Wondering when to send out your save the dates? How early should you be posting your wedding invitations? We guide you through the process to nail the timing for sending your wedding stationery.
When it comes to weddings, there is a lot of stationery involved. As if choosing and ordering your wedding stationery wasn't hard enough, figuring out when to send it all is almost enough to make you want to throw in the towel and elope! Between your Save The Dates and your RSVPs, it's easy to be confused and overwhelmed, that's why we thought we would put together this handy guide to answer your most pressing questions.
When Should We Send Our Save the Dates?
While Save The Dates aren't absolutely necessary, they can be a fun way to give your guests a heads up that they are invited to your wedding and inform them of your wedding date and location. They can be a creative way to show off those cute engagement snaps - check out our range of photo Save The Dates here - and are particularly useful if you're having a destination wedding.
We recommend sending your Save The Dates 6-8 months in advance of your wedding date. For destination weddings (or those which fall on a major holiday), we suggest pushing this out to 12 months in order to give your guests plenty of notice so that they can make travel arrangements and book accommodation. In order to receive your Save The Dates on time, we recommend ordering them about 1-2 months before you wish to send them out.
When Should We Send Our Wedding Invitations?
General wedding etiquette says to send out your wedding invitations 6-8 weeks before your wedding date. For destination weddings or if you have out of town guests, we recommend sending out your invitations 3-4 months in advance. This gives your guests plenty of time to clear their calendars and make travel arrangements. In order to receive your invites on time, we recommend ordering them about 3-4 months before you wish to send them out.
How Much Time Should We Give Guests to RSVP?
Getting your family and friends to RSVP can certainly be frustrating - you'll likely get a bunch of replies as soon as people receive their invitation, but still find yourself chasing responses close to the deadline. The trick is giving your guests enough time to respond, but not enough so that they forget completely. Confirming guest numbers is important so that you can finalize arrangements with your caterer.
We recommend giving your guests 4 weeks to RSVP. This allows plenty of time for people to figure out if they can indeed attend, as well as allow yourself time to chase up any stragglers.
When Should We Send Our Thank You Cards?
Sending out thank you cards is the polite way to express gratitude to your wedding guests, even if they didn't give you a physical gift. In order to make this task easier, start by collecting wedding guest addresses as soon as possible, preferably during the process of sending out your wedding invites. We suggest keeping a spreadsheet to keep track of guest names and addresses.
We recommend that thank you notes should be sent out no later than 3 months after your wedding.
Need Some Wedding Stationery Inspo?
Love Saturdays is a boutique studio based in Wellington, New Zealand. We specialise in beautiful Save The Dates and Wedding Invitations for the modern couple. Take a look at our range of Save The Dates and Semi-Custom Wedding Invitation Suites for some inspiration. Want some more info? Contact us today for a no-obligation free quote or to discuss your wedding stationery requirements.
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