When to Send Wedding Invitations

The short answer is six to eight weeks before the wedding day. The longer answer depends on how far your guests are travelling, whether you have already sent a save-the-date, and how much notice your caterer needs for final numbers. Once the timing is settled, what goes on the card and how to word it are the next two decisions.

The standard timeline

Most couples work backwards from the wedding date in four steps.

1. Six to twelve months before: send save-the-dates, but only if you have a firm date and venue. A save-the-date you later change is worse than none at all.
2. Eight weeks before: post the invitations. This is the sweet spot - close enough that guests still have the date in their heads, far enough that they can book leave or travel.
3. Three weeks before: set your RSVP deadline. Not two, and not one - you will spend the last fortnight chasing the guests who have not replied.
4. One week before: confirm final numbers with the caterer and the venue, using the replies you actually received rather than the ones you expect.

When to send them earlier

Push the invitation date out to three months if any of the following apply:

• A significant number of guests are flying in, especially internationally, where visa appointments and fares reward early booking.
• The wedding falls in a peak season - December, or a public holiday weekend - when hotels near the venue sell out.
• You are hosting over several days, so guests need to book more than one night off work.

When it is fine to send them later

A small wedding of thirty local guests does not need eight weeks. Four is comfortable, and three is workable if you follow up by phone. Short notice is only a real problem when guests need to travel or arrange childcare, so judge it by your actual list rather than by the rule.

Set the RSVP deadline before your catering deadline

Ask your venue when they need final numbers, then set the RSVP date at least a week earlier. That gap is not padding - it is the time you will spend contacting the guests who did not reply, which is a normal part of every wedding, not a sign that anything went wrong.

A note on printing time

If you are printing at a local press rather than at home, add ten days to everything above. Proofs come back with mistakes more often than not, and a reprint costs another few days. Printing at home from a PDF removes that risk entirely, which is the main practical argument for it.