When should I send Invitations?

[Tilly in the Sun]

We are getting married in May, and sent out the STD postcards and magnets two weeks ago. I was unsure of when to send out the actual invites but I am so glad someone mentioned waiting until after the holidays so it doesn't get lost in the shuffle.

[Outdoor_girl1010]

Quote:

Originally Posted by miss di you've already got 8 booked though - that's great! how many ppl are you inviting?? good luck with the invites!

We are inviting about 35 we have already been told no by about 12. Which we had planned for, but no my question is since I already know they arent going to come do I have to send them an invite.

[Sheree10]

There has been some mention of holidays and working around that with guests. I met with a TA who suggested that I send travel info and ask my guests to book Oct./Nov. ( for July wedding) because once November hits ppl are only thinking about the hoildays and are spending $$. SO maybe that should be the same for sending invites out also - for those planning Spring weddings.

[SusanaLaLoca]

I've been stressing a bit about the STD/Invite timeline & process too. Our wedding is May 28, 2010, and we've just now decided on that date (literally, like yesterday). I'm fairly positive we've settled on the resort too (we just need to put down the deposit to secure it), so I'm pretty much ready to move forward.

 

I was thinking originally of this timeline:

1) send STD's by mid/end of Sept (possibly boarding pass style) with pages of info, request to RSVP preliminarily, and link to wedding website

2) send formal invites (possibly passport style) in Feb with info again and formal RSVP

3) Follow-up with email/phone reminders as necessary closer to the date

 

But then I was thinking of how much I'll be paying in production/shipping (even DIY costs $!) coupled with all this redundant info, and now I'm starting to wonder if it would just make sense to do this instead:

1) skip the STD altogether

2) send NOW an email and postcard with a simple "STD for a wedding - names/date/hotel name/website link" (website to have all info to date, and updated constantly)

3) send in Oct formal invites with all the info & RSVP cards (possibly an RSVP date of March 1?)

4) Follow up email/phone as necessary as date gets closer

[miss di]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Outdoor_girl1010 We are inviting about 35 we have already been told no by about 12. Which we had planned for, but no my question is since I already know they arent going to come do I have to send them an invite.

there's a couple of ways to look at it. it would be nice to send an invite anyway...will show them that even though you know they can't make it, you wish they could. and this is so wrong, but true - and i gotta mention it!!...you'll probably make out with 12 more gifts by sending an invite. however, maybe it will seem a little pushy by sending it to ppl you know aren't coming?? i dunno. let us know what you decide.

[MsAmErika]

I am having a july 2010 wedding and since the rates are now available and the economy is so bad I am sending out my wedding invitations in two weeks, I want to give my guest ample time to pay for there trip.

 

I am also having an reception when I return and those invitations will go out the end of May 2010.

[~Jessica~]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Outdoor_girl1010 We are inviting about 35 we have already been told no by about 12. Which we had planned for, but no my question is since I already know they arent going to come do I have to send them an invite.

I would agree Diane and send them an invite anyway. It really can't hurt and since you have to order invites in increments of 25 you will have extras anyways! And you may get gifts out of the deal, but at least they feel included and maybe once they get the invite in the mail they will change their mind and come!

[finleys7]

Quote:

Originally Posted by miss di if it helps...we are sending our invites out on sept.14th and asking for rsvp's due on february 1st for our 4/24 wedding. figured give them plenty of time to save $$ and make plans. we have a pretty good idea of who's coming and who's not to begin with so really, there's no rush for me to know immediately, seeing as how final payments aren't due until about 30 (or 60??) days before teh wedding. the thing that does suck is not knowing how many ppl to buy for, OOT bag-wise. how many people are you inviting? is it pretty hard to get a good idea of who would be in or not?

We are invited 155 and expecting 60-75, but my family thinks more... (I don't)

We did the save the dates and our final payment is due 60 days prior so Feb. 26 is the dealine...so I thought that Jan would be too late for the invites...but it's so weird to word that....because people can still book in March but they have to pay all upfront....

UGH!!!

[finleys7]

Quote:

Originally Posted by smith3576 We got engaged in October 08, and decided on a date and location in December so we were able to send out STDs in January for our wedding date in November. Because we are getting married close to the holidays, we wanted to give people as much heads up as possible so they could plan their holiday travel schedule. We sent out our invitations the end of July and have gotten about 25% of the RSVPs back already. So far, there haven't been any surprises one way or the other. We put our deadline for the end of September. This doesn't give us much time for OOT bags, etc. BUT we pretty much already know who's coming, and this gives people who on the fence as much time as possible to make a decision - we know a DW is a commitment to attend. It didn't matter to our TA when our deadline was, although our low priced rooms expired before we even sent out the invites. However, all of this info was on our wedding website, sent out with our STDs. And guests are still getting good rates who are booking now. So I would think about how much time you need, and what will give your guests time to decide.

You're getting married on my birthday...it's a good day =)

[finleys7]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Outdoor_girl1010 We are inviting about 35 we have already been told no by about 12. Which we had planned for, but no my question is since I already know they arent going to come do I have to send them an invite.

Are you having an at home reception? If not, I would send the invitiations in hopes you get a sorry I couldn't make it gift ;-)