Wondering When to Send Wedding Invitations? Keep Scrolling

Most of the decisions you make while wedding planning are completely up to you—there's no set rule for which flowers or color palette to choose. That said, there are a few tasks that have guidelines, including when to send wedding invitations. Sending out your invites after selecting a stationery design you love is one of the most exciting steps in your planning process. As guests get their mail and the RSVPs flow in, expect your celebration to start feeling very real. Now, you're likely wondering how far in advance to send wedding invitations, right? Find out below. (P.S. If you're still in search of the perfect wedding stationery, visit The Knot Invitations for hundreds of customizable designs. And YES, they all have matching wedding websites.

In this article: When to Mail | When to Order | Why It Matters

When to Send Wedding Invitations

Design: Tiana Crispino

When to mail wedding invitations: six to eight weeks before the wedding.

Why it works: This wedding invite timeline gives guests lots of time to clear their schedules, and also means that you can set your RSVP due date in line with proper wedding invitation etiquette. If you announce your wedding too early, like over 12 weeks, you risk folks not knowing their final schedules and having to change their RSVP status at the last minute. The six-to-eight-week sweet spot will allow you to get a final head count, invite B-list wedding guests if needed and complete your seating charts before the week-of-the-wedding crunch.

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• Paper RSVPs: Stick closer to the eight-week mark to build in time for the cards to make their way back to you in the mail.
• Digital RSVPs: You can get away with mailing wedding invites closer to six weeks if you opt for wedding invitations with QR codes leading to your wedding website or another means to facilitate digital RSVPs.

When to Send Wedding Invitations By Wedding Month

How far in advance to send wedding invitations stays pretty standard throughout the year, though there are some months (like those during prime wedding season) where it's best to stick to the earlier side of the typical timeline of when to send wedding invites. Keep in mind: Where your wedding falls within the month will, of course, influence when to pop your bids in the mail. See a breakdown here:

When to Send Wedding Invitations Without Save-the-Dates

If you aren't sending save-the-dates, send wedding invitations six months in advance if you're abiding by the standard engagement length of 14 months (according to The Knot Real Weddings Study). When do you mail out wedding invitations if you're adding another ring to your stack in just a few months? Couples with shorter engagements should send wedding invitations three months before the celebration to give guests a timely heads-up.

Why it works: In this case, the difference between save-the-dates versus wedding invitations is null and void. Your wedding invite does the work of both pieces of stationery and the truncated timeline allows this to work, so no need to worry about when to send save-the-dates.

When to Send Wedding Invitations to Out-of-Town Guests

If you're mailing wedding invitations to out-of-town or out-of-state guests, send them around eight weeks before the RSVP deadline. Though, we do advise that you mail all of your invites at the same time, regardless of how many guests live out of town.

Why it works: Eight weeks before the wedding is still typical timing when it comes to how far out to send wedding invites, so it makes sense to keep things simple and send them all at once.

When to Send Wedding Invitations to Overseas Guests

Sending invites to guests outside the US is a wedding invitation timeline exception: mail them around nine to 10 weeks in advance. (Though, Diane Gottsman, a nationally renowned etiquette expert and the owner of The Protocol School of Texas, says you can go up to a year in advance.)

Why it works: An extra week or two will allow for the extended shipping and delivery time needed to get those invites safely into your overseas loved ones' hands. How early to send wedding invites is calculated to account for the right amount of RSVP time. Give international guests the option to RSVP digitally via our free online RSVP tool so you're not waiting for their responses to travel through the mail. You can also use The Knot Guest List to easily gather addresses for all invitees, near and far.

When to Send Wedding Invitations for a Destination Wedding

Send invitations for a destination wedding eight weeks ahead of time. Your guests will already know they need to book flights thanks to your save-the-dates, but it's still polite to give them a little extra confirmation cushion in the timeline.

Why it works: Eight weeks still falls within the general span of when to send wedding invitations, but invitees will appreciate having a little extra time to plan and have more time to sit and process the pertinent details of your celebration abroad.

When to Send Digital Wedding Invitations

If you're going paperless, you should still keep with the traditional six-to-eight-week wedding invitation timeline.

Why it works: While digital wedding invitations do get to your guests faster, an invite to your nuptials is still a formal bid and a big commitment, so you should give potential attendees ample time to RSVP.

When to Send Wedding Invitations Near a Holiday

If you're set to wed during a popular holiday, shoot to mail wedding invitations eight weeks ahead of time at the two-month sweet spot. Though, you can inch closer to three months if you think your crowd would prefer a bigger buffer.

Why it works: "When it's around a major holiday, like Christmas, I suggest more time because people need to plan in advance," says Gottsman.

When to Order Invitations for a Wedding

For pre-designed online wedding invitations, the best time to order wedding invitations is around 12–14 weeks ahead of your wedding to account for shipping delays or reprints. You must have them in your hands, ready to be slid into envelopes adorned with the super-cute wedding stamps you found, well ahead of the mailing deadline. Regardless of whether you're going the designer route or online-ordering path, aim to have your invitations with you and ready to mail at least 10 weeks before the wedding, no matter your decision on where to buy wedding invitations.

If you're using a professional stationery designer, their thoughtful design process begins and ends months in advance. If you're opting to order invitations online and are cutting it close, the speedy turnaround of The Knot Invitations can help you get back on track. You can choose a design, personalize it (using our free design assistance or not) and order it within a day. The printing process takes just four business days, then the stationery is on its way to you. You can also save hours of contacting invitees for their address info with The Knot Guest List.

Why the Wedding Invitation Timeline Is Important

Knowing the answer to the, "How far in advance do you send wedding invitations?" question is a lot more important than you might think. "Everyone has busy calendars and it's important to get the invitation out at the right time so the date will be secure," says Gottsman. "People make plans weeks and months in advance."

If you mail your bids too late, you run the risk of not giving your loved ones enough notice to take time off work, book accommodations or make travel arrangements. Sending your invites out too early might mean that your wedding isn't at the top of guests' minds as the day draws closer. You want to hit that sweet spot in between, giving everyone plenty of time to make plans but not enough time to lose track of that all-important date. Also important: giving them enough time to let you know if they're attending, whether it's by mail-in RSVP or online RSVP. Creating a wedding website can help you easily collect and track RSVPs too, so it's easy to get that final headcount and send thank-you notes when the time comes.

When Is It Too Late to Send Wedding Invitations?

Any time after six weeks is, by etiquette and practicality standards, too late to send wedding invitations. If you do find yourself in a bind and are beyond the polite time frame of when wedding invitations go out, we suggest opting for digital RSVPs and skipping the traditional cards in regard to what to include in your wedding invitation suite to shorten your turnaround time. But truly, do all you can to avoid sending invitations late and stay mindful of how long you can wait to send invites before your wedding.