Wedding Invitations

Yes, way too soon The Save The Dates were your heads up to start making travel arrangements. If you've told your guests through multiple ways already to book asap, I'm not sure what purpose early invitations will serve for people who are procrastinators. Do you have a hotel room block reserved, or is that difficult because of the competing event?

Did you include the wedding website information on the STD? If you have the facebook group, I would just do a reminder post about the festival and let people know that things are booking up. You shouldn't send the invites until 6-8 weeks prior. Sometimes up to 12 weeks is okay for destination weddings.

I agree with previous posters - it sounds like you've done your due diligence with letting your guests know about the Balloon Fiesta - it's on them now to plan and I don't think sending out invitations this early would push people book a hotel any sooner. I also agree about trying to secure a hotel room block or two if you haven't already. And I'd send invites out no sooner 12 weeks in advance - that's enough time for people to book hotels if they haven't done so already but close enough that you won't be waiting what feels like forever for replies.

My wedding is in July and I sent save the dates in January. Well, some guests started asking about hotel accommodations in Feb and I didn’t have a website since older guests won’t use it.
I sent texts and Facebook messengers to each guest with all of the hotel info and check in times.

If they have the STDs and the wedding website info, I think they can plan accordingly. If you have guests that aren't around the area, you might want to let them know so they can plan early, but as other people have said I wouldn't send the invites out yet.

Save the dates are sent via word of mouth or postcard 6-12 months before the wedding. Invites are sent 6-8 weeks before the wedding. If you send them before 8 weeks, guests will lose and forget the information, and they will feel like seat fillers if they are sent after 6 weeks. Stick to the standard timeline.


Even without a website, as some couples don’t use them at all, guests do know how to arrange accommodations. You can informally touch base with everyone but don’t pressure anyone.

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I do have a certain number of rooms blocked off, but not enough for everyone. I personally don't want to block off more rooms and have to pay if they're not used. There's plenty of hotels in the immediate area surrounding the venue (which is in a hotel), but I just know a lot of people wait until the last minute & I've already had people complain about it.

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Yeah I was originally going to send them out at the start of May. Most of everyone also has to fly & those prices are going up every day as well.

It's too soon. You told them the date and city, now it's their responsibility to arrange travel. Most of my out-of-town guests booked their flights and hotels before we sent out invitations, and we put our hotel blocks on the wedding website to help them choose.

I just sent out have of mines others will be handed out to some people who live close by to us. And mail out more our wedding is in October of this year as well. We didn't do a STD we announced it and then told ppl in person. I save money for not doing that. So now they have our registries and now the actual invitations it self. So you need too send them out soon since your month is in September. Especially for who live out of states we mailed know how there mailing systems are like.

If your wedding website made mention of the balloon festival, then maybe it could be okay? Our wedding is also in early September and is destination, but in Italy so international flight is a little different... But we sent STD 1 year before our date and sent our invites out a couple weeks ago. For you it could be different, for us we figured people who are seriously planning to come will have started looking for tickets by now.

What you could try to do is communicate by word of mouth, with help from your family, to remind people that they probably want to book sooner rather than later. I personally rarely look at wedding websites when I get a STD and am notorious for waiting until the last minute to make my arrangements haha

View Quoted Comment I haven’t released the wedding website yet, but I have definitely said more than once (and on the Facebook group) that things will get pricey the longer you wait.

Way too soon. They shouldnt go out until July, June at the absolute earliest. Also, have you checked with your hotel on how they block rooms? I've never heard of a hotel charging the couple for unused rooms, they just are no longer reserved after a certain date b