How I got my guests to RSVP to my wedding a year in advance!
I have always wanted a unique “Save The Date” Namely, I have always really wanted a video. For some reason, I always imagined recreating the music video of Toni Braxton’s “How Many Ways”. HA! You know the one where she has that amazing short haircut, Shemar Moore is her love interest and they are frolicking on the beach and driving that red doorless jeep? Yeah, that was my original vision – back when I thought I was going to get married in 2020 (Oh, Covid). We were not able to make the video happen and instead went with these really cute postcards. Very few people told us if they had actually received it and a good number of people admitted that they don’t even check their mail regularly, smh!
Well, as we prepared for our rescheduled wedding date I was finally going to get the video save that date that I wanted! We hired videographer extraordinaire Maleka of Siren and Co Videography and we worked in tandem to make video magic.
I knew that finding the right venue was incredibly important to the video having the look and feel that I wanted. For needs like this, I often turn to peerspace for ideas. There are so many venues with varying styles and price points! I spent time carefully searching for just the right venue and came across the perfect loft! The urban and modern vibes of The Drake in DTLA was exactly what I was looking for. After a quick chat with my videographer to ensure it would work lighting-wise, I booked it and now just needed to figure out hair, makeup, and attire!
I always start with a mood board where I lay out a few ideas so I can visualize how everything will come together. I added my hair and makeup inspiration, dress options as well as a few options for my fiance to ensure the look would be cohesive. I ended up purchasing my dress from a random store in the mall but we got my fiance’s blazer from JC Penny! I must say, I was impressed!
Then it was shoot day! We got all dressed up and had a few hours of fun shooting our video. I kept it a secret from family and friends as I wanted everyone to be surprised when we shared the video. I used an app called Text my guests to send out our virtual save the dates. I loved it because the app has a reply stream that only my fiance and I can see so you don’t have to worry about all of your aunties replying all to the message. There were a few people who said they didn’t receive the text but overall it was a really successful way to engage with our guests. We also sent an email for good measure. Our call to action was for guests to review our wedding website but they did us one better! Still a year out – we had so many of our guests to go ahead and RSVP, start looking at booking rooms and most of all put our wedding date on their calendars for 2022. We will definitely send formal invitations and check back in with everyone as the date draws nearer but wow, what a response we received! With that said, check out how our video came out!
A few things to remember when planning a shoot like this:
- Book enough time! Your video might only be 1 minute long but your videographer needs hours to footage to ensure they get just the right clips. We booked 3 hours.
- Bring a friend to assist you. You definitely want to have someone in your corner to help make sure you ae looking your best. That goes from applying lotion to being blatantly honest if a pose if just not flattering for you! Ha!
- Have fun!
Bonus Tip:
If your fiance offers you a shot, say no! My fiance poured me a shot and then I had to walk up and down the stairs a few times for the opening scene and could not for the life of me figure out why I was sweating so much! – Thank you Makers Mark!
So if you are considering doing a virtual save the date – do it! If you are a couple planning their 2022 or 2023 and want to see if True Splendor Events might be a good fit to help with your design, floral or planning needs please reach out! We would love to hear from you.
