When do you send out wedding invitations?

Hi Starcaster!

Usually I recommend sending invitations about 6-8 weeks prior to your wedding date. Sometimes if you send them too early, people might toss it aside and forget about it until it's the day-of! You also want to allow enough time for your guests to schedule their days off from work, etc. Not to mention, you want to give yourself plenty of time to get organized and keep your guest counts accurate. "Save the Dates" aren't 100% necessary but are nice if you're having a destination wedding or if many of your guests are out-of-towners. I would advise to mail all the invitations to keep it formal, if that's the nature of the wedding ;-)

Maggie

We sent our "save the dates" nice and early, mainly because we knew it was a busy wedding season for all of our friends. They are definitely not required by any means, but for us, it was all about getting a spot reserved on our friends/family's calendars so they could make it!

I generally see two months for the invitations as the earliest you want to send them out. Keep in mind, you want to give your guests time to reply back to you.

Save the Date items can be as simple as a postcard, which is a cheaper postage rate. Doesn't need to be fancy. Also, if a bunch of your guests have email, you can save money by sending out an email announcement for the save the date (maybe even create a little wedding website so they can get more details), and postcards only to those who you don't have email for. The Save the Date info can really go out as soon as you set a date. It's only meant to be a heads up.

When it comes to hand delivering, why not? I can't imagine anyone taking offense, & they often love it. It gives them a chance to get excited with you! When you hand it to them don't say "I wanted to save postage, here you go." Make it seem special. Tell them "I really wanted to hand deliver this to you because I'm so excited to share my wedding with you."

Due the the travel typically associated with weddings these days, I recommend 8-10 weeks, especially if no save-the-date card has been sent. This allows guests plenty of time to book airfare, etc.

Plus, if you're doing assigned seating/tables, you'll want plenty of time between the date that you ask for your RSVP's back and your wedding date. And unfortunately you'll probably end up calling several people who haven't yet responded...so give yourself plenty of time since those last few weeks can get pretty stressful!

For Save The Dates = 6 months prior to your wedding. Make sure to plan accordingly so that your mailing does not get mixed up in the holiday mailings. I would recommend doing it no later than october.

Invitations = 8 weeks for domestic and 10 weeks for international.

Typically it's recommended to send out wedding invitations to local guests to a local wedding 6-8 weeks in advance. As a courtesy to out of town guests or for destination weddings Save the Date cards are a nice gesture, giving your guests

time to make travel arrangements, etc. Save the Dates are sent out about 6 months in advance. Hand delivering an invitation is fine, just be sure that your guest's names are on the invitation and leave off the address. Also, always always include postage on your response cards, whether or not you hand deliver them. Happy Planning

Hello! Being in the Invitation business, I would say about half of my clients send save-the-date cards. It's a newer trend, so if you want to send the minimum, I would skip sending them. As far as sending the invitations out, typical timeframe is 6-8 weeks but this also depends on when your caterer needs a final count (some want it as much as a month in advance) and if the wedding is over a major holiday weekend. I would mail it to your neighbors.. there is nothing like getting something fabulous for a wonderful event in the mail!

The advice from our experts in When to Send Wedding Invitations says that for most weddings, sending invitations about six to eight weeks before the event is right, and you can set your RSVP deadline for about two to three weeks before your wedding. For destination weddings, two to three months before the event is right to send out wedding invitations, with an RSVP deadline for about six weeks before the wedding day.

Save the dates are helpful especially if you are marrying during a popular season or around a holiday, and anytime you have guests who need to travel. So that covers most people. They are sent out 6-10 months ahead so guests can schedule time off work and make travel arrangements.


Invites are sent out 6-8 weeks before the wedding. If you send them earlier, people will feel you are B listing which is rude.

You dont have to send save the dates but traditionally save the dates are sent first then invitations. You can do electronic save the dates and send them via email or as a text message photo to save money if you want. There are templates you can find on Etsy for this to make them more "formal". I am planning to follow the traditional route of sending save the dates first then invitations, rsvp, reception, and details after but all electronically to save money