Formal Invitations - to send or not to send?

[aprily24]

We are planning a destination wedding to Jamaica in November 2013. Wondering what people's thoughts are on sending out STDs AND formal invitations? If we send out STDs out a 10-12 months in advance, people will likely have to book their travel arrangements before we would send out our formal invitations....I'm wondering what the advantages  are to having formal invitations as well??

[heeralalkris]

 

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[finleya]

I am sending out both personally. While most will have their travel plans booked already, I want the RSVP's closer to the time when we actually travel so that I can get a final count for OOT bags/etc... A lot of people tend to back out at the last minute, so sending the RSVP's with a formal invite helps me figure out just how many are actually going.

 

Hope this helps...

 

[TauruSmith]

I will probably do both for the same reasons. It will help us keep track for OOT bags and favors, etc. closer to the date.

[SunsetLove]

We sent out STD's with both our DW info and AHR info on it - then we are sending out formal invites for the AHR that are more detailed.

[ChocoTaco7568]

We actually decided not to send out STDs, and will only send formal invitations 10 month in advance.  Since we are aslo putting together a wedding website, we didn't personally see the value in doing both, but I prefer the formality of the wedding invite over the informal STD.

[jello]

For what it's worth, I am sending out Save the Dates over 1 year in advance along with a link to our website where people can RSVP online.  I am also planning to send out invitations 3 months in advance, with a RSVP deadline of 2 months in advance.  That way, people can book and RSVP as early as one year in advance if they would like, then at 3 months they get the formal invitation which serves as a reminder, and at 2 months if they haven't RSVP'ed yet I'm calling to bug them.

[KristinaM]

I agree that it's really a personal decision. There's so many ways to get information out there to your guests: Save the dates, website, formal invites, pre-travel letters/brochures.

 

I'm personally sending save the dates a year in advance and invitations about 4-5 months in advance.. and probably a pre-travel letter about a month before. I'm also parsing down in that line though- like anyone who says they absolutely aren't going probably won't get a formal invitation, and anyone who RSVPs no won't get a pre-travel letter, etc. It may be overkill but I just love the designs and can't decide between them and it's also helpful to your guests to help give them details and guide them along the way.

 

I thnk everyone has done it different ways and I'm sure whatever you decide will work out perfectly!

[principessa]

We decided to only do formal invites.

[Krys21]

We only did an invite, but not very formal and and 8 months before.  We put together a booklet and PDF'd it and sent it out email.  We included in the booklet all of the details of our destination, resort, the wedding and our travel agent information.   We also put an RSVP date dated 2 months before the wedding date.   I got great feedback from everyone about it, and I don't regret not doing formal invitation.