When to Send Save the Dates & Wedding Invitations: Your Complete Guide

Need to know when to send wedding invitations? Or stuck on how far in advance to send out save the dates? You’ve come to the right place. Our guide to invitation and save the date etiquette includes all you need to know to ensure your guests have ample time to RSVP.

Knowing when to send out your save the dates and wedding invitations isn’t an exact science – the most important thing is that you give your friends and family plenty of notice and therefore the best chance of them being able to join you for the big day.

If your wedding is fast approaching, browse places such as Etsy for pretty invitations you can just write and post, or opt for paper-saving e-invites instead. Enjoying a long engagement and a bountiful budget? Unleash your creative side and consider some gorgeous custom-made designs from a brilliant wedding stationer.

Your wedding invitations are also there to provide guests with vital information, such as the dress code, timings and details of nearby accommodation. It’s also an opportunity to provide the link to your wedding website, which you can continue to update and use to keep guests in the loop in the run-up to the big day.

Take what you need from our wedding stationery etiquette guide below, including how far in advance to send save the dates and what to include in your wedding invites, and get ready to open yourself up to a whole world of wedding invitation inspiration. Enjoy!

Your Ultimate Guide to Save the Date & Wedding Invitation Etiquette

• When Should You Send Save the Dates?
• How Far in Advance to Send Wedding Invites?
• Should You Send Save the Dates to Evening Guests?
• Do Wedding Invitations Need to be Sent By Post?
• UK Wedding Etiquette vs Destination Weddings
• How to Manage RSVPs For Wedding Invitations
• Your Wedding Stationery Timeline

When Should You Send Save the Dates?

Traditionally, save the dates are sent out six to 12 months in advance of the wedding day – the top end of this being preferable as it gives your guests the most amount of time to prepare and change their plans, if necessary. Once your wedding date and venue are confirmed, there’s no reason to delay sending out your save the dates.

Remember, you only need to give basic information on your save the date cards, such as the date and location. Leave the specifics for your wedding invitations.

Use wording that matches the tone and style of your wedding, too – whether that’s formal, traditional or something more relaxed. This is the very first glimpse your guests will get of your day! Some examples might include:

Traditional

Save the Date
Jack and David
are getting married!
6 May 2027
The Priory Church,
Bolton Abbey
Invitation to follow

Formal

Save the Date
For the marriage of
Victoria Jane Smith
And
Alan Paul Davies
6th May 2027
The Priory Church,
Bolton Abbey
Formal invitation to follow

Casual

She said ‘yes!’ 
Emily & Zak
06.05.2027
The Priory Church, Bolton Abbey
Invitation to follow

How Far in Advance to Send Wedding Invites?

When it comes to sending out your wedding invitations, protocol says around six to eight weeks prior to the wedding, but in most cases, guests will have to make travel and accommodation arrangements so 12 weeks is more realistic and preferred – especially if you chose not to send save the dates.

Should You Send Save the Dates to Evening Guests?

To avoid any confusion, it’s generally advised not to send save the dates to evening guests. Save the dates should be reserved for those attending the whole day only and so it could be misleading – the expectations of your evening guests may be that they need to keep the whole day free.

“Save the dates have a very specific purpose: to notify guests of the entire wedding day’s events and secure their presence,” confirms planner Nick Harris, founder of Just About Weddings. “For those attending only the evening reception, a separate – more concise – party invitation closer to the date outlining specific details of the reception is more appropriate.”

Of course, you also might choose to take a more laidback approach to inviting your evening guests with a simple phone call, text, email or digital invite specially mentioning the reception.

Timing-wise, aim to send these out around six to eight weeks before the big day to give everyone enough time to plan.

Similarly to your wedding invitations, having an RSVP option – even if it’s informal – will help with sorting any final arrangements, such as catering. Your evening guests will also need to know things such as the dress code, whether or not there is parking available and other information, so make sure this is all stated.

Do Wedding Invitations Need to be Sent By Post?

Many couples are now choosing the more eco- and budget-friendly alternative of e-invites or digital wedding invitations, but many will still send traditional paper invites by post, too.

If you want to keep things really traditional, etiquette dictates that all your invitations should be sent by post – whether to your far-flung friend or your next door neighbour, none should be delivered by hand!

Here are some helpful tips to know before you send off your invitations:

Work out how much they weigh

Put together one full invitation, including all the enclosures such as the menu and RSVP card, and take it to your post office to get sized and weighed so you know how much postage will be required for each invitation.

Can you avoid the sorting machine?

Not every post office will offer this, but it is worth asking when you send off your invitations if the post office can hand-cancel the invitations – which means adding a postal mark by hand over the stamp so it cannot be reused – instead of using the sorting machine, which has been known to damage stuffed envelopes and leave dirty marks on them.

If it can’t be done, don’t stress about this. No one will remember the envelope anyway!

Protect your wax seals

Wax seals are accepted by Royal Mail, however, there’s a chance they may get damaged en route to your recipients. If you’re sealing your invites with wax seals, we recommend slotting them inside another envelope before posting to protect them.

Could you reduce your postage costs?

With a large number of letters to go out, you might want to think of ways you can reduce your postage costs. One way is to use second-class stamps but be sure to factor in the extra time these may take to arrive.

You might also choose smaller or simpler designs that don’t need to be sent as large letters. Consider what ‘extras’ are actually required too – could your RSVPs be sent digitally rather than in the form of response cards, for example? Perhaps you could include all the FAQs on your wedding website instead of an information card.

UK Wedding Etiquette vs Destination Weddings

If you’re planning a wedding abroad – or have guests coming from all over the world – it’s recommended you send out your wedding invitations earlier than stated above. A minimum of four to six months, if possible, should be enough time for guests to request leave from work, secure accommodation and make the necessary travel arrangements.

“We always recommend sending invitations for destination weddings as early as possible – in fact, as soon as you have a confirmed date,’ explains Nick. “This gives guests ample time to plan their trip and decide whether they’ll be extending the trip to make it more of a holiday or just attend the wedding.”

Creating a wedding website is also hugely beneficial if you’re planning a destination wedding. Since weddings abroad can span multiple days alongside varying activities such as excursions, welcome dinners and morning-after brunches, you’ll need to communicate all these offerings to your guests.

“A wedding website allows for easy updates on all the event details and gives your guests the opportunity to RSVP to each one,” adds Nick. “This level of engagement and information sharing is challenging to manage with traditional paper invitations alone.”

How to Manage RSVPs For Wedding Invitations

We realise we may be repeating ourselves here, but a wedding website will be your best friend when it comes to managing RSVPs. Sending out wedding invites with a link to your website not only enables you to share the most up to date information with your guests but many sites will also manage your RSVPs and guest responses for you.

Otherwise, you could also give the Hitched Guest List Manager a go! This handy tool allows you to manage your guests' RSVPs worldwide, and any details such as dietary requirements. Simply upload your guest list, arrange it into groups and organise them by category to start shaping a seating plan, collect RSVPs and more.

The most important thing is that you set a deadline for your RSVPs – this should be around four to six weeks before the wedding day so you can get final numbers to your venue, caterers and any other vendors in plenty of time.

Your Wedding Stationery Timeline

If you’re stuck on when to send wedding invitations or save the dates – or organise any of your other wedding stationery for that matter – your stationery timeline should look something like this:

• 10-12 months before: Begin creating your free wedding website
• 8-10 months before: Finalise your guest list and their addresses, and send out save the dates
• 4-6 months before: Order your wedding invitations (particularly advisable for semi-custom designs)
• 2-3 months before: Send out your wedding invitations and begin thinking about your on-the-day stationery designs, including menus, table names and wedding guest book
• 6-7 weeks before: Order your order of service cards, place cards and seating plan, if applicable
• 1-2 months after: Send out thank-you cards

Confused about what to write in your wedding invitations? Be inspired by these wedding invitation wording examples.