When should I start sending out my invitations?
Never assume that invitations and stationery are quick and easy to organize. Much less assume that invitation design / layout and printing can be completed within a day.
Through our years of experience, we have encountered wedding couples who leave their invitation design and printing right to the very last, cutting it too close to the wedding date. This not only adds more stress to the already stressful preparations of the wedding, but also deprives them from getting the wedding invitation they really want!
First and foremost, you will need to decide if you would prefer custom-designed wedding invitations or invitations you can pick off a collection, modified to fit your requirements.
Once you have worked that out, it is now time to work backwards the time you really have for the preparation of your invitations.
When to mail your invitations
As a general guide, you should aim to mail your wedding invitations at least 4-6 weeks before the wedding date for local weddings and at least 8-10 weeks if you are expecting overseas guests, having your wedding over a long weekend or having a destination wedding. Indicate that you would like a response at least 3 weeks before the wedding date.
So if your local wedding date is 1st of October, mail your invitations by 15th of August and ask that they respond by 7th of September. This will give guests time to receive their invitations and respond. And this in turn will give you time to firm up the number of tables, catering plans, seating arrangements, etc.
When to design and print your invitations
Once you have worked out the mail-out date, be sure to prepare and order the invites approximately 8 weeks before they are scheduled to be mailed (Especially if they are to be custom-designed). So if you plan on mailing your wedding invitations around the 15th of August, aim to order them by June 15th. Afterall, there is no harm having the wedding invitations ready a couple of days or weeks earlier than the planned mail- out date.
If you have opted to pick off a current collection, with small modifications, you should aim to place your order no less than 4 weeks prior to the mail-out date. While this option is relatively quicker than a custom design option, you will still need to factor in some time for any adaptations like colour or font changes, map additions etc
When to commence printing your wedding invitations
Sometimes, clients will plan their design really early, but request to commence printing only slightly later when the guest list has been firmed up. Printing and production timelines depend very much on the complexity of the design and your designer would be the best person to advise this. In general, it would be wise to allocate a minimum of 2 weeks for the printing of your invitation cards.
