Wedding invitations are the centrepiece of your wedding stationery. They will showcase your wedding theme and style to all your guests months before your actual wedding day.
In this article, I’ll guide you through everything you need to know about the wedding invitations for your special day.
I have spent lots of time researching all the little details about your invites. I have also asked an expert wedding planner what’s the top tip for a newly engaged couple.
So make sure to read the post in full to get all the good stuff!
Are you ready? Let’s dive in.
Save the dates
What are they?
Save the dates are a way for you to kindly ask your guest to circle your wedding date on their calendar.
Even though they are not strictly required, they are a nice way to get in touch with your guest and let them know about your plans.
Save the dates are also very helpful for your guests because it gives them enough time to organise travel and accommodation if needed.
Save the dates can be sent out to your wedding guests in printing or digitally.
What shall I include?
The basic info to include in your save the dates are:
- your and your partner’s name
- the guest or guests name
- date of the wedding
- location
- what’s happening next (save the dates are followed by a proper invite)
When shall I send them?
I would recommend sending the save the dates about 8 to 10 months before the wedding. This way you will give your guests plenty of time to get things organised.
Wedding Invitations
What are they?
Your wedding invitations represent the core of your wedding stationery.
This is a great way for you to show your creativity and the kind of style you have planned for your wedding. This will create lots of expectations for your guests!
What shall I include?
You can let your creativity run wild and include whatever you like. However, I would recommend keeping things simple so that your guest won’t get confused.
These are the basic info your invites should contain:
- Your and your partner’s name
- Date and time of the ceremony
- Location of the ceremony
- Type of reception
- Dress code
- Wedding website link (if you have one, of course)
- RSVP details
You can add as much extra info as you’d like. For example, you could include the directions to the venue, transport and accommodation info, and so on.
If you’d like to keep the style simple and clean, you can always update all the extra info on your wedding website.
This way you can keep your guests in the loop whilst keeping the style of your invitation clean and tidy.
When shall I send them?
After lengthy research and after speaking with a few people in the industry, it is advised you send your invites out 4 or 5 months before your wedding day.
RSVPs
What are they?
RSVP is a French initialism (“Répondez s’il vous plaît”) which means “respond if you please”.
They are typically a card that you will send along with your invitation where you ask your guests if they can make it or not to your wedding.
What shall I include?
It is normal etiquette to include a self-addressed stamped envelope. This way it will be very easy for your guests to get back to you and let you know if they can make it to your wedding.
They usually include the name of the guest or guests, dietary requirements, an option to accept or decline the invitation and a deadline to respond.
When shall I send them?
RSVPs are sent along with your main wedding invitations so 4 or 5 months before your wedding day.
International guests or destination wedding
You will need to give your guests more notice if you are organising a destination wedding, or if you require your guests to travel from overseas.
This is because they will need more time to organise child care, travel and accommodation.
So as a general rule, I would recommend adding 2 extra months on top of each deadline. Therefore, I would send the “save the dates” out 12 months before the wedding.
And I would make sure the wedding invitations and the RSVPs are sent out 7 to 8 months before the wedding.
What the expert says
When it comes down to organising a wedding, no one can give you better advice than a wedding planner.
I got in touch with the lovely Kristy from K&Co Events Perth asking her what would be her top tip for a newly engaged couple.
Kirsty recommends “work out your budget and guest list (roughly) before you start shopping for the wedding suppliers”
She also added, “And don’t rush.. there is no hurry! Take it at a pace you can handle, at the end of the day the only one who will be stressed is the couple, not the suppliers”.
And I agree with Kristy! Organising a wedding is part of the journey and you should take your time to enjoy the experience.
If you need any help organising your wedding guest list, check this article.
You can also download my Wedding Planner Workbook from the form below. It contains heaps of useful charts that will help you regain control of your wedding.
Wedding Invitations – Conclusion
So as you can see, your invites are an amazing way to display your personality and the style of the wedding. If you give yourself enough time, this will be a super creative task!
It takes little time to design your invites using design software like Canva. Or you could also order them from your local stationery shop or online.
As a general rule, I would recommend purchasing all your wedding stationery all at once and all from the same supplier.
Also, make sure the design is consistent across all your stationary.
What style of invitations would you prefer? Minimalist and clean, or colourful and funky?
Let me know in the comment below.
Ciao!
