This is a question that a lot of Brides ask. In order to answer this there are a few questions that you should ask yourself.
1. Is your event formal? If it is a more of a formal event, sending out Save the Dates cards is usually something that you would want to consider. Simply because this will kind of announce your engagment. This will also get people asking "what should I wear?"
2. Is your event on a holiday or during a holiday weekend? It is a good idea to send save the date card if this is the case, because people like to plan ahead for the bigger holidays, i.e. New Year's Eve, Forth of July, Christmas eve or even of Spring Break. This will help your guest plan ahead. Especially if you are having guest that are coming from out of town and they might need to book a hotel room.
3. Do you want to send them out? With the trend of Save the Date cards being more of the informal invitation these are fun to let you and your soon-to-be-husbands personalities shine. Before Save the Date cards were simply a card that stated that you were going to be getting married and that an invitation would soon be following. Now a days Brides are using their imagination and sending anything from simple to elaborate Save the Date "cards". For Example one if the Brides that I am working with is having a beautiful and Formal event in Las Vegas, but since they are a fun, young and vibrant couple they wanted to have fun with their save the date "cards" They sent a magnet that stated the norm, who they were and what they were doing and then along with it a poker chip,
So if sending out Save the Date cards seems like nothing more then a hassle then don't. But if it is something that you would like to do, have fun with it. After all it is your Wedding and you want to do it right.
I hope this helped, GOOD LUCK