How soon do you make a formal/informal announcement?

Don't make a Facebook group. You can start reaching out and gathering addresses, and let them know the date. You can do save the dates in a few months (6-8 months beforehand).

Okay, thanks for the tip! Is there a reason you shouldn't make a Facebook group? That's what my friend did for her wedding, so it's good to know that I shouldn't.

The problem with facebook groups is that they are simultaneously impersonal and too personal/intrusive. If you want someone to come to your wedding, you can at the very least manage a mildly individualized message to them. Adding people to a group screams "I don't care to interact with you personally, but I want you all to pay attention to this thing about meeeeee."

Plus as a guest it's a bit off-putting and intrusive to be thrown into a group with these other strangers. What if one of them is a neo-nazi who posts offensive things? Or my ex boyfriend who abused and cheated on me? Or something else unpleasant? My social media account is a personal thing that I use to interact with my friends, and my college roommate's bigoted second cousin isn't welcome just because he is invited to the same wedding I am.

To the original question: reach out to people individually. You can also send STDs in a couple of months if you want, but only if you are 100% sure these people will be invited. The sooner you send out this information, the sooner it's too late to make adjustments that may be necessary down the line.

Just send your save the dates early.... don't do a Facebook group. Gross.

My wedding is a date after yours and I'm thinking of sending STDs in November- beginning of December..90% of our guests are from out of town and we have a pretty large guest list.

I don't think it is too soon at all. I think STDs should always go to OOT guests as soon as the venue is booked. More notice is better! I attend annual business conferences that I prepay for 1 year in advance in order to get the best rate, so I usually plan my travels a year in advance. I get great rates on hotel rooms by booking that early too. Some of my family is coming from 20 hours away and will need a lot of advance notice in order to save up enough money and be sure they can take off work for my wedding. I plan on sending STDs to those family members in June 2018 so they will have two years notice! I've already mentioned it to a few cousins I've talked to since we officially booked our date and they went ahead and put it in their phones, which I'm sure they will replace before the wedding, even though I told them I would send STDs

I think if you're really worried about your OOT guests, just send the STDs a bit early.

As a guest, I don't think I would enjoy being part of someone's wedding FB group (minus MAYBE bestie or sister).

I contacted individuals privately to let them know that we were engaged and planning on inviting them to our OOS wedding.

Wow, these are all great points and I honestly had no idea! Thanks everyone. I am certain that they will be invited. Just thought it might be too early to tell them.

My FH and I did not post anything to Facebook, with the exception of creating a hidden event page where we added family and later the bridal party, so that it would be easier to communicate.

It is too early for save the dates. A lot could happen between now and then. We had a few people that we were definitely going to invite, but shortly before we sent save the dates, things happened with a couple of them and we changed our list. We never would have guessed they would have turned on us the way the did. You never know, and that's why it's a bad idea to send stds early.

I waited like a month to tell my father that I was engaged (he lives in another state and I wanted to do it in person), then I let FH make a Facebook status and tag me in it. That spreads the news quickly.

You can send the save the dates in a month or two. Don't make a Facebook group. If you want to call/text VIPs do that, but that's all you need to do.

If your mom is dying for people to know, make up engagement announcements or something but don't do a fb group. That way they know it's coming but I still wouldn't send the STDs yet. 8 months isn't that far away and people will be so caught up with Christmas soon they'll start their Vaca ideas in Jan or Feb. Don't sweat it