celebratory feel while taking care of an important announcement.
12. Stately Postponement
Here comes the confetti! Stately Postponement features a thick border filled with festive sprinkles. Inside Stately Postponement’s central frame is space to announce the big change, share your names, and update guests on the new time and place for your long-awaited wedding.
Pro tip: Check out the options for raised foil on this design. While you can add metallic foiling to many different change-the-date cards, it feels especially pretty paired with this suite’s cascade of confetti.
13. Care & Concern
An estimated 82% of weddings scheduled to take place in April 2020 were postponed due to the COVID-19 outbreak, and many couples continue to alter their plans as travel bans and local mandates affect everything from when you can fly to how many people can gather in one space. Care & Concern specifically addresses postponements made due to “an abundance of caution and concern for the health and safety of our closest friends and family.” It’s a nice way to clear up any confusion about why the wedding is delayed while you also share the new, safer date you’ve selected.
14. Timeless Change the Date
This striking design is all about strength and impact. Timeless Change the Date demands attention thanks to three oversized words set off to the right of the card, leaving the left portion of the template for sharing a short, personalized message and your new wedding date. Using a scripted font for your names adds a bit of contrast and makes for a lovely juxtaposition to the otherwise uber-bold layout.
15. Change of Date
Heads up, loved ones! Our wedding date is changing, but fear not, we’ve got this handy Change of Date that doubles as a hand-held calendar to help clear up any confusion. Guests can stick this card on their fridge and remind themselves of the new date. Include your wedding website to connect guests to a 24/7 channel for when you need to share additional news or if you have tips on where to stay, what to wear, or which hashtag you’ll be using to track photos on social media after the ceremony.
16. Yikes
Yikes on bikes! You need to reschedule your wedding, but the last thing you want is a change-the-date card that feels all gloom and doom. Yikes is just the right blend of cheeky and informative, with a watercolor splash and scripted exclamation giving way to lowercase type that shares an important message in a pretty and positive way.
17. New Plan
You’ve got a New Plan for your wedding day, and boy are things looking glamorous. This design is like a black-tie dress code come to life. Swap out the basic card shape for rounded corners or bracketed edges and you’ll have a change-the-date card that’s every bit as suave as you.
18. Unforeseen
Even a change-the-date card can feel romantic if you choose the right design. Unforeseen features a soft, floral background covered in a haze of color that creates the perfect backdrop for your names, the postponement announcement, and details about the new date and time.
19. Hearts Postponed
With its foggy blue-gray background (feel free to customize to match your personal aesthetic) and casual sketch-like quality of the wiggly border and tiny decorative heart, Hearts Postponed is the sweet and sophisticated change the date you’ve been looking for. Use the color-washed, text-free backside to leave a note for guests or jot down the custom hashtag you’ll be using on the big day.
20. Oh, Snap
Oh, Snap has decidedly Art Deco elements, but the headline — “oh, snap!” written in a slanted cursive font — is most definitely modern. Angular borders help draw attention to the important info, and the main text box has plenty of space to include details on your new wedding date and a message about the reason behind the cancellation or an apology for the last-minute switch.
21. Infinity of Change
Postponing your wedding doesn’t mean there’s any interruption in your love story. Infinity of Change gets the message across about your new wedding date and also includes space to explain the delay and share the URL for your wedding website. But the real gem is the infinity symbol hidden in a flourish over the letter N in “postponed.” Your vows may have to wait just a little bit longer, but your love is forever. Period.
Need to change your wedding date and not sure where to start? Check out our 15 FAQs About Postponing or Canceling Your Wedding for expert advice on everything from when you should announce a postponement to what you should say to vendors who might not be willing to reschedule.
