Post # 1
Member
76 posts
Worker bee
Hi Bees! Our wedding isn’t technically a destination wedding, but about half of our guests will be coming from another country or the opposite coast. In this case, when should I send out the invitations (our wedding is July 2015)? Due to Fiance and I also living abroad, we’re getting the invitations made next month while we’re home, but a year before the wedding is too early right? I want to make sure that the international guests have enough time to prepare for the trip, but I’ve come across threads that say sending out invitations super early is also rude. Please advise!
Post # 2
Member
47427 posts
Honey Beekeeper
emi11: Have you considered Save The Dates? They let the people know about the wedding in plenty of time to make plans and save up for expenses if necessary.
Post # 3
Member
4045 posts
Honey bee
My husband’s side had to travel overseas for the wedding. We sent out save the dates in late spring 2013 for our January 2014 wedding. I would do save the dates 6 months or so ahead of time. That leaves enough time for flights to be bought, but you don’t have to worry about RSVPs getting forgotten about. Send out the invitations around the normal suggested mark.
Post # 4
Member
4113 posts
Honey bee
I second Save the Dates. Send those out as soon as you know a definite date and venue, then send out the actual invites 2 months out or so
Post # 5
Member
76 posts
Worker bee
julies1949: I’m honestly not sure what save the dates are for…if I can send out the invitations really early, do I still need them?
Post # 6
Member
76 posts
Worker bee
Glasgowbound: sorry to sound like a total idiot, but why can’t I just send the invites out 6 months ahead?
Post # 7
Member
1066 posts
Bumble bee
I am doing something similar, and we just sent out the invites 5-6 months in advance (on top of communicating with lots of people verbally before that point to confirm our plans and see if they were available on the date). It’s useful to have some approximate idea of attendance a few months out. Seems to have worked out fine for us.
Post # 8
Member
1219 posts
Bumble bee
emi11: DH and I were living abroad while organising our wedding and most of our guests were international. We sent Save the Dates in Jan for our August wedding, though most of the guests already knew when it was. The advantage of STDs over early invitations is that you might not necessarily know the exact timing of your day, or you might not have decided on food options (if you’re putting this in an RSVP card) The STD lets people know the date so they can organise travel etc and the invitation is more specific closer to the event.
Post # 9
Member
76 posts
Worker bee
LaPetiote: ah that makes much more sense. We’re pretty much confirming everything next month though, so I think sending the invitations out would make more sense for us. If not, save the dates it is! Ugh how did you manage to organize abroad? I’m having to cram everything into the one month while we’re home because we want to be able to see everything in person.
Post # 10
Member
76 posts
Worker bee
Penang1885: my practical Chinese side of the family thinks that since everyone will know when our wedding is, whats the point of invitations? Lol
Post # 11
Member
1066 posts
Bumble bee
emi11: Hahaha – they may say that, but despite actually sending out invitations AND confirming by email AND confirming in person, we still had at least 3 people think it was a different date and almost book flights that left before or during our wedding. Including my own father! So I think everything you can do to hammer the date into their heads is a good thing.
You can also just use e-invites like paperless post. They still look pretty cute and make it easy to RSVP and keep track of guests, but either cost nothing or very little.
Post # 12
Member
1219 posts
Bumble bee
emi11: The wedding was in the UK in my home town and we were living in Paris. We had a 2 week holiday the August before where we got a venue, photographer and dress. We were able to go back for a few weekends and for Christmas to do more stuff. All invitations etc were handmade by us online and my parents and sister were an enormous help making appointments and stuff. It was also a pretty small wedding – only 40 guests out of 60 invited.
Post # 13
Member
488 posts
Helper bee
If you don’t want save the dates send them now. I would prefer a year to book time off and save money. Some people (in hospitals for example) may need a year to book holidays, especially at busy periods