February 2022 Timelines, etc.

Save The Dates are typically sent out 6-8 months before the wedding, so maybe send them out somewhere between June and August? Invitations are sent 6-8 weeks in advance. Make sure you list an RSVP date on the invitations that will give you enough time (at least a week) before you have to give a final count to your venue/caterer in case you need to track down anyone who hasn't replied. If you want to use your engagement pictures for your Save The Dates, you can take those whenever! Just check with the photographer about how long it will take to receive the photos after you take them, and then add in a few weeks (or even a month) as a buffer in case photos are received late, extra time to create the Save The Date and have it shipped to you, etc. Wedding favors are optional, but if you're wanting to do them: if they are edible favors, get those within a few weeks of your wedding (or even the week of your wedding, depending on what they are) to guarantee that they're as fresh as possible. If they are not edible, you can order those any time, just make sure you have an estimated guest count first so you know how many to order! Happy wedding planning!

(Edited to correct the Save The Date timeline: should be 6-8 months, not 4-6 months)

Save the Dates go out 6-8+ months in advance, many closer to a year with COVID or for destination weddings.

A lot of people do pictures for their save the dates. Do you have a wedding photographer booked yet? Often times, wedding packages will come with a complimentary engagement session, and you may be able to schedule that for the next few months. We took our engagement photos in November 2019, sent out save the dates in February 2020, and got married October 2020.

For the invites, I'd probably go earlier than the 6-8 week timeframe due to the holidays and send them out in November.

Regarding favors, that depends on what they are (though yes, they are completely optional). We ordered honey jars from a local farm a few months ahead of time, but they didn't ship them until about a month out from the wedding to help minimize crystallization.

If you're doing something non-edible that requires customization, you may need more lead time. I couldn't wait for the RSVP deadline to place the order, so I knew I would be buying more than I needed -- but at least we'll put the honey to good use ourselves!

Save the dates generally go out 6-8 months prior to the wedding unless you are having a destination wedding. I would recommend sending out the save the dates between June and August. As for invites, they are normally sent out 6-8 weeks prior. My advice would be to send them out in November so that you avoid sending them out during the holidays when people are sending out cards and gifts.

Have you hired a photographer yet? Most wedding packages come with a complimentary engagement session or the option to purchase an engagement session as an add on if it doesn't come with your wedding package. Normally, you'd want to schedule your engagement session a few months in advance of when you plan on sending out save the dates. That way it gives your photographer time to edit the photos and get them back to you and it gives you time to decide what photo(s) you might want to use for your save the date and then time to actually design your save the date.

As for favors, it really depends on what you planning on doing. The most popular type of favors are edible otherwise they often are forgot about. Our wedding favors were stemless wine glasses with our names and wedding date filled halfway with black & red m&m's with a cake pop placed on top. My husband ordered the glasses before we had the final headcount and he ordered way more than we actually needed so we have a bunch left over. But if we had waited until we had our final guest count, we might not have had enough. We gave some of the left over ones to ours moms and my grandmother. We also use some of them as just drinking glasses.