Wedding Tips

Your ultimate guide to wedding invitations and save the dates

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Here’s your all-in-one guide to sending wedding invitations and save the dates!

Your wedding invitation is a crucial part of your wedding planning process! We break down answers to all of your save the date and invitation questions in this blog post.

When should I send the invitations, and what do I need to include on those? How do I handle missing RSVPs? Plus, what type of invitations make for the best detail photos on your wedding day!

Save the Dates

Save the dates are the “pre-invitation” cards that get sent out to do exactly as they say – save your wedding date!

It allows your wedding guests to clear off their calendars, save money if they have to travel, and start making arrangements. It also serves as a physical reminder of your wedding date, so they don’t book other events in the meantime!

When to send your Save the Dates

  • 6-8 months before your wedding if it’s local
  • 9-12 months before your wedding if it’s a destination wedding, or if a lot of your guests have to travel

The biggest question we get about Save the Dates is when to send them. First of all, no one can really tell you what is right or wrong for your wedding. Especially with Save the Dates. Just because there’s a suggested timeline, doesn’t mean you have to follow it.

Generally, the suggested time to send save the dates is about 6-8 months before your wedding. But we have had some of our couples send them closer to 9-10 months out, which I think is completely fine.

If you send them out before that, you might run a higher risk of people losing track of the save the date. If it feels so far away, they might think “i’ll get to it later.” Whether it’s putting it on the fridge or in their calendar. And then, you know how that goes. 

If you are having a destination wedding, or you know a lot of your guests will be traveling to your wedding, 9-12 months is more standard to give them some time to plan. If your wedding is on a holiday weekend, you might also consider this 9-12 month timeline since those dates tend to book up sooner in peoples’ calendars. 

Show off your personality!

I think Save the Dates are a lot of fun because you can use them to show off your personality a bit more. Of course you can do that with your invitations, but generally the save the dates are less formal. A LOT of our couples choose to use their engagement photos on their save the dates. You could also opt for a fun design or doodle (maybe even something you doodle yourself?). Or try out a color scheme and style that you are considering using for your wedding, but aren’t ready to commit to yet.

What to include on your Save the Dates:

Definitely include YOUR DATE! I have heard of some funny (maybe not so funny to the couple at the time) stories where someone forgets to include the date, or the location of the wedding. Although we would probably agree that the date is most important.

At a minimum, you’ll want to include:

  • Your names
  • Your wedding date
  • The location of your wedding (just city and state is fine)
  • The words “Save the Date” (or something similar), so it’s clear what this is!

If you have a wedding website, you could include that as well, so your extra enthusiastic guests can catch updates on there.

Sometimes people include a line that says “formal invitation to follow.” Although I don’t think that is a requirement, as most people assume there will be an invitation to follow. But you can include it if you’re worried about your less-experienced wedding guests thinking it is the invitation.

How to address your Save the Dates

Now, this may seem like an obvious point, but if someone receives a Save the Date from you, they will be expecting an invitation. So make sure you are absolutely sure you want to invite them before you send them a save the date.

To hopefully clear up some confusion early on, I would include exactly who is invited on the envelope of the save the date. Address it with the names of those invited. Don’t say “Smith Family” if you intend to only invite the parents, and not the kids. Then, you’ll of course do this again on your invitations.

Best kinds of Save the Date cards

Your most common Save the Date is postcard-like. One card on thick paper – sometimes double sided, sometimes not. I personally love magnet Save the Dates because they are super easy for me to throw on my fridge (I love putting our own couples’ save the dates on the fridge – especially because they usually use their engagement photos!). Of course, those will be more expensive to buy and possibly to mail than a regular card.

The e-invite is becoming a little more popular, but I will always encourage hard copy save the dates and invites. There’s just a little too much that can go wrong with an email (or confusion that will inevitably ensue with some guests). If you want people to actually remember your date, a hard copy is best.

If you do go the electronic route, I would include something as unique as a calendar invite if you can, so at least it’s an easy click for guests to add it to their calendar.

Remember – the simpler you can make it for your guests, the better. This reminds me a lot of what I learn in marketing when working on my businesses. People need to be told exactly what to do and how to do it (and sometimes when), so the easier the better. It’s called a call to action. Think of making a clear and easy call to action for your guests. 

For more save-the-date inspiration, check out this YouTube video!

When to send out Wedding Invitations

  • It is recommended that you send out your formal invitations 6-8 weeks before your wedding. If you are having a destination wedding, 3 months out is the recommended time.

Make your RSVP deadline no later than 1 month before your wedding. You’ll need plenty of time to get your final guest count to your vendors, especially your caterer and venue. Of course, pay attention to those deadlines before you set your RSVP date.

Unfortunately, you’ll probably need a little wiggle room to chase down those who struggle to RSVP on time. Give yourself enough time to do that so it doesn’t cause you extra stress (or better yet, delegate that task to an organized wedding party member or family member.)

What to include on your Wedding Invitations:

  • Your names
  • Your wedding date
  • The starting time of your ceremony
  • Your wedding venue and address
  • A link to your wedding website (if you have one)
  • Your registry options
  • Accommodations and the name for room blocks if you have them
  • If your ceremony and reception are at the same venue, you could just say “reception to follow” or “cocktail hour and reception to follow”
  • If your ceremony and reception are at separate venues, you might want to include the start time for the cocktail hour, and of course include the addresses of both venues
  • If your guests have to make food choices, you’ll want to include that on their RSVP cards as well
  • If you are having a kid-free wedding, many couples opt to include a line about that on their invite. You might be shocked at how many times we’ve heard of guests just showing up with their kids, even though it was fairly obvious on the invitation that they weren’t invited. 

And remember, include the names of the exact people you are inviting on the envelope of the invitation. For example, “Bob and Sally Smith.” Or “Bob, Sally and Lisa Smith” if their daughter Lisa is invited. It is pretty customary to include a guest with a single person. In that case, you would write “Bob Smith and Guest.”

If you do have a wedding website, you can include more information on your website, and less on your actual invitations. You can include registry options, accommodations, a day-of schedule, extra addresses and locations, etc. You can then remove those things from your invitation and just include a line that says “for more information, visit our wedding website: ___.com.”

Wedding Invitations Pro Tip

Number your RSVP cards. On the back of your RSVP card, put the number in small writing in the corner. On your guest list spreadsheet (or handwritten list), assign each guest a number. Then put that number on their particular RSVP card. It’s a little extra work, but again, another surprising detail – a LOT of people fail to put their NAMES on their RSVP cards. Kind of crazy, but it happens. With your number system, you won’t have to figure out who sent it. 

One card, or an invitation suite?

If you are trying to fit all of this information on one card, you’re probably better off including a link to a wedding website, where you can include more detail without making the card too crowded.

If you want my advice on what makes your wedding look a little more formal and high end, and what looks BEST for photos and leveling up your details – it’s always going to be a multi-piece invitation suite.

These are one of my favorite things to photograph because you can include so many other little details from the day – like flowers, rings, jewelry, ribbon, etc. – in a gorgeous flat lay. The pieces bring out your wedding colors and style, and look beautiful together. It also allows you to include more information, without relying on your guests going to your wedding website.

Do you have more questions about wedding invitations and save the dates? Leave a comment below or contact me here! I love connecting with wedding couples!

Did you know you can order a free sample of wedding invitations and save the dates from Minted? It’s a great way to get a feel for the type of paper, colors and style you like best!

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