Save the Date vs Wedding Invite Timing

8 months out is a good time to send save the dates, but if you're not taking pictures til next month (7 months out) plus waiting time to get the pictures back, printed, and mailed (4-8 weeks?) you're now 5 months out and it's probably not necessary! I would probably just send regular invites and skip the save the dates!

I created my own on Templett, and ordered the following from Amazon:

-110lb linen textured cardstock (4x5, 100 count) + envelopes $30 ish?

-Gold wax $8

-Custom wax stamper $12

-Custom address stamper $8

I took the paper to a local print shop and got them printed for $18 and used all the above to put them together with my spouse. It was fun, they looked professional, and saved us some money!

6+ months out is the ideal time to send them. Guests need time to save money and make travel arrangements and they can’t do that in 6 weeks if the get an invitation only.


The save the date magnet/postcard trend is really only 5-10 years old. Prior to that, for generations, the couple or their parents would call all guests to let them know 6 months ahead as soon as the date was set in stone. It doesn’t cost anything if budget is a concern and is very effective. Not everyone has chosen to catch up with technology so digital doesn’t work for everyone.

You could send out a save the date with no pictures. My friend did that because her engagement pictures weren’t ready yet. I highly recommend them because no matter how many times you know you’ve told your wedding date to people, they forget. Can’t fault them because because for most of them (besides parents and siblings) your wedding is not in the forefront of their mind. I found this during my planning. A friend told me “Oh yeah I almost scheduled a vacation during your wedding and then looked up at my fridge, saw your STD and was like ‘oops I can’t!’” It’s helpful to give people something that will remind them until the invitations go out. I’d say send out 8 months before. The standard used to be 5-6 but with all the COVID rescheduling doubling the number of weddings happening, you want to make sure people are reminded of your wedding first and are more likely to choose yours.

View Quoted Comment Wow that is extremely helpful!….and innovative! Thank you!

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I would recommend save the dates. Sometimes sending out the invites too early you run the risk of people not RSVP-ing or misplacing the invites because it's just not in their thought at the moment. I went with magnets so they can just easily put it on their fridge. It also saved me fom the stress of reminding the 100+ guests I had what the wedding date was. I also went with a website for keeping track of updates which i put on the save the date card. however i learned that a lot of the older guests struggled with it. lol so it definitely has its downfall having both options is good. Because i also had mailing issues as well ^_^

I recommend save the dates. And you don’t necessarily need pics for it (we didn’t have any) but some photographers give a first look soon after with a handful of photos while you wait for the rest so you might be able to use a photo. And we sent ours out a year before because people have to travel (and apparently that wasn’t early enough because my uncle was already booked for our wedding weekend and can’t attend🙄). And we had a lot of family know our date already but we still sent them. So if you’re worried I don’t feel like it’s too early

We had originally planned on a longer engagement, then we postponed because of COVID. Most of our guests are out of state as well. So with the length of time, new date, and a lot of people needing to make travel arrangements, save-the-dates made sense for us. We also didn't have engagement pictures yet, so we just used one we already had that we both liked. I think the paper/ magnet save-the-dates work better in the long run since they not only tell people the date, but they remind people of it whenever they see it on the fridge. Emails are cheaper, but how often do you hang onto an email for months at a time?

We are getting married 4/15/23 and I just ordered our save the dates, hoping to get them out by the end of august/early September. I would definitely still send them out, but it’s up to you whether you want to wait for your engagement pics to go on them. You can also send save the dates without pics, maybe include engagement photos on a wedding website if you want to share them

View Quoted Comment Thank you so much!!!

View Quoted Comment Definitely a good point. Thank you!!

View Quoted Comment Such a good point!!! Thank you!

View Quoted Comment Yay to the April brides!! This puts my timeline into perspective. Thank you so much!

I think it depends on how many people you’re inviting. My wedding was very small because of Covid (14 guests) and I found Save the Dates to be a waste of time, energy, and money. Since I really only had 9 to send out, I just told the guests when I talked to them. The invitations worked as the Save the Date. But for a larger wedding, I would recommend them.