WHEN TO SEND YOUR INVITES

There can be a lot of confusing, conflicting information out there about when to send your wedding invitations. Here's Bespoke Invites' tips about when to send your save the dates and wedding invitations and what information to include...
Save the Dates
Save the date cards serve as a little pre-invitation calendar request for your guests, telling them they are invited and to put the date in their diary. They are just a nice way of telling your guests to keep the date free when you know your date and probably your venue but haven't got all the details worked out yet.



When do I send my save the dates?
You need to send your save the dates out around 6-8 months before your wedding. Certainly don't leave it any later than 6 months because this allows your guests plenty of time to make any arrangements such as taking time off work, accommodation or arranging a child minder if your wedding is going to be adult only. Your guests will appreciate having the knowledge in advance!
What if my wedding is abroad?
If you are getting married in an overseas destination or you know you have a lot of guests who will have to travel a long way to get your wedding, you should aim to send your save the dates out 8-10 months before your wedding date. Your guests have a lot of co-coordinating to do for your wedding abroad - you need to allow people time to arrange flights and save money if they need to, check their passport is up to date or order another if required, arrange time off work and child care if needed if your overseas wedding is a few days long!
What if my wedding is around Christmas, Easter or a bank holiday?
People often make arrangements in advance to go away or visit family around public holidays and also during the summer school holidays, so if your wedding date is close to Christmas time in particular, we would recommend you send your save the dates out around 10 months in advance. This helps to avoid disappointment about any guests who cannot make your wedding date and lets people rearrange plans so they can be a part of your special day!
I have booked my venue but my wedding is a couple of years away?
We know you're excited and want to tell everyone about your big day and to put it in their diary, but if you send out your save the dates too far in advance, they are just going to be forgotten and misplaced. By all means tell your close friends and family when you know your date for sure, but try to stick to the time frames we have already mentioned for sending out your formal save the date cards.

Do I send save the dates to people who are only coming to the evening?
This can be a tricky one. You're not asking evening guests to save the whole day for your wedding; just the evening and so by sending guests who you only want to attend in the evening a save the date card, they might assume they are invited to the whole day. This can be a little awkward so we would recommend you just don't send save the dates to evening guests and wait until nearer the time to send them separate evening invitations with details about the reception.
Do I mention plus one's on my save the dates?
Absolutely! This can be another awkward situation when people don't know if they are allowed to bring a plus one and don't want to ask, or worse still they bring a plus one you weren't expecting and haven't catered for! We think it is best that you make clear on your save the dates exactly who is invited to your big day. This also allows people time to find a date for your wedding too ;)
What information do I need to include on my save the dates?
Keep your save the dates short and sweet! You don't even need to mention the venue at this point even if you have booked it. The clue is in the name really! All you need to include is:
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Your name and your partner's name - you need to let your guests know who the save the date is from!
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Who you are inviting - whether it is just them or a plus one if not everyone is going to have a plus one
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Your wedding date - this is a kind of obvious one...
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Formal invitation to follow - this just lets your guests know that you're going to give them more information closer to your wedding day
How far in advance do I need to design my bespoke save the dates?
We recommend you leave plenty of time to design your save the dates with Bespoke Invites before you're going to send them. The design process could take anywhere from 2 days to 2 weeks or once you've told us what you've envisioned, or even longer depending on what you've asked us to do and how many proofs we send you before you tell us you are 100% happy with your bespoke save the dates and ready to print them. Printing can then take anywhere between 1 - 2 weeks depending on how busy we are. Overall, if you want to design your own bespoke save the dates with Bespoke Invites, we recommend you allow at least a month before you want to send them out (this is just a worse case scenario but we will let you know in advance - the point is, we are perfectionists and want you to be 100% in love with your bespoke stationery)
Wedding Invitations
Your wedding invitations give your guests all the information they need to know about the big day, about where it is and when. You might also include in your envelope with your invitations an information card, a returnable rsvp or a beautifully bespoke hand drawn wedding map by Bespoke Invites to help your guests on the way to the venue and on to the reception after if it is in a different place to the ceremony.


When do I need to send my wedding invitations?
We advise you to send your wedding invitations around 2-3 months before your wedding date. If you are not sending out save the date cards beforehand, we recommend you might want to send your invitations out around 4-6 months in advance to allow your guests to make the appropriate arrangements beforehand.
What if my wedding is abroad?
Similarly with your save the dates, if your wedding is abroad we recommend you send your invitations out a little earlier - around 3-4 months in advance to allow people plenty of time to make arrangements for flights and getting to and from the airport etc.
What if my wedding is around Christmas, Easter, the summer holidays or a bank holiday?
We recommend the same advice we gave to you about sending your save the dates. People often plan events and holidays for these times of year well in advance so we recommend you send your invitations out 3-4 months in advance of your wedding date to allow people to co-ordinate with their own plans for the holidays etc.