Save the dates for destination wedding?

Save the Dates are just to give people a heads up about your wedding so they can begin making plans and are usually sent about 6-12 months before the wedding. Guests do not RSVP when they receive these. Invitations are usually sent 6-8 weeks out, though you can send them 10 weeks out if you need to provide a final head count by a certain date. The two month deadline you heard is probably referring to the invitations. Since DWs that require extensive travel and costs usually are pretty intimate affairs, you should be able to talk to your guests to get an idea of who will really come if you need a more definite answer before the typical response deadline.

I think you're getting Save The Dates confused with actual invitations. A Save The Date is sent out typically 8-12 months before the wedding, or even earlier for a destination wedding like yours, and let guests know to essentially save the date and don't make plans for anything else for that day/weekend/what-have-you.

Actual invitations with RSVP cards are sent out 2-3 months before the wedding and have the RSVP card enclosed for guests to send back to you by a certain date, to let you know whether or not they can make it.

For a destination wedding though, you'd do things a lot more in advance since guests would have to get travel and accommodations in order. Since you're less than a year to your wedding, I think it might be kind of difficult to plan this unless you know a lot of people will definitely be able to come.

We sent our destination wedding save the dates about 10 months out. We will be sending our invitations closer to 3 months out.

I'd send save the dates 10-12 months out. Then invites 3 months out.