When to Send Wedding Invitations: 8 Tips From Mindy Weiss

A wedding invitation provides guests with the necessary details for your special day. Often, the card will include the full names of the betrotheds’ parents as the event hosts. This formal invitation typically features an RSVP card for guests to reply with their attendance decision.
Wedding planners can assist with the invitation design; wedding stationery is often more elaborate and refined than regular mail, though design choices vary depending on the couple’s aesthetic and budget.

When designing your wedding invitation suite, consider the following information to include:

• Details: Wedding invites feature the wedding ceremony location, after-party venue, and bride and/or groom’s names.
• Rehearsal dinner invite: The invitation may include rehearsal dinner information for members of the wedding party and other intimate guests.
• Response card: The invitation should include a deadline for RSVPs. The response card may include meal options and space for guests to indicate any food allergies. Guests should respond at least four weeks before the wedding date to allow the couple time to adjust tables and invite other guests to fill slots.
• Wedding website: Make your wedding invitation wording precise and to the point. Only provide the top-line information. If you want, list a wedding website that features more details, such as wedding registry information, travel arrangements, and sometimes an electronic RSVP.

Couples send wedding invitations nearer to the actual wedding date. As a rule of thumb, a save the date goes out first, normally nine months to a year before the wedding date, so guests can hold the date on their calendars. Consider the following rules and exceptions:

• Destination wedding: A wedding invitation goes out about four to six months in advance if it is a destination wedding.
  
• Local wedding: Couples can send invitations six to nine weeks in advance for a wedding with primarily local guests. If the invite list includes international or out-of-town guests far away, couples might choose to inform them of the wedding plans before mailing the save the dates and invitations to allow for adequate planning.
• Quick Wedding: If a couple has a short wedding planning timeline, they can forgo a save-the-date and send a wedding invitation as soon as possible.

“When you’re thinking about when to send your invitation, timing is everything. It used to be traditionally six weeks was plenty of time. Now, we’re mailing invitations eight to ten weeks out because the mail is taking longer. You want to make sure that people have received their invitation in plenty of time to clear their calendar if they had plans, to make arrangements if they need to travel, and most of all, to look forward to your wonderful occasion.” — Mindy Weiss

Couples must send wedding invitations at the right time to adequately record RSVPs or response cards. Wedding invitations help determine the final headcount, seating arrangements, and more. You want to send your invitations at the right time to accommodate:

• Headcount: To best plan upcoming nuptials, you must give guests ample time to plan and receive a heads-up of how many guests to expect. Wedding venues typically charge by the head, so getting a final head count and guests’ RSVPs promptly helps the caterer, venue, and wedding planning team plan accordingly.
• Plus ones: After finalizing that guest list, couples may reach out to people on a secondary list or give people plus ones in case they have to meet a minimum. Some wedding venues enforce a minimum number of people.
• Seating chart: Last-minute RSVPs can affect the seating chart, so knowing the exact number of guests in advance can help in your wedding day planning.

When creating and sending wedding invites, consider the following tips from wedding planner Mindy Weiss:

1. 1. Address invitations properly. The wedding attire will dictate the addressing. For a black-tie event, be sure to write Mr. and/or Mrs. on the envelope “Don’t forget if they’re a doctor. They’ve worked hard for that title. Let’s not forget to be succinct on that and address it ‘Doctor and Mrs. or Doctors.’ There’s sometimes two doctors in the family.” Mindy says.
2. 2. Adjust the response card date. “If you have your B and C lists, I would do a later response card date on the response card,” Mindy says. “That way, they won’t think they were a second choice.”
3. 3. Consider other paper products. When ordering your invitation suite, consider if the company offers other products you may need for the wedding. “When you’re ordering your invitation suite, [consider] what else does that company offer? Do they offer cocktail napkins? Do they offer informals or thank-you notes? It’s a great idea to look and see what else you can order at the same time, especially for shipping costs,” Mindy says.
4. 4. Keep a copy of the invite suite. Set aside a copy of the invitation suite for the wedding day. “Remember, when you get those invitations, quickly put one in a baggie, wrap it in tissue, get all your paper products together and put it in a bag that you know you are taking to your wedding,” Mindy advises. “This is a great opportunity for your photographer to actually photograph all your printed material that you took so much time designing and sending to your guests.”
5. 5. Number your response cards. Mindy advises numbering your guest list and the back of your response cards. “We like to number the back of a response card…you will be shocked that several people forget to put their name on the response card,” she says.
6. 6. Order extra invitations. To be on the safe side, order extra invitations for additional guests. “Make sure you have at least fifteen extra invitations for people that you didn’t expect to come, for your Bs and Cs [lists],” Mindy advises. “Include that all in with your count.” Also, if you are working with a calligrapher, be sure to order extra envelopes to account for possible mistakes.
7. 7. Stamp your response card. Including a stamp on the response card will ease the RSVP process. “Don’t forget to stamp the response card,” Mindy says. “I have done that in my younger time. And this is a gift to them. You don’t want them to go to any hassle to come to your event.”
8. 8. Weigh your invitations. For adequate postage, be sure to weigh your invitations. “You may assume it takes one stamp, but you will be shocked that the weight, size, and depth…some invitations are very heavy, and they don’t bend,” Mindy says. “They charge you extra for that.”

Have a wedding to plan? Learn how to take on the process strategically. Discover Mindy Weiss’s approach to setting a budget, choosing a theme, and sending invitations when you sign up for the MasterClass Annual Membership.