How Far in Advance Should You Order Wedding Invitations?

by | Advice, General

When should I order my Wedding Invitations?

One of the most frequent questions I’m asked is “when should I be ordering my wedding invitations?” .. or “when should I post out my wedding invitations?”  I have googled for a straight answer but there are so many different opinions out there it’s hard to have a precise answer.

You don’t want to send them out so early that your guests forget or misplace them but then again you don’t want to send them out so late that people have made other plans and can’t attend.  There is definitely a fine balance in getting the timing right.

Keep it simple …

I try my best to keep things simple so how I usually tackle the question is by asking you to work backwards from your wedding date:

  • When do other suppliers require their final numbers by? (for example your venue and caterers).
  • Set your RSVP deadline on your invitations to around 1 month before these deadlines.
  • Plan to send your invites out around 4-6 weeks before the RSVP deadline date.
  • Order turnaround is around 4 weeks.

An example:

  • Wedding Date: 31st July
  • Final Numbers needed: 30th June
  • RSVP deadline: 31st May
  • Send your invites:15th April
  • Order your invites: 1st March

What is your Order Turnaround time?

In the above example I have allowed 6 weeks from your order date to the date you send them.  This is to allow plenty of time to choose your design, order a sample, finalise the colours, approve the wording and confirm your guest list/final numbers to me.

I will then prepare an order form and invoice for your 50% deposit.  Upon receipt of your deposit I will then order the stock to make your order which can sometimes take a few days.  The printing and production process will then take around 10 days.  So, taking all of this into account, without rushing, you should allow around 6 weeks in total from sample request to receipt of your complete order.

Sometimes orders can be turned around quicker.  However, this all depends on how quick the design and wording can be finalised and approved.  No guarantees can be made until the stock is with me.  Save the dates, for example, are a lot quicker to do because there’s a lot less wording and they’re usually more simple to print and make.

Anyway, if you have any questions or concerns about turnaround times then please contact me.

When is your Wedding Date

Whether you’re planning a wedding in the middle of August or over Christmas the same guidelines and dates will apply.  Please see below a quick reference guide to help you with your timings.  Simply select the month of your wedding to see my advice on timings:

 

January
You would need to consider ordering your invitations early September, for delivery to you in October.  Then set your RSVP deadline for November allowing you time to chase guests in December.
February
You would need to consider ordering your invitations early October, for delivery to you in November.  Then set your RSVP deadline for December allowing you time to chase guests in January.
March
You would need to consider ordering your invitations early November, for delivery to you in December.  Then set your RSVP deadline for January allowing you time to chase guests in February.
April
You would need to consider ordering your invitations early December, for delivery to you in January.  Then set your RSVP deadline for February allowing you time to chase guests in March.
May
You would need to consider ordering your invitations early January, for delivery to you in February.  Then set your RSVP deadline for March allowing you time to chase guests in April.
June
You would need to consider ordering your invitations early February, for delivery to you in March.  Then set your RSVP deadline for April allowing you time to chase guests in May.
July
You would need to consider ordering your invitations early March, for delivery to you in April.  Then set your RSVP deadline for May allowing you time to chase guests in June.
August
You would need to consider ordering your invitations early April, for delivery to you in May.  Then set your RSVP deadline for June allowing you time to chase guests in July.
September
You would need to consider ordering your invitations early May, for delivery to you in June.  Then set your RSVP deadline for July allowing you time to chase guests in August.
October
You would need to consider ordering your invitations early June, for delivery to you in July.  Then set your RSVP deadline for August allowing you time to chase guests in September.
November
You would need to consider ordering your invitations early July, for delivery to you in August.  Then set your RSVP deadline for September allowing you time to chase guests in October.
December
You would need to consider ordering your invitations early August, for delivery to you in September.  Then set your RSVP deadline for October allowing you time to chase guests in November.
I do hope you have found this article about When should you order your Wedding Invitations useful and interesting.  If you are planning your wedding and need help with scheduling and deadlines then let us know.  We have helped many people out with this and we are sure we can help.

If you need any further assistance or advice then please feel free to drop me a line.