When To Send Invitations & Save
At-Home Wedding Reception Invitation Zazzle
If youre having an at-home reception , I suggest mailing separate save-the-dates for your destination wedding and at-home reception but send them at the same time. Heres why if someone whos not invited to your destination wedding gets wind that youre getting married, but they didnt get a save-the-date in the mail, they could assume theyre not invited to the wedding at all, which can lead to hurt feelings. But if they get a save-the-date to the post wedding reception, then theyll know its just the more intimate destination wedding theyre not invited to, which is usually understandable. You can send destination wedding invitations at the same time or before your at-home-reception invitations.
Casual Wedding Dress Code
How to say it on your invitation: Casual Dress
What it means: Casual dress means wedding guests can wear pretty much anything they want.
What to wear: We recommend a casual dress for the ladies and dress pants with button-down shirt or polo shirt for the guys. But, if the wedding is at a rustic location, or extra casual like a barbeque, even jeans and cowboy boots will do!
So Whats The Definitive Answer To When To Send Wedding Invitations
As a general rule I advise my couples to send wedding invitations out around 4 to 8 months before the big day.
Think about the points Ive highlighted here and make your decision based on those:
- Have you sent save the date cards? Are you confident your guests know and the invitations are a formality?If yes, you can wait a little later. If not, it would be sensible to go earlier.
- Do your guests need to book time off, travel or arrange accommodation either in the UK or abroad?If yes, give them plenty of notice especially if you are getting married in peak wedding or holiday season.
- When does your venue or caterer need final numbers in advance of the big day?Be sure to build in enough time to get your replies back
As little as 3 months before and as early as 12 is also perfectly acceptable.
If you want to send something more than a year in advance Id advise a save the date card and follow up with the invitations 4 to 6 months later.
I do hope this blog has been useful. If you are in the throes of planning your wedding invitations and stationery be sure to get your copy of my ultimate checklist and timeline. Its an essential tool for working out exactly what stationery you do and dont need, how many of each and when you should be ordering.
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When Should You Send Invitations If Guests Need Extra Time To Save
If youre having a destination wedding and asking guests to travel, its understandable that some of your guests will need time to save up for their flights and other expenses. Dont assume that everyone has cash on hand. A save the date will come in handy to give your loved ones a heads up to start putting money away for your wedding. You can send this out as soon as you know dates and location. You dont need every detail finalised, just let them know June 15-18 2019, Bali or similar so they can do some research on ticket costs and plan things ahead.
How Do We Let The Guests Know What To Wear
Including an attire card can prove helpful when advising your guets what to wear. Some commonly used wedding attire is Black Tie , Formal , Semi-Formal , and Cocktail Attire . Although you may not be able to make your guests wear specific attire, its always best to offer encouragement. If your wedding is outdoors and on a lawn, it nice to inform your guests to wear shoes appropriate for the lawn. Let your guests know to wear something that matches the theme of the wedding such as country, garden, beach, etc. There are many ways to inform your guest what to wear in a fun and lighthearted way:
- Put on your cowboy boots, and get ready for some 2 stepping fun.
- Our wedding will take place over the ocean, be sure to bring a sweater to keep warm from the cool sea breeze.
- The ceremony & reception will be on the lawn, please choose your footwear accordingly.
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What Time Should You Put On Your Wedding Invitations
Strategically putting an earlier time on your wedding invitations than the actual ceremony start time isn’t a new ideabut that doesn’t make it a good idea. Generally, guests show up on time for a wedding ceremony. By placing a false start time on your wedding invitations, your loved ones could end up waiting much longer than they need to for you and your future spouse to arrive.
It’s also not necessary to include additional start times on your wedding invites . If the events are all taking place on the same day at the same location, simply stating “reception to follow” is enough. If your reception is at a different venue, you can include the location beneath the ceremony details or on a separate reception card depending on the space available. For jam-packed wedding weekends, it’s a good idea to have separate itinerary cards with the respective date, time and location of each event. These can be sent out with your wedding invitations or included in wedding welcome bags.
When To Send Your Wedding Invites
As previously mentioned, youll want to give your guests plenty of notice for your big day. So around the three to six-month mark is a good time to send out your invitations.
This gives them time to RSVP.
Also ensures theyve got time to arrange days off work, baby sitters or whatever they may need to do to make it to the day.
But, there is a fine line between giving enough notice and sending your invites too early. You certainly dont want to be sending them out a year before your wedding. Dont be mistaken. Its OK to send your save the date cards out 6 -12 months before. However, if you send your invites as much as 4-6 months early, you risk them getting lost or your guests actually forgetting the date as its so far off in the future.
While there is a lot to remember when planning a wedding, its always best to stay ahead and ensure you leave yourself and your guests plenty of time.
For more detailed advice, check out my timeline for stress free wedding invitations.
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When To Send Wedding Invitations & Save The Dates
Please note:
When to send wedding invitations for local weddings, weddings with out of town guests, and destination weddings.Traditional etiquette dictates that wedding invitations should be sent 6-8 weeks before the wedding. But if you have a destination wedding, you may need to send your invitations much earlier so guests have time to make flight and hotel arrangements. On the other hand, if youre having a local wedding with few out of town guests, and youve already sent out Save the Dates, you can get away with sending your formal invitations later.
In this post, we tell you exactly when to send your Save the Dates, when to send your wedding invitations, and when to make your Reply-by date for RSVP cards depending on what type of wedding youre having.
Here, well dig a little deeper into your wedding invitation timeline well talk about when you should order your invites, how much time to allow for addressing them, when guests need to send back their RSVPs and how much time that leaves you to finalize seating arrangements and catering head counts with your final guest list.
The Best Hacks To Cut The Hassle
Luckily, in an uncertain era, digital invites are more acceptable than ever. Guests are also dealing with this weird new world, so they understand that there may not be formal save-the-dates, and there may be last-minute invites. That said, if youve got a family that has thoughts on etiquette, then you may have heard a lot of unsolicited advice on the where, when, and how of sending invites.
If thats the case, consider hybrid-style invites.There is something beautiful about opening a wedding invitation in the mail, and many of my clients still go that route, however sometimes printed invitations can be costly and time-consuming. Even collecting mailing addresses can feel like a full-time job! notes Heather Odendaal, owner and principal of Weddings by Bluebird in Whistler, British Columbia. Her solution: Ive seen couples choose a hybrid model of mailing invites to key guests and sending out digital invites to the large majority of the guests.
And even if you do go 100% snail mail on invites, you can embrace tech. Consider sending your guests a meeting invite with guests hidden, of course to ensure that they are aware of the deadline to RSVP to your wedding, says Odendaal.
According to Brownstein, one of the easiest ways to manage a guest list is to use a digital tool. Joy, The Knot, Zola, and others allow couples to collect addresses, track when save-the-dates and invitations were sent, manage RSVPs, and gather meal choices.
Additional reporting by Anna Davies.
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Save The Date Etiquette
Depending on your wedding plans, there are different etiquette suggestions for save the dates. You want to give your loved ones as much advance notice as possible, allowing them to request time off work , make travel and accommodation arrangements, and address any other factors.
If your guests are within driving distance or have easy access to public transit, the suggested time frame is 4-6 months before the wedding. If, on the other hand, youre planning a destination wedding, the suggested timeframe doubles. For destination weddings, particularly those that require international travel , try to send out save the dates six months to one year before your big day.
At What Point Should You Order Wedding Invitations
This totally depends on what kind of invitations youre having, and when youre planning to post your wedding invitations.
If youre making your own invitations or putting them together from a kit that youve purchased then Id recommend ordering your invitations AT LEAST 3 monthsbefore you plan to put them in the mail. That gives you plenty of time to actually make them.
If youre ordering them from a wedding stationer, then youd generally need to allow up to 8 weeks from ordering to receiving them and getting them in the mail.
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There you go all the questions you had about when to send wedding invites, answered!
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What Does The Bride Pay For
Traditionally, the bride and her family are responsible for paying for all wedding planning expenses, the brides attire, all floral arrangements, transportation on the wedding day, photo and video fees, travel and lodgings for the officiant if he comes from out of town, lodging for the bridesmaids (if you have offered
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What Should My Wedding Invitations Look Like
Honestly⦠whatever you like! The main thing is that they reflect you and your partner. For example, if youâre both passionate about nature, you may want to show this in your color scheme, with a deep green or dark blue background and a silver font. If you want to evoke a classy, timeless affair, you can opt for your wedding details to be written in calligraphy, printed via letterpress printing, or include pressed flowers on your invitations. Your wedding invitation can include a comment about the relevance of the wedding venue, an anecdote about how you and your partner met or a story about how the proposal took place â itâs completely up to you. Browse our website or talk to us for inspiration.
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When Do Wedding Invites Go Out
Your official wedding invitations should be sent 6 8 weeks before your wedding date allowing plenty of time for more yays nays and more purchases from your zola registry. This tool will help. Make sure guests rsvp to one person the maid of honor.
Inviting An Ex To The Wedding
Generally it’s not a good idea to invite exes. Doing so has the potential to make the bride or groom feel uncomfortable relatives and other guests might be distracted by it too. Talk to your fiancé about how you feel. Assure them that you are not opposed to his friendship with his ex but just don’t want the reminder of their past relationship at your wedding. They should respect your wishes. Here’s when it is alright to invite an ex to the wedding.
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Enclosure Card Wording Faq
Enclosure cards are a part of the wedding invitation that provides your guests with all the details of the wedding. These can include direction cards, RSVP cards, accommodations cards, ceremony cards, or registry cards. If youre not sure how to word your enclosure cards, look no further. We have answered most of the questions you may be uncertain of.
When To Send Out Your Wedding Invitations
So youre getting married. Pop that champagne and cheers!
Now what? Once youve sent out your save-the-dates, its time to send your formal wedding invites. Truthfully, theres a ton of conflicting advice out there on when to send wedding invitations. In general, everyone agrees on the fact that timing is important so guests can RSVP in enough time for couples like you to finalize all of their wedding day details. Luckily, youre in the right place to nail your wedding etiquette!
After reading this, youll know exactly when to send your wedding invitations, whether youre planning a destination wedding or a celebration close to home.
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Can You Send Wedding Invitations 6 Months In Advance
Its OK to send your save the date cards out 6 -12 months before. However, if you send your invites as much as 4-6 months early, you risk them getting lost or your guests actually forgetting the date as its so far off in the future.
Keeping this in consideration, What does M mean on an RSVP?
Many response cards will include an M followed immediately by a line. In keeping with more formal wedding tradition, the line is here as a way to kickstart your reply. The M stands for the first letter of the title you prefer to go by, be it Mr., Mrs., Ms., or Miss. (Quick tip: Ms.
Secondly Is it rude to send wedding invitations early? Sending them too early or too late can likewise be impolite, so here are basic wedding invite timeline rules: Save the date cards can be sent out as early as a year from your wedding date. Invitations should be sent to your guests six to eight weeks in advance of your wedding.
Is a year too early to send wedding invitations?
Once you have sent your save the dates out, for a locally held wedding, sending your wedding invitations out around 8 weeks in advance is fine. Deciding on when to send a wedding invitation requires striking a balance between spreading the word in good time and being close enough to the date itself.
Do Have A Loose Schedule But Dont Make It Too Detailed Or Strict
Keep the momentum rolling by having a general idea of what youll do at the beginning, middle and end of the shower. You may need to enlist the help of some other hosts for the gift-giving portion . Just because you have a plan doesnt mean you have to control every single second. If The Newlywed Game inspires everyone to share their own hilarious stories, let it roll. But having a plan is helpful in case theres an unexpected lull in the party.
Choosing your engagement party style is one thing, but finding your wedding style is a whole different story. Take our Style Quiz to learn your dream wedding aesthetic and how to communicate it to your vendors. After that, create a free, personalized wedding website to keep your guests informed about your plans, and a time-saving Guest List Manager to organize your attendees. Even better? You can sync your Guest List Manager and wedding website to update everything at once.
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Don’t Be Afraid To Set Rules About Plus
Your wedding should be the party of your dreams, and you shouldn’t feel obligated to cater the event to others.
That means you don’t have to let people bring their kids. More and more couples are opting for child-free weddings, as it creates more of a party environment.
You can list your no-kid rule on your wedding website or leave out guests’ children’s names on invitations. However, that might not stop some guests from trying to bring their children anyway. In that case, Chertoff recommends being as clear as possible on the no-children rule.
“If someone RSVPs with their children, call them and explain that while you love their kids, you have decided not to invite anyone’s children to the wedding,” Chertoff said. “If you’re offering to have a sitter on-site at the venue, let them know. If you decide to invite some children, nieces, and nephews of the couple, for example, let it be known that you’re only inviting those children and why.”
You can also create parameters to limit the amount of plus-ones who are the wedding, Chertoff said. It’s best to make a concrete rule about who gets to bring a date to the event so no one questions your choices.
For example, you could only allow guests to bring a plus-one if they’re engaged or living together, Chertoff suggested.
