Invitation Timeline??

[MrsHemmings]

Hello,

I was wondering how the invitation timeline would work for a destination wedding.  How far in advance do I need to send the STD, Invitations, pre travel packets?

 

Help!

 

Thanks.

[OceanWonderland]

I would say send the STD as soon as you know your wedding date. People will need time to save money.  Usually that is anywhere between 8-12 months. Invitations traditionally are sent 1 month before the wedding, but I've seen most DW brides send theirs out around 3-4 months before the wedding. It's sort of a gentle reminder for those that may not have booked or forgotten about your wedding, that it is VERY close and they should realllly think about booking their travel and accommodations. Especially if you are getting married during a busy travel season, hotels have been prone to sell out, so you want to make sure your guests have booked early enough. Pre-travel packets anywhere between 2 weeks and a month (give people time to go shopping for essential items) and a lot of people also include a welcome brochure once they arrive at your destination. The great thing about DW is there are no set rules and you can really do whatever you feel like

[MrsHemmings]

THANKS!

[AnnCam2011]

Here's another question: Is it crazy to try and have 2 Rounds of invites?

 

I am against the "save the date" cards - it is an additional cost and once we have the date and location we are going to order and send out the invites as soon as possible. We are shooting for next March/April and should have things set in the next week or so. We are hoping to have invites out by the start of October - how long do you give people to RSVP? 2 months? That would give us enough time to do a second round of invites (if we need to) since we would know by December who will be able to make it or not from Round 1. There are several aunts/uncles that I am pretty sure won't be able to come, if we know they aren't coming, why not invite some friends who we couldn't put in Round 1 because of family?

 

Once we have the final list, I am planning on putting together a more detailed info packet (things to do, places to see) along with either a luggage tag or passport holder for each guest to mail out a month or so before the trip.

 

Has anyone else done this?? Am I crazy?

-AC

[mochamakes3]

We're sending the STD now for an April 2011 wedding. Hopefully, by Christmas we will know who really wants to attend and will then send the invites. We're using DIY Passport Invites, so I really hope that I don't have to make 100! Probably about 1 month prior, I will send out travel packets.

 

I haven't had time to do our wedding website, but wish I had it done to include on the STD.

[OceanWonderland]

 

Originally Posted by AnnCam2011 

Here's another question: Is it crazy to try and have 2 Rounds of invites?

 

I am against the "save the date" cards - it is an additional cost and once we have the date and location we are going to order and send out the invites as soon as possible. We are shooting for next March/April and should have things set in the next week or so. We are hoping to have invites out by the start of October - how long do you give people to RSVP? 2 months? That would give us enough time to do a second round of invites (if we need to) since we would know by December who will be able to make it or not from Round 1. There are several aunts/uncles that I am pretty sure won't be able to come, if we know they aren't coming, why not invite some friends who we couldn't put in Round 1 because of family?

 

Once we have the final list, I am planning on putting together a more detailed info packet (things to do, places to see) along with either a luggage tag or passport holder for each guest to mail out a month or so before the trip.

 

Has anyone else done this?? Am I crazy?

-AC

I think it's fine to do multiple rounds of invitations. But just be aware you may have guests that say they are thinking about coming to your wedding...for a VERY long time. And that might bother you when trying to figure out how many 2nd sets of invites you can mail out. A lot of people might not even book until a few weeks before the wedding. It's annoying, but it seems like a common theme.

Another thing, I personally didn't send out RSVP, I just had them RSVP on our website. The reason I didn't send one is because if you read through the threads you are lucky, VERY lucky if even 50% of guests respond to those. Most just ignore them and you end up having to call/email everyone who didn't respond. I just have the attitude that if they are going to come, they can find a way to contact me either through our wedding website, facebook, my phone or parents. It has worked out great that way! Plus I didn't waste money on RSVP stamps that no one bothers mailing back out. I've heard through the grapevine about every guest that plans on attending, and if they wait till the last minute, the they won't get an out of town bag.

I actually got my STD for free on Vistaprint. They offer 100 free postcards like once a month and you can just design them however you like. I only paid for the shipping. So easy! But if you don't feel like sending out STD, then don't. Especially since your wedding is pretty soon.

[OceanWonderland]

 

 

Originally Posted by mochamakes3 

 

We're sending the STD now for an April 2011 wedding. Hopefully, by Christmas we will know who really wants to attend and will then send the invites. We're using DIY Passport Invites, so I really hope that I don't have to make 100! Probably about 1 month prior, I will send out travel packets.

 

I haven't had time to do our wedding website, but wish I had it done to include on the STD.

 

We DIY message in a bottle invitations for 120 and it took forever!! So I completely understand wanting to know who is going to attend. We even sent out invitations to people who didn't get a STD (my parents made me). I'll keep my fingers crossed for you that you won't have to make 100 of them. A little thing I did is invited some of my girlfriends over and had some cheese and wine available to munch on to help with some of the work. Ask for help from your friends if they're willing

[jenngene2011]

Ther is no right or wrong timeline.  Some like to send STD's 8months to a year ahead and send invites 3 months before and travel packets 1 month before.  Again it all depends on what you are comfortable and also your guests. 

 

I sent my STDs a years in advance and will be sending my invites in October for my May 2011 wedding.  I am sending them way in advance because we have guests who live outside the US and they need to get visas and need to ask for time off and I have other guests who are teachers and they need to send requests of time off in the beginning of the school year.  We sent the STD to most important people will send out the invites to them and other friends and family.  I have made a website and will keep the guests updated and sending out alerts as the date gets closer.

[clgriffi7]

My wedding isn't until Nov 2011, so I have been thinking about the timing for STDs and invites as well.  My current plan is to send magnet STDs out 11-12 months prior to the wedding date.  I am doing magents over postcards in the hopes they will end up on refrigerator doors so guests won't forget.  I plan on sending invites out at about 6 months which will give time before the resort group booking ends approx 3 months before the wedding.  My invites will not have RSVPs in them as I think guests won't really know how to respond.  There will be a lot of friends & family that will want to come but won't know for a while if they will have the money or will be able to take the time off of work to travel.  The only real RSVP I will trust is either a booking or a "no" via the website.  Those that have not responded by the 3 month cutoff will get emails/phone call so I can know how many OOT bag items & chair sashes to order.  I also plan on sending out AHP (At Home Party) postcard invites with a website or email RSVP about a month before the wedding/party.

[jszy10]

We didn't do the norm....we sent a save the date as soon as we had our date confirmed by the resort (just an announcement of our DW) and just a week ago -- about ten months out -- we sent our passport invitations with all booking details and a response postcard.  We will then send out pre-travel brochures about 2 weeks before.  I think it is really all in how you want to let people know and when!