When to Send Your Wedding Invitations
Photography by Jen Jones Weddings
When should I send out my wedding invitations?
This is one of our most frequent questions we receive from our clients and it can vary from couple to couple depending on the type of wedding they are having and the guests that will be invited.
If you are planning on having a guest list with primarily out of town guests or international wedding guests, a good rule of thumb is to send out your invitations sooner than you would for a primarily in-state guest list. I suggest to most of my clients to send out their wedding invitations three to four months before the wedding date.
We have included a timeline for the most common types of wedding guest list we see.
Primarily In-state Guest Lists
If you are planning a wedding with primarily in-state guests, time is on your side. I say this because often, in-state guests will often not have to book expensive or last minute flights and accommodations. As we all know, it can be a risky game to play to wait longer to book a flight in the hopes that the price will go down. This is not an issue that many couples will have to consider if their guests are from the same state and even less so if they are from the surrounding towns.
For my couples that primarily have in-state guests, I suggest sending out invitations about three months before the wedding date. The benefits to sending invitations out three to four months prior are that you can set a longer RSVP reply date, hopefully avoiding any frustrations of any last-minute add ons or cancelations.
Out of Town Guests + International Guests
More and more I am seeing address lists with guests from all over the country, and sometimes even international guests. If you have an invitee list that includes in-state, out of state and international guests, sending out your invitations sooner should help mitigate anyone not being able to make it due to a limited amount of time to organize and book their travel and accommodations. Let’s face it, out of town or international guests may be investing a large amount into making sure that they can make it to your wedding because they want to be there to celebrate you. The more time that you are able to give them the better.
If you find yourself planning a wedding with primarily out of town guests and international guests, sending out your invitation anywhere from four or six months in advance may be more appropriate. You can still have your RSVP reply date two months prior to the wedding, but the extra time allows your guests some flexibility when booking their flight and accommodations.
Destination Weddings
When to send out wedding invitations for destinations weddings can get a little bit tricky. There are a few questions to ask yourself prior to sending out your wedding invitations.
Are we having a large guest list?
How far do most of our guests have to travel and what is the average cost of travel to the destination?
Have we told any of our guests prior to sending the invitations that we are planning on having a destination wedding and we want them to be there?
Asking yourself those questions will help you to better understand the needs of your guests so that you can plan the appropriate send date with your wedding invitation designer.
As an example, if you are planning a wedding in Bali and you are intending on having a guest list of over 100 people, it may be more appropriate to send out your save the date over a year in advance, if you have the time, so that you can allow enough time for your guests to plan for their time off and book their accommodations way in advanced. Most airline carriers only begin to allow you to book out your flights up to a year in advance, so this is a good rule of thumb to follow.
If you are able to send out save the dates a year out, you will most likely have friends and family start reaching out to you saying they are excited to attend and already planning their trip. This is important because this will also help you get a better idea of the total number of guests you’ll have in attendance. An appropriate amount of time to send out a destination wedding invitation is anywhere between 7-4 months before the wedding date. Again, the more time you allow your guests, the higher the probability they’ll have to find affordable accommodations and flights.
For example, you are planning a wedding in Mexico and most of your guests are located in San Diego, CA, you may not have to allow as much time and you may be able to send out your invitations 3-5 months in advance.
When should I send out wedding invitations is one of the most common questions I receive during my initial consultations. It’s important to know where your guests are located and how they are planning on getting there, these two factors can both play a part in how far in advance you should send out your invitations. With all of that being said, every wedding is unique, working with a wedding stationer can help you to decide on an appropriate timeline to send out your wedding invitations that fit within your guest’s needs.