When To Send Wedding Invites
Finding the right time to send out wedding invitations can be a difficult balancing act. The general rule of thumb is to send invitations 8 to 12 weeks before the date . You can set a date on the card for guests to RSVP by so that you can get a headcount, but prepare for some guests to fail to meet that deadline. If youre concerned that you need more time, send out your invitations 16 weeks before the wedding at the earliest.
Wedding invitations and RSVPs are important for a number of reasons. Not only do you want your closest guests to make it to the wedding, you also need a guest count to tell the venue for tables, chairs, and seating arrangements, and to tell caterers and other vendors so that you have the right amount of food, drinks, and so on.
What About Invitations For International Guests
If you’re inviting just a few overseas guests, send their invitations along with the ones for your other guests, but make a point to give them a heads-up. Give them a call or send them an email with the details, as well as information about booking hotel rooms, so they can start to arrange their travel with time to spare.
Does half of your family live abroad? You might want to consider bumping up the timeline for them and the rest of your guests. Start designing your invitations a few weeks early and plan to send them out a minimum of 12 weeks in advance.
Be sure to follow up promptly with anyone you haven’t heard from to make sure they have plenty of time to book their flights.
You will also want to have all of the information available on your wedding website as soon as save-the-dates are in the mail. Sure, it means you’ll have to start ironing out the hotel room block and transportation information sooner than you’d expected, but you’ll be happier in the long run. Those overseas guests will have all the information at their fingertips, and you’ll have even more crossed off of your to-do list.
When Should You Actually Start Planning Your Invitations
Without being overambitious or too much of a procrastinator, experts say you should start thinking about your invitations as soon as youâve booked your venue and have a rough idea of who youâre going to invite, anywhere from nine to 12 months out, says Emilie Dulles, a wedding stationery and invitations designer-printer. That doesnât mean all your save-the-dates and invites have to be designed and in the mail a year before you say âI do,â but itâs good to think about what avenue youâre going to take â totally digital, totally physical, or a combination of both â and whether youâre going to hire a designer or utilize an online tool.
If you donât have a concrete vision for how youâd like the invitations to look, Dulles suggests going with a more âclassicâ design: White cardstock with traditional calligraphy or font spelling out the who, what, where, and when of the wedding. Platforms like Minted, Zola, and The Knot have a number of save-the-date and invitation design templates for couples to choose from and order completely online. According to Dulles, save-the-dates should be mailed as soon as youâve booked the venue, finalized a rough guest list, and the hotel block has been reserved â between six and 12 months out.
âWedding invitations should be printed and mailed at least two to three months before the wedding, and at least three to four months prior to weddings hosting international guests,â Dulles says.
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When To Send Rehearsal Dinner Invitations
Design: Claudia Owens
Often times, couples will host a rehearsal dinner the evening before the big day. While not necessary, its an opportunity to do a run-through of your ceremony, allowing your bridal party to know where they should be .
Afterwards, its a wonderful time to gather with close friends, family members, and their plus ones. It can be as formal or casual as you wish, and youre welcome to invite out-of-town guests and other friends, or keep things intimate with just your wedding party.
Since a rehearsal dinner is usually held the night before your wedding, it doesnt make a significant impact on travel arrangements. Therefore, you can send out rehearsal dinner invitations 4-6 weeks before the event.
How Do We Let Guests Know Our Dress Code
The easiest way to get your point across is to include a dress code in the lower right-hand corner of the invite or on a reception card. “Black tie,” “cocktail attire” or “casual attire” are all acceptable wordings. . Your invitation design can also clue guests in. An ultra-formal, traditional invite with letterpress and calligraphy will give guests a hint to the formal nature of the event, whereas an invite with a playful font and bright colors would fit a much more casual style. Browse the different options on The Knot Invitations to find a design that reflects your wedding’s style. Another option is to direct guests to your wedding website, where you can go into more detail about the weekend events and dress code in a more informal forum.
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When To Mail Invitations To Overseas Guests
One of the most common questions we get is when should I send out invitations to family and friends from other countries? This is a really important question to ask, and shows that youre considering all your guests! We recommend allowing four months, in case of any postal delays. That way, those guests still have time to get organised. There is no need to send out two lots of invitations at different times. If you know you have to factor in international guests, why not get organised and send all the invitations out four months prior to the wedding? Of course, four months isnt a rule for every situation, and the exact answer to when do you mail invitations for overseas guests will depend on whether youre sending them from Australia to New Zealand, from Australia to the UK, or from Australia to Antarctica.
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.
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Choosing Your Invitations Can Affect When To Send Out Your Wedding Invitations
The next step is actually choosing your wedding invitations and RSVPs.
There are a number of options available to you, but you want your invites to reflect your wedding, style and who you are as a couple. Even better if theyre beautifully unique invitations that are designed just for you! So you have two options available to you, custom designed or ready -made invitations. They each take a different amount of time to order, so make sure that you are well informed before going down either route.
How much time for ready-made invitations?
This is something that is critical for timings related to when to send out your wedding invitations. Ready-made wedding invites are the designs that are displayed upon my Portfolio page. These designs are all set and ready to go. You can simply supply your personal information or wording and you are ready to start your order.
If you opt for ready-made invitations, you will be limited with the size of your invites. Typically these are the same size as a photograph, usually around 5 x 7 inches. That said, ready-made designs tend to be cheaper as less work is required to prepare them, so it also depends on your wedding stationery budget. But whatever you choose, look for a style that reflect your personalities and your big day.
You just add your details without changing the core design, or colours too much.
Bespoke wedding stationery these take of lot of time, so reach out early
Sasha And Ben 08/28/20
New York, New York
Sasha and Ben inquired in late April, with their wedding date set for 08/28/20. Shortly after, we decided to schedule a zoom couple along with their planner, Willa from Wild Heights Events. During the call, they let me know that they had their postponement date booked for August 2021, but wanted to proceed as if their 2020 date was still going ahead. They also let me know that if they do postpone, they would likely want to do something bigger and better for their 2021 wedding, switching from a semi-custom collection to a custom designed suite.
This was a tricky one to come up with a solution for! However these zoom calls are proving to be so effective, and bringing to light just how well people can work together when working as a team.
Last night, I sent off their first round of design mockups for their chosen semi-custom collection which they LOVE . I also put in some surprise embellishment options such as foiled envelope liners and wax seals, add-ons I can either produce in-house or source quickly. Just because were having to put our skates on, doesnt mean creativity needs to suffer.
We will put off the print date until mid-June, which is the latest theyll wait to make their decision on their wedding date. If they decide to move it to 2021, I will use their booking deposit and put it towards creating their custom designed invitations. I care for my couples and although I cant offer free printing or materials, I can offer my time.
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If Our Wedding Reception Is For Immediate Family Only Is It Okay To Invite People To The Ceremony Only
This is a tricky situation. Standard etiquette dictates that everyone who attends the ceremony should be invited to the weddingthat means the ceremony and the reception. By inviting guests to one and not the other, it could send the message that you want them there for the actual ceremony but you either don’t want to pay for their plate at your party or don’t care enough to have them there to actually celebrate your newlywed status.
Rehearsal Dinner Invitations: When To Send
Most agree that rehearsal dinner invitations should be sent out after the wedding invitations, but some couples choose to include them in the enclosure cards of the wedding invitation. You should plan to send them four to six weeks in advance, but for more detail, please review our resource on rehearsal dinner invitation wording.
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How To Send The Invitations
- All wedding invitations should be mailed and sent by post. Whether you are sending an invitation to your next door neighbour or to your parents, they must be posted.
- No wedding invitation should be delivered by hand and this applies to all invitations without any exceptions.
If you dont like the idea of mailing your wedding invitations by regular post, you could courier them. This will cost you a whole lot more than ordinary post but you wont have to contend with the ugly post office markings.
How And When To Send Your Wedding Invitations
Find out the proper etiquette for sending your wedding invitations out and how to do it by reading this article
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Etiquette also governs how and when you should dispatch your wedding invitations. Here are the things that you need to keep in mind for sending out your wedding invites.
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When Should I Order And Send Out Thank You Cards
Many brides like to order their thank you cards at the same time as their invitation. It saves time after the wedding, which helps you get your thank you notes out faster. This also allows you to write thank you cards for presents and help you receive in the lead up to the wedding as they arrive. You can, however, order thank you cards post-wedding, as etiquette states that you have three months to send them out. Just dont underestimate how long it will take you to handwrite personalised thank you cards for all your guests! It can be a big undertaking, and probably isnt something you can get done in a single afternoon.
When To Send Invitations For Out
You may be wondering when to send out wedding invitations for out-of-town guests.
If you have out-of-town guests, this 6 to 8-week timeline still works perfectly. What youll want to do, though, is make sure you send save the date cards well ahead of time. This is really the best way to let guests know youre planning a destination wedding.
This brings us to our last question:
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Shutterfly Save The Dates
Create personalized and stylish save the date cards with Shutterfly. Our easy-to-use templates allow you to design your save the dates with your selected photographs and important nuptial details. We can even address, stamp and send your cards! Make sure to keep a copy of your save the dates to save for a wedding .
As you consider your save the date ideas, explore countless pages of inspiration with wedding ideas for themes and dream wedding looksfrom going for a holiday look for a Christmas wedding or choosing a bright and summery theme. Get inspired to design elegant wedding stationery that reflects your unique love story and visions of your big day.
Can I Send My Wedding Invitations 3 Months In Advance
In general, wedding invitations should go out 8 weeks in advance. As always, though, the rules are a bit different for destination weddingsthose, youll want to send out 3 months in advance. Remember, wedding invitations are a two-way street: they require a response.
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