Do you send out Invitations to a small Destination Wedding?

You should send out invitations no matter what size the wedding is.

I think you should always send out an invitation no matter what size of wedding it is. There are websites that cater to small orders but might charge more because its not a huge order but, you can also go the diy route, like michael's and a.c. moore carry brides or martha stewart collections.

I actually found my vendor through www.bestdestinationweddings.com but she's also listed here. Ana De Roux, i'm in love with her work check it out if you like.

Oops www.bestdestinationwedding.com that site is very helpful for destination ideas as well

We only invited immediate family to our DW and we sent invites. They weren't a traditional invite though. We sent personalized letters with the invites explaining why we choose to do things the way we did and to explain that we didn't intend to offend anyone and that we completely understood if our guests were unable to afford the travel expenses. We also created a brochure of various hotels and resorts that we recommended based on our research which was included in the "packet". We sent the packet 8 months before the wedding and we asked for rsvp's within three months of that date. I'd be happy to share more info if you want it, just pm me!

Thank y'all very much! Cyndi, I'll PM you once I figure out how!

I would even if you have to DIY because it's not cost effective to order. An official invitation is the polite thing to do and 20-30 people is enough people where you need a way to manage RSVPs. I think the only time you don't need to do it is if you're having a tiny wedding (10 or less people). At that point, you probably already know if your parents, your sister and your best friend are attending!

We only sent out 35 invites for our DW; we used custom photo postcards from moo.com.

Any event like a wedding should have written invitations, as others have stated, but that doesn't necessarily mean "invitations" like you see marketed for weddings. A written letter would be perfectly correct. The important thing is that it is a physical artifact--even hand delivery is fine.

I would definitely send out invites, and it can be very cost effective if you go the Digital Press route. We have a few destination wedding themed invites on our site, if you're interested. : )

We sent STD's a full year before our date to give guests enough notice for time off, babysitter, dog sitter, etc. These STD's were nor formal at all. They were DIY postcards. I would also set up a website to direct your guests for info. However, as in my case, many don't even check it out.

We are sending out formal invites, but we also have 50 invites to send. If my numbers were less, I would approach it differently. I love Cabell's photo postcard idea.

Hey Carole I did my STD's a year in advance also, I did magnets very cute from a vendor I found on here www.newandblue.com , they were not expensive at all.

Yes, but you should also do STDs so that flights for the DW can be booked as early as possible.

You can get free postcards at Vistaprint, to make your STDs.

What is your site? It wouldn't hurt to take a look!

I think I may do DIY invites and include a typed letter to invited guests with details and alternative lodging and what to expect. Thanks for that tip!

Do I have to do STDs... can I just go ahead and send out invites and get it done? Everything is finished and planned...

@Bethania and Tee Dub... Sadly, I was completely unaware of Vistaprint when I did my STD's. Since then, I have used Vistaprint, designed a logo, and bought a for "banner" and magnets for welcome bags.

@Carly...Good luck!

We are sending our STDs the week after Christmas for the destination small wedding.

We are sending invites about 8 weeks prior to the wedding. Since we are only sending 27 invitations total- I kind of went all out on them.

I'm doing pocket invites with inserts from cardsandpockets.com They are pretty cheap, and I will make them myself since I'm doing so few.

We're having a huge party back home- not a recpetion, but a house party/bbq/excuse to have a party thing a few weeks later at our home. We'll be sending out postcard invites for those.

I 2nd Cabell & Meghan.

Carole I've been using Vistaprint for biz cards for years now.

Carly, when are you sending out the invitations? Normally they go out 6 weeks in advance, which is why I suggest STDs (that you would send out much sooner).

Ours is a DW with 30 guests. We sent the STD's last Aug and sent invitations this week. The invitations have the map and other information in them. Yes you need to send some form of invitation.

Is it wrong to send out invitations 10 months in advance? I guess maybe I just don't understand the whole purpose behind doing STDs and then Invites. If people receive a STD then they know they're invited. I'd like to get them all the details of the wedding asap so they can book their trip and have all the necessary info. Could I send that with STD?

There is no wrong or right way Carly, you should do what you feel is best for you. If you want to send your invitations already then there's no need to send STD's. STD's are like a heads up.... a way to spend more money lol... I think the invitations are what counts, the reason I'm doing both is because 1. I have a large group flying and 2.I want to make sure everyone gets enough notice without sending the invitation too far in advance.