So you’ve got your date, are getting excited planning and dress and suit shopping, but need to let your guests know when your wedding is – there is a lot of contradicting evidence on the internet for how far in advance to send invites out – there can also sometimes be added pressure from family members who are suggesting that invites should go out ‘soon’ mainly because they’re just excited and want to have a hint of what colours you are planning, but really, when is the recommended time for sending out invitations?
It depends on a couple of questions:
Is your wedding a destination wedding?
YES: Typically, for a destination wedding, you tend to send out invitations 6-8 months in advance of your wedding date. Some wedding websites recommend 6-12 months in advance, which can be confusing, but this would generally be if you’re only sending a formal invitation and no save the date. With weddings that may be quite far away and require booking in advance – I’ve known some Save the Dates to go out two years before the event to ensure that friends and family get the date in the diary, it can be good to get your guests booked in sooner rather than later as prices can go up.
The further in advance you let your guests know the date, the more likely it is that they will be able to make it. My recommendation would be to send out a Save the date with the location on, ideally 12-18 months before so your guests are aware that it will be abroad (and can start saving), then when you have the venue information and details (some of which you don’t even get until 6 months before), you can be safe in the knowledge of your numbers of guests, how many invitations you require and what details to be included in your formal invitation. Plus, you could also include some fun details of weekend celebrations or pre-wedding dinners.
For the formal invites, it is important to bear in mind that production times can vary from stationer to stationer, but if you’re after bespoke design and printed, these can take 6-8 weeks production, then an additional two weeks for hand-addressing in calligraphy, should you want this service. It is recommended to book in your calligrapher meeting as soon as possible so you can get your requirements in the diary. I’m happy to meet with couples, even if they are not sure of all the details such as menu options as these can be added in at a later date as part of the production process. Allowing as much time as possible also enables your stationery supplier to create those extra special touches such as wax seals, silk ribbon, source specific colour envelopes etc which can give your invites the ‘wow’ factor.
NO: If your wedding is in your home town, although some websites say 6-8 weeks ahead, it is totally acceptable to send your invitations out 3 months before your wedding date. Again, as with the destination weddings, the earlier you send your invitations, the more chance you have of your guests booking you in.
Again, this is where the Save the Date comes in handy. For some, as for us, it was a nicely designed PDF sent by email – this might sound strange coming from a wedding stationer, but as our budget was tight we wanted to allow for a full stationery budget on the invites – we prioritised and cut a cost to allow for us to get ours professionally printed and allowed us to also print our evening invites. Traditionally, sending invitations around 6-8 weeks before your wedding is still acceptable, however, given Guernsey’s very busy wedding season, it’s helpful to send invitations to guests a little earlier than that, especially if you need menu choices.
If you’re panicking reading this post and thinking – but I’m getting married locally in 6 month’s time and haven’t sent a save the date – that’s fine too. Some couples that have a short engagement can jump straight to the invite stage.
What about Evening invitations? Do I need them?
If you’re having a local wedding, you’re likely to want to invite extended family and friends that you’ve been unable to place on the main guest list.
Some people create a Facebook group if they are short on time, but if you’d like to create an evening invitation, you can benefit by including this with your formal invitation design and printing. Planning ahead for those evening invites can really help. In terms of posting, often couples wait for their main invitation responses before sending these, just on the possible chance that one of your day guests are unable to make it and you wish to invite an evening guest to the day. Sending an invitation around 2 months before for evening invitations is ample time as you often don’t require a RSVP and still keeps within the traditional 6-8 weeks recommendation.
If you’re keen to discuss wedding invitation suites and/or save the dates, let’s get a date in the diary. Click below to get in touch.
