How Far in Advance Should I Send Wedding Invitations?

by John Zaremba

Overview

Your wedding is one of the biggest days of your life, so it makes sense that you want the people most important to you to be there. Weddings require preparation from everyone involved, including guests. They must clear their calendars, decide what to wear, buy gifts and, if they're coming from far away, plan for their transportation. For these reasons, it's important to give them plenty of notice.
Standard Etiquette

Traditional wedding etiquette requires that you mail invitations six to eight weeks before the wedding date. This allows you to set the RSVP date three weeks before the wedding, and that should give you plenty of time to make a head count and seating chart. For your part, you need to allow time to agree on a guest list, find everyone's address, design the invitations, have them printed and prepared for mailing.

"Save the Date" Cards

A popular option is to send "save the date" cards before the actual invitations. This allows guests plenty of time to clear their calendars, find babysitters, arrange for transportation and take time off work if need be. Save the date cards are informal reminders that often feature a picture of the couple and the date of the ceremony. Many couples choose to make their Save the date cards in the form of refrigerator magnets so that the guests see the date frequently.
Informal Notification

Wedding invitations are a must--and save the date cards are very popular--but there are plenty of other ways to make sure people know (and are reminded of) your wedding date. Many couples set up a page on Theknot.com or Weddingpages.com, posting the necessary details and other information such as gift registry. This is often set up well in advance of the formal invitations.

Overview