Inviting ideas

Quality Postcards retro and Americana line of cards. (Courtesy of Lou Rigali)

So you're engaged. Great news. But what fun is tying the knot if you have to pay off credit card bills for the next three or four years? Answer: no fun. And so, with budget in mind, we'll be offering ideas and advice on how to cut wedding costs without sacrificing style.

OK, once you figure out when and where you'll throw the wedding of your dreams, you should let your family and friends in on the particulars. That's where save-the-date cards come in.

Send out your cards about six months before your pending nuptials. If you're planning a destination wedding or have several out-of-towners on your guest list, you might want to send out the save-the-dates as early as eight months before the Big Day so people can make travel plans. As with many areas of your wedding, you can quickly spend more money than necessary on your save-the-date cards, especially if you have them engraved or custom-designed. Of course, you could also go totally DIY on your cards; see www.marthastewartweddings.com for creative - and time-consuming - ideas.

Let's save money and countless hours of gluing ribbons and scalloping edges by hand, shall we? Here are our picks for chic-yet-affordable save-the-date cards.

A little bird told me

Wedding Paper Divas offers hundreds of stationery suites - you can order invitations, reception cards, thank-you cards, and save-the-dates all in the same design. Or, go a la carte. Uber-hip DwellStudio created this whimsical and modern "Enchanting Forest" card exclusively for the site - it's perfect for a garden wedding or a slightly Victorian evening affair. $135/100 cards with matching envelopes. 866-594-1226. www.weddingpaperdivas.com

Go old-school

Somervillian-turned-Californian Lou Rigali has a huge collection of retro and Americana images on his Quantity Postcards site. You can turn any of the postcards into save-the-date cards - this classic tourist-y Boston design gives a sense of place and nostalgia to your upcoming wedding. (Can you spot the Bunker Hill monument or Quincy Market?) He also has a summery Cape Cod design featuring water skiers, fish, and lighthouses, and a New Hampshire card paying tribute to the Old Man in the Mountain. $150/100 cards. 510-268-9933. www.qpfans.com

Virtual amore

Save money and trees with this sweet save-the-date e-mail designed by Brandi-Lee Doucette of Little Sparrow Creative Design. She'll customize the text and color (we like this on-trend cantaloupe and brown-gray combination) and e-mail you the design to send to all your guests. Bonus: Doucette also includes a 300 dpi version, so you can print out a few paper copies as keepsakes or to send to relatives who don't use e-mail or computers. (Great Aunt Millie, we've got your back.) $10. www.littlesparrowstuff.etsy.com

Sealed with a stamp

You aren't friends with any graphic designers who can whip up a gorgeous design. You don't have the budget to splurge on custom cards. Don't fret. Even if you're going the very basic route - i.e., taking your text and cardstock to Kinko's for printing - you can still add some personality with a cute save-the-date stamp. This witty "string-around-the-finger" stamp from Paper Source does the trick. Try a vivid red or gold ink for pop. $5.50. 888-727-3711. www.paper-source.com.