When to send save the dates and wedding invitations

The wedding invitation timeline at a glance

These are the ranges most wedding planners in Australia, the UK and the US work to. Go earlier rather than later when guests need to travel, book leave, or find accommodation in a busy month.

When should save the dates go out?

Six to eight months before the wedding suits most local weddings, and up to a year is common. For a destination wedding, a long weekend, or a date in school holidays, send them 8 to 12 months ahead: guests need time to book flights, leave and somewhere to stay.

Send them only once your date and venue are booked and your guest list is settled. Everyone who gets a save the date must get an invitation, so don’t include anyone you aren’t sure about.

What a save the date needs to say

• Your names.
• The date.
• The town or city (the venue can wait, if it isn’t confirmed).
• “Formal invitation to follow” or “Invitation to follow”.
• Your wedding website, if you have one, for travel and accommodation.

There’s more on wording, and who should get one, in Save the dates: what to say, who gets one, and examples.

When should wedding invitations be sent?

Send invitations 8 to 12 weeks before the wedding. In the US, 6 to 8 weeks is the traditional minimum; in Australia and the UK, two to three months is more usual. For a destination wedding, send them 3 to 4 months before, even if everyone already has a save the date.

Work backwards from your caterer’s deadline. If final numbers are due two weeks before the wedding, a reply-by date four weeks out gives you two weeks to chase late replies and finish the seating plan.

What reply-by date should we put on the invitation?

Ask for replies 3 to 4 weeks before the wedding (6 to 8 weeks for a destination wedding). That leaves time for reminders, a second round of invitations if places open up, and the final numbers your venue needs.

1. Find your caterer’s and venue’s final-numbers date in your contracts.
2. Add one to two weeks for chasing late replies.
3. That’s your reply-by date. Print or show it clearly on the invitation.

A month-by-month checklist for your invitations

Here’s the whole job, counted back from the wedding. Move each step earlier for a destination wedding or a date in a busy season.

1. 12 to 9 months before: settle the guest list, the date and the venue, and decide who’s invited to the ceremony, the reception, or both.
2. 9 to 6 months before: send save the dates. Collect postal addresses, mobile numbers and emails as replies come in.
3. 4 to 3 months before: choose your invitation and its wording, and confirm the details: times, venue, dress code, children, gifts.
4. 3 months to 8 weeks before: send the wedding invitations, with a reply-by date 3 to 4 weeks before the day.
5. 6 to 4 weeks before: send invitations to the shower or kitchen tea, and to the hens and bucks nights if they haven’t gone out.
6. A week before the reply-by date: send a gentle reminder to anyone who hasn’t replied.
7. The reply-by date: call or message anyone still quiet. Then give your caterer and venue their numbers, dietary requirements included.

Does the timing change for a destination wedding or a holiday weekend?

Yes: add two to four months to every step. Guests travelling overseas need passports checked, leave approved and flights booked, and prices rise the longer they wait.

• Destination wedding: save the dates 8 to 12 months before, invitations 3 to 4 months before, replies due 6 to 8 weeks before.
• Long weekends and school holidays: save the dates at the earlier end (9 to 12 months), because guests plan their own trips early.
• December and peak wedding season: invitations at least 3 months before, since weekends fill fast.
• Interstate guests: treat them like a destination wedding for timing, even if the wedding is local for you.

What if guests don’t reply in time?

Some won’t. Plan for it rather than worrying about it. A friendly reminder a week before the reply-by date catches most people; after the date, a personal message or call to anyone still quiet catches the rest.

Keep it warm and short. Most late replies are forgotten, not declined, and a reminder with the link to reply in it gets an answer far faster than one that asks them to find the original invitation.

When do the other wedding events get their invitations?

Each event has its own lead time. Showers, kitchen teas and engagement parties need 4 to 6 weeks; hens and bucks nights 6 to 8 weeks, or a few months if there’s travel. A welcome party or rehearsal dinner can go out with the wedding invitation, so guests can plan the whole weekend at once.

Cultural celebrations follow their own customs: a Chinese wedding’s Guo Da Li and tea ceremony, or a henna night, Nikah or Walima, often have family who need to know earlier than the wider guest list. See Chinese wedding invitations and Henna night, Nikah and Walima invitations.

Keeping the timeline with Wonderful Invites

With Wonderful Invites, your save the date, your wedding invitation and your bridal shower are all included in one price, and each one is sent on its own when its time comes. Each guest has their own link, so a reminder goes only to the people who haven’t replied, and you see every answer the moment it arrives.

The reply-by date sits on the invitation, and if a detail changes between the save the date and the day, you change it once and everyone sees the latest version.

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