What To Consider When Planning Your Wedding Invitations
It is customary for couples to wait until after the wedding to send out their wedding invitations. This is because most people plan to have their invitations sent out at least a month before the wedding so that the guests have the time to reply.
However, it may not be necessary to wait this long. You may be able to schedule your invitations ahead of time so that you don’t need to wait.
Here are some tips on when to send out your wedding invitations
Send out wedding invitations on the day of your big day. Some couples do decide to schedule formal phrasing to the date of the event but it usually isn’t necessary. When to send out formal wording depends on where you live. If you live in a state that does not practice no-fault divorces, you should avoid using formal phrasing on your wedding invitations.
In other words, when to send out wedding invitations to a large audience is up to you and your future spouse. If you have a hard time getting your spouse on board with no-fault divorces, just schedule your announcements a few months before your marriage.
Your wedding invitations will be arriving approximately two to three months in advance. If you are planning a destination wedding, try to determine your dates ahead of time so that you can order the invites six to nine months in advance.
The reason for this is that you want to be sure to include all of the appropriate information on your invitations such as exact times and days that the event will take place. This is an important part of setting your timeline and knowing your guests.
When you receive your wedding invitations, you will have at least three weeks to reply. If you are getting separate response cards, you will need to send a separate response card back to the envelopes you received.
Make sure that the return address label includes your names, addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses. You can also indicate whether you will be calling each guest or mailing them a reply card.
If you are planning a destination wedding, you will probably have some traveling to do in the next couple of weeks. In this case, you will want to make travel arrangements in advance, which will require you to order eight weeks in advance.
You should keep a timeline of when you will call guests so that you are prepared in case they want to come to change their minds. You will also want to arrange for a babysitter in the two weeks prior to the wedding so that you do not forget to invite your guests.
Two weeks before your wedding, you will need to gather your guest list and send wedding invitations. If you have set your timeline above, you will probably not need to mail invitations unless you receive any replies. If you do need to send invitations, the place you order them from will usually allow you to add a line at the bottom of the invitation stating “please respond via e-mail.” This way your guests will know exactly when to reply. You can also add another line for a separate envelope just in case the reply card is delayed.
You will find many places on the Internet where you can buy save-the-dates, invitations, or even make-up instructions for your wedding website. Some wedding websites offer free wedding invitations as part of a promotion for their wedding website, so it may be worth taking advantage of this offer.
You can usually get these wedding invitations by responding to an online form, adding a response card, and then entering in your address information. Some websites also allow you to save-the-date cards, so that you don’t need to worry about making travel arrangements.
You’ll also want to keep track of your wedding invitations in case something goes wrong with the printing of them. For example, if the address you enter is incorrect, you will need to go back to the printer in order to have the correct information updated.
Or if you make a mistake when entering information, you will need to reorder the cards. Keep in mind that your wedding planning timeline doesn’t have to be strict, but it should include all the basic elements.
