A save-the-date card is the notice you send out to your potential wedding guests when you’ve decided on a date but don’t have the details for invitations yet. Sending a save-the-date early can keep your guests from making other plans for the wedding day. If you were to wait to have all the details nailed down and the invitations printed before announcing the date, you might end up with a much emptier wedding venue than you had anticipated. So it’s definitely worth the time and expense of sending out these little cards. And while you’re at it, why not have a little fun with them? Here are six themes you can use for save-the-date cards.

Movie Poster

Turn a picture of you and your significant other into the poster for a romantic comedy. Make sure and throw in a title, a memorable tagline and some fake credits to really sell the concept. Or if romantic comedies aren’t your thing, you could just as easily do a fun action-movie or even horror-movie themed poster. We recently received a save-the-date card that was Tolkien themed, with instructions to save the date for a “Fellowship of the Ring.”

Glamour Shots

Remember Glamour Shots, that place at the mall that would put boys and girls alike in obscene amounts of makeup, add a ton of hairspray, and shoot cheesy soft-focus pictures? Well, if you and your spouse have the right twisted sense of humor, instead of standard engagement photos, go for the glitz and get Glamour Shots together. You’re sure to end up with pictures you’d never in your right mind pay a photographer for, but they’ll definitely be one-of-a-kind.

Scratcher Tickets

Your local print shop can help you out with this one. Design your save-the-date to look like a scratch-off lottery ticket. Your guests can scratch off the scratcher to reveal the date you want them to save. You can even have multiple scratch-off areas for your names, the location, and the date.

Sparklers

One fun idea that I witnessed first-hand was the inclusion of sparklers in a save-the-date card. It included instructions to celebrate that the date has finally been set by lighting the sparklers and waving them about. The sparklers they used were the same as sparklers for weddings so it’s a really inexpensive way to make your save-the-date cards more exciting and memorable. Just make sure they are disguised rather well so any kids that may check the mail for your wedding guests don’t stumble upon sparklers.

Balloon

Several companies online sell custom-printed balloons in a variety of colors and quantities. You can have your save-the-date info printed right on the balloon, then mail them uninflated to your potential guests. It’s a cute way to make sure your save-the-date gets noticed.

View Master

Remember those “View Master” toys from the 80’s and 90’s? Well, this option doesn’t come cheap, but it does have quite the wow factor. There are companies online who will make custom “View Master” film reels with photos you supply, and ship them out with custom-labeled “View Master”. That may seem like a long way to go for a simple save-the-date, but you can’t deny the coolness factor.

Whether it’s a balloon (or a weather balloon), a movie poster, some sparklers, or some fantastically cheesy glamour shots, a save-the-date is more likely to do its job if it’s memorable. A little postcard is liable to be dropped behind the refrigerator and forgotten, but your View Master with a reel of your engagement photos will definitely stick in your guests’ minds.