When to Send Wedding Invitations
Send wedding invitations six to eight weeks before the wedding and ask for replies three to four weeks before it. Send them 10 to 12 weeks out if you skipped save the dates, if most guests travel, or for a holiday weekend.
By Grace · Updated
Wedding invitation date calculator
- 8–12 months before the weddingCollect guest addresses
- 6–8 months before the weddingSend save the dates
- 6–8 weeks before the weddingSend wedding invitations
- A week before the RSVP deadlineRemind anyone who hasn’t replied
- 3–4 weeks before the weddingRSVP deadline
- Two days after the deadlineCall or text late repliers
- 2 weeks before the weddingGive the caterer your final count
Enter your wedding date to turn these into real dates.
The Wedding Invitation Timeline
Wedding mail runs for most of a year, and each piece sets up the next: the addresses feed the save the dates, and the replies feed the caterer.
- 8–12 monthsCollect addressesEverything else goes to this list. A free address collection link saves texting every aunt. Start it in a wedding guest list template.
- 6–8 monthsSave the datesJust the date and place. Digital save the dates can collect the addresses at the same time.
- 4–5 monthsOrder printed wedding invitationsPrinting, delivery, addressing and stamps take weeks. A digital invitation can be finished the week you send it.
- 6–8 weeksSend wedding invitationsThe full details and the reply card, with the date guests should answer by.
- 3–4 weeksRSVP deadlineWith a reminder a week before it, and a personal follow-up just after.
- 2 weeksFinal countHead count and meal choices to the caterer, then the seating chart.
How Far in Advance to Send Wedding Invitations
The usual timing assumes save the dates went out and most guests live nearby. These are the cases that change it.
With save the dates: 6 to 8 weeks
Guests already have the date, so the invitation only needs to arrive in time for them to reply. Eight weeks gives the most breathing room; six is the latest that still feels considerate.
Without save the dates: 10 to 12 weeks
The invitation is now the first guests hear of it, so it has to give the early notice too. Ten weeks is enough for a local guest list; give twelve if anyone travels.
Destination wedding: 10 to 12 weeks, or 3 to 4 months
Even when guests already have the date, they need the full details to book flights, rooms and time off: 10 to 12 weeks. With no save the date at all, make it three to four months, and earlier still if guests need passports or visas.
Some guests travel, most don’t
Send everyone’s wedding invitations at the travelers’ time, 10 to 12 weeks out. Local guests hearing early does no harm. Two mailings do: whoever is in the second batch hears about it from the first and wonders why they waited.
Near a holiday: 10 to 12 weeks
Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and the stretch from Christmas to New Year are when flights and hotels fill first, and when guests have other plans. The calculator spots them from your date.
A small or casual wedding: still 6 to 8 weeks
A backyard ceremony for forty still asks guests to keep a Saturday free. Casual changes the wording, not the notice.
When to Send Digital Wedding Invitations
On the same day you would mail a printed one: six to eight weeks out. What changes is everything before and after that day.
No print run to wait for
Printed wedding invitations are ordered four to five months ahead to leave time for proofs, printing, delivery, addressing and stamps, then spend days in the post. A digital invitation arrives the moment you send it, so you can leave it until the hotel block and the schedule are settled.
Arriving faster isn’t a reason to send later
Guests still need the same weeks to book travel, find a sitter and decide. Send on the usual date and enjoy the time you saved instead.
Watch who hasn’t opened it
A sent email is not a read one. Most digital invitations show you who has opened theirs. If someone hasn’t after a couple of days, it may be in spam, so text them their link.
Remind only the ones who haven’t replied
Remind just the households that haven’t answered, not everyone. The first reminder goes about a week before your deadline; a personal message to anyone still missing a couple of days after it usually settles the rest.
When Should RSVPs Be Due?
Three to four weeks before the wedding; five to six for a destination wedding.
Work back from your caterer. Most want a final count and meal choices about two weeks before the day, and the seating chart waits on the same list. A deadline three to four weeks out leaves a week to chase the households that forget, which every wedding has.
For a destination wedding, move it to five or six weeks. Hotel blocks release unbooked rooms and resort venues ask for numbers earlier than a local caterer would.
Put the date on the invitation in plain words: “Kindly reply by May 15”. Our guide to RSVP wording has the formal and printed versions.
When to Send Wedding Invitations by Wedding Month
| Wedding month | Send save the dates | Send invitations | Ask for replies by |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | May to July | mid-November to early December | mid- to late December |
| February | June to August | late December to early January | mid- to late January |
| March | July to September | mid-January to early February | mid- to late February |
| April | August to October | mid-February to early March | mid- to late March |
| May | September to November | mid-March to early April | mid- to late April |
| June | October to December | mid-April to early May | mid- to late May |
| July | November to January | mid-May to early June | mid- to late June |
| August | December to February | mid-June to early July | mid- to late July |
| September | January to March | late July to early August | mid- to late August |
| October | February to April | mid-August to early September | mid- to late September |
| November | March to May | mid-September to early October | mid- to late October |
| December | April to June | mid-October to early November | mid- to late November |
Invitations That Track Their Own Replies
Send your wedding invitations by text or email on the day the calculator gives you. Guests open a sealed envelope and reply in a tap, and you see who has opened, who is coming and who still needs a nudge. Your first 5 invitations are free.
When to Send Wedding Invitations FAQs
How far in advance should you send wedding invitations?
Six to eight weeks before the wedding, with replies due three to four weeks before. Send them 10 to 12 weeks ahead if you skipped save the dates, if most guests have to travel, or if the wedding is on a holiday weekend.
Is 3 months too early to send wedding invitations?
For a local wedding where save the dates already went out, it is on the early side: guests set the invitation aside and details can still change. It is the right time for a destination wedding, a holiday weekend or when there was no save the date. Much more than four months ahead of a local wedding is usually too early.
When should save the dates go out?
Six to eight months before the wedding, or nine to twelve months for a destination wedding. They only need the date and place; the invitation follows with everything else.
What if we are sending our wedding invitations late?
Send them now and give guests at least two weeks to reply. Then follow up personally with anyone who has not answered a few days after the deadline. A digital invitation arrives the same day, which wins back the week or two that printing and the post would take.