When To Send Save The Dates And Wedding Invitations?

Save-the-dates are sent early in the wedding planning process to ask guests to hold the date in their minds. For couples with a standard engagement length, wedding invitations should be sent around six months in advance. For destination weddings, save-the-dates should be sent eight to 12 months before the big day. For local weddings, save-the-dates should be sent 4 to 6 months in advance. For destination weddings, save-the-dates should be sent 8 to 12 months before the big day.

For hometown weddings, save-the-dates should be sent between four and eight months in advance. For destination weddings, save-the-dates should be sent 8 to 12 months in advance. For local weddings, save-the-dates should be sent 4 to 6 months in advance.

When sending save-the-dates and invitations, keep in mind timing. Wedding invitations should be sent out four to six months before the wedding date. If you haven’t sent save-the-dates, wedding invitations should be sent out at least eight weeks before the wedding date.

The difference between save-the-dates and wedding invitations is that save-the-dates are sent before wedding invitations, and wedding invitations should be sent out at least eight weeks before the wedding date. The ideal timeframe for sending wedding invitations is between 12 months and six months before the wedding day, with 9 months being the ideal.

In conclusion, it is recommended to send save-the-dates and wedding invitations six to eight months in advance for the best timeline.


📹 When To Send Wedding Invitations (AND SAVE THE DATES)

Not sure when to send wedding invitations? When is the right time to send wedding invitations and save the dates? In this video I …


When to send wedding invitations
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Can I skip save the date?

However, if youre planning a small wedding with guests who live close by, or your planning timeline is so short that you only have time to send wedding invitations, you can probably skip the save the dates.

Save the dates vs. wedding invitations. Although save the dates and wedding invitations describe the same event, they have very different purposes.

  • Announce that a wedding is coming in the next year
  • Include only a few details—the couples names, the date, and the city
  • Tell guests to expect more information soon (in the invitation)
  • Do not require additional information or RSVPs from guests
  • Can use a Comment Wall to answer any preliminary guest questions about the wedding
  • Can be in a Flyer or Card format
When should you send out wedding invitations if no save the dates
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How far in advance do you send out save the dates and wedding invites?

  • Choose your location and set the date. These two items are intertwined. You may fall in love with a location and select from available dates. Or you may choose a special date and a venue in your preferred location later down the line. The location can be approximate—a city will do.
  • Take your engagement photos. You can schedule your engagement photo shoot any time after the proposal.
  • Design your save the dates cards. Use your engagement photos in your design for the ultimate personal touch.
  • Mail your save the dates. The basic rule of thumb is to send save the dates 6 months before the wedding. For a destination wedding, it is customary to mail save the dates 8 to 12 months in advance. For a local affair, send save the dates 4 to 6 months in advance.
  • Follow your save the dates with your formal invitations roughly 8 weeks before the wedding.

Can you send a digital save the date? Modern etiquette allows for electronic correspondence in the age of the Internet, but theres nothing more polished and personal than a personalized save the date sent through snail mail with love. With the variety of customizable designs available with just a few clicks, its easier than ever to find a beautiful and true-to-you option for every budget, color and style.

What to Include on a Save the Date Card. What key information should you include on your save the date cards? Your save the date card should include three main pieces of information:

When do you send out wedding invitations with rsvp
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Is 2 years too early to send save the date?

General wedding etiquette dictates that save the dates should be sent out six to nine months before the wedding date. That said, in recent years, wedding planning timelines have stretched and couples are choosing to send save the dates earlier — between nine and twelve months in advance — to ensure as many guests as possible can attend their big day.

To know if youre ready to send out your save the dates, youll want to have the following details ironed out (or at least mostly finalized).

  • Wedding date. This is the most important, and most obvious detail youll need to know before you send your save the dates.
  • Venue. Your venue will be the number one determining factor when it comes to choosing your wedding date. Because of this, most couples make sure to have their venue booked before they send out save the dates. That said, we dont recommend putting your venue on your save the date card — and well get into why later on in this article.
  • Vibe. Your save the date cards are the first impression of your big day. They set the tone for the celebration to come! So, youll want to have a good understanding of the vibe of your wedding as you pick them out. This theme, be it formal, playful, or non-traditional, will also help you narrow down the best save the date design for you.
  • Engagement Photos. Most couples opt to send photo save the dates, so youll want to have a beautiful, high-quality shot of you and your spouse-to-be to use on the card. When youre booking and taking your engagement photos, keep the overall vibe of your wedding in mind to ensure the photo you use on your save the date card helps communicate the spirit of your wedding.
  • Guest list. You dont need to know if youll be extending your second cousin a plus one at this stage of wedding planning, but youll need your guest list to be nearly finalized before you send out your save the date cards. This ensures you order enough cards — and that you dont send a save the date to anyone who may eventually get cut from your guest list.
Save the date vs invitation
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When to send out save the date vs invitations?

When Do I Send Save-the-Dates for a Local Wedding?. Send out save-the-date cards six to eight months prior to your wedding and the wedding invitations eight weeks before your big day. Not only do some people have to make travel arrangements and save money, but some guests will also need to get time off from their jobs, arrange child care, and/or take care of other pesky chores so they can join you.

When Do I Send Save-the-Dates for a Destination Wedding?. If you are throwing a destination wedding or getting married on a major holiday, you should give guests extra notice by sending your save the dates out nine months to a year in advance. Better yet, as soon as youve chosen a venue and set up your wedding website (and a hotel room block), get those save-the-dates in the mail. No one will complain about extra time to book flights and reserve a hotel room.

Who Receives a Save-the-Date?. Anyone youre sure will be invited. Do not mail save-the-date cards to guests on your B-list: Once they receive a save the date, youre obligated to send them a wedding invitation.

Save the dates wedding
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What is the rule for Save the Date?

When do we send them?. As a general rule of thumb, Swann recommends that couples mail their save-the-dates four to six months before the wedding—or even earlier if youre planning a destination wedding that may require more extensive travel arrangements. In general, giving your guests an advance heads-up increases the likelihood that theyll be able to attend.

Who should receive one?. Save-the-date notifications should only be sent to those you plan on inviting to the wedding. Dont make the save-the-date any more public beyond the actual guest list you have, says Swann. Once theyre in the mail, theres no turning back, so be sure youve compiled an accurate guest list before sending them off. And even if youve already received verbal confirmation from some guests, you still need to send them a save-the-date—that includes everyone in the bridal party, key wedding participants, and immediate family members, of course.

Can we send them via email?. These days, sending your save-the-date announcement via email is perfectly appropriate. Just be aware of a few potential bumps along the road, like the fact that your e-card may get filtered into guests spam folders. While convenient and budget-friendly, delivery is not 100 percent guaranteed, so youll want to follow up to ensure delivery.

When to send out wedding invitations calculator
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Is 2 months too late to send wedding invitations?

What Do I Do If I Miss the Deadline?. If you completely forgot to send wedding save the dates, and youve now realised that its too late, dont panic.The best thing to do is to just try and get your formal wedding invitations sent out earlier than you usually would, so that your guests have as much notice as possible.Normally, youd send save the dates 6 months in advance, and then the wedding invitations would go out around 6-8 weeks before the wedding.But if you havent sent save the date cards, simply send out your invitations as soon as possible – ideally at least 3-4 months before your wedding. You can include a link to your wedding website that you can update with extra bits of information if you havent got it all sorted out yet.

Now that you know when you should be sending them, lets go over a brief list of what you should include on the wedding save the date.Dont confuse your wedding save the date with your wedding invitation. Remember that the purpose of this card is to let your guests know of your wedding date and location so they can start planning their schedule around it. Leave the more intricate details for your wedding invitation.

On a wedding save the date card, you should include:1) The names of the couple getting married2) The words “save the date” and “invitation to follow”, so its clear what the card is for3) Your wedding date, including the year4) The name of your venue and which city its in5) A link to your wedding website, if you have one.

Is it rude to send wedding invitations early
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Do you put RSVP on Save the Date?

  • Proper Save the Date etiquette for addressing: It is not necessary to send individual Save the Dates to multiple guests within a single household. It is important, however, to address your Save the Dates in a way that indicates who is invited. If you plan to exclude children under a certain age, for instance, making that clear on your Save the Date and wedding invitation can make it easier for your guests to plan effectively to attend your celebration.
  • Transportation and accommodation arrangements: If you are planning to offer transportation or have reserved a block of hotel rooms for your guests, it is acceptable to include this information on your Save the Date to assist the friends and family members on your guest list. While formal Save the Date etiquette may restrict this information to the official wedding invitation, you are the final judge of what will provide the best options for your guests.
  • Timing for Save the Dates: Even if some aspects of your wedding plans might change, it is important to send Save the Dates as soon as you have decided on a city and a date for your wedding. You can also requestRSVPinformation by linking to your wedding website, which can be set up to accept digital responses to your printed orpaperless wedding invitations. If you are not sure when to send Save the Dates, a good rule of thumb is to send them as soon as possible once your plans are generally in place.
  • Linking to your wedding website: While it is not recommended to include your registry details, per traditional Save the Date etiquette rules, you can do so in a more subtle way by mentioning your wedding website URL. Within your wedding website, you can connect your wedding registry. This way, youre not directing guests to your registry, but you are allowing them the opportunity to navigate there themselves. Your wedding website can also add more details that you might not be able to fit into your Save the Dates, including transportation and lodging suggestions, photos and more.
  • What to leave out: Including key information about your wedding date and location is essential to achieve the desired results with your Save the Dates. Including information about your wedding registry on your Save the Date, however, is still frowned upon by authorities in Save the Date etiquette. You can also save the reply cards for later. Save the Date etiquette does not include asking guests to reply back with a RSVP. Save the Dates are sent out to let guests know about the key details of your wedding, and you dont need to ask about their availability quite yet.

If you are working with a wedding planner to create the wedding of your dreams, this professional may offer guidance on when to send Save the Dates and wedding invitations. This can help you stay on the right side of wedding etiquette while planning yourwedding receptionand ceremony.

Save the Date Etiquette Wording Ideas and Examples. There are plenty of dos and donts to follow when it comes to Save the Date etiquette wording. This is one of the most important elements of your Save the Date etiquette, and there are quite a few ways to follow the “rules” while also staying true to yourself and your partner.

Sending wedding invites 6 months in advance
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Can you skip save the date and just send invites?

The other scenario is if you plan to have a very short engagement. Say your other half proposes in September and you want to get married in January. This is common when there are other life changes in the works, such as one future spouse facing military deployment, a baby on the way, or a desire to get married before tackling a big cross-country move. Or sometimes youre just so in love you cant imagine waiting!

If youre getting married in just a few months, skip the save the dates and just send out your wedding invitations. Youll likely have to secure a venue and vendors ASAP anyway, so press fast forward on your to-do list and condense your timeline as much as possible. You can also create a custom wedding website and include that URL on your invitations. That way, any changes that happen as you sprint toward your big day can be conveyed in real time thanks to the wonders of the internet.

A Few Other Quick Save the Date Tips. Before you run off to customize and order your save the dates, here are a few other expert tips to help you nail both the design and the process.

Most etiquette experts agree that including wedding registry information on your save the date is a no-no. After all, guests arent even officially invited yet, so its not the time to start hinting at gifts.

Is 3 months too early to send out wedding invitations?
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Is 3 months too early to send out wedding invitations?

Put simply, you want to give your guests as much notice as possible, especially if it takes them a while to RSVP. As such, its customary to send out your save the date around 6-12 months before the wedding and your invites at least three to four months before.

I understand that with so much to organise, time is of the essence. So to help you out, this guide will cover when you need to order your invites, when to send them out and if its possible to send them too early.

Stationery by Crimson Letters Photography Charlotte Wise. Save the dates are the first to consider. Before you send out your invites, its traditional to send out a save the date card. But again, it can be tricky to know the best time to send out your save the dates. Ideally, this should be as soon as youve secured the date with your venue, but at least 9-12 months before the date is advised.


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When To Send Save The Dates And Wedding Invitations
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Christina Kohler

As an enthusiastic wedding planner, my goal is to furnish couples with indelible recollections of their momentous occasion. After more than ten years of experience in the field, I ensure that each wedding I coordinate is unique and characterized by my meticulous attention to detail, creativity, and a personal touch. I delight in materializing aspirations, guaranteeing that every occasion is as singular and enchanted as the love narrative it commemorates. Together, we can transform your wedding day into an unforgettable occasion that you will always remember fondly.

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