Who do I need to send a save the date magnet or wedding announcement to?You should send a save the date magnet or announcement to each household that is going to receive an invitation. Don’t use the total amount of wedding guests as the total amount of save the date magnets, announcements, or invitations to send. You only need to send one per household.

When should I send my save the date magnets?
You should have your save the date magnets in the mail 6-12 months before the date of your wedding. Consider sending them 9 – 12 months ahead of time if the wedding is out of town or if you have quite a few guests coming from out of town.

When should I send my wedding invitations?
Typically, wedding invitations are sent approximately 6 to 8 weeks prior to the wedding date. This gives your guests time to make travel arrangements if they are coming from out of town.

Etiquette Tips for Destination Weddings

• Make sure to send wedding invitations to guests well in advance of the typical eight week deadline. Your guests need time to make the necessary travel arrangements.
• Be sure to include directions cards or maps in each wedding invitation to help your guests navigate the destination city.
• Create a wedding website to keep your guests informed of your plans, including any additional information you can find about hotel and travel deals. 
• In general, you should not invite people to your engagement party unless you are also inviting them to the wedding.

Check out our Wedding Timeline for more great tips.

See our wedding invitation wording guides and worksheets:
Wedding Invitation Wording Guide in Microsoft Word format
Wedding Invitation Wording Guide in PDF format 
Wedding Invitation Worksheet in Microsoft Word format 

Selecting the Perfect Wedding Invitation

The right wedding invitation is like the sublime appetizer at an impeccable dinner party.It sets the tone, whets your guests’ appetite and lets them know what to expect from the rest of your event (great things!). 

Of course, the wrong invitation is like the appetizer that has been scorched beyond recognition at a meal you would rather forget. 
So, how do you make sure the invitation to your wedding hits the mark – and not the floor (or the trash bin)? 

First things first: take a step back and think about your wedding itself. A wedding should be a reflection of the bride’s and groom’s personality and panache. For some, that might mean an uber formal, black tie gala, complete with champagne flutes and doves released just as the couple says their I Dos. For others, it means a hoedown with BBQ ribs and beer from a keg. In either case, the wedding invitation should be like the illustrated book jacket of a great novel – and in this case, you should be able to judge the book from its cover! 

There are a countless number of styles – from super serene to completely kitsch – in wedding invitations and even a great number of choices for paper and ink. The important thing as you navigate your choices is to remember that your wedding invitation should suit the wedding you will have. A hoedown doesn’t require – and really doesn’t fit with – a hand-engraved invite on sumptuous silk. Consider instead a cute inlay with red and white gingham over a navy blue embossed font.

The wording on your wedding invitation can also range from super formal to way laid-back. Whatever you chose, you will be helping to tell your wedding story – so choose carefully. Of course there are family politics that may influence things; the invite of a young couple with financial support from both parents will and should read differently than that of a more established couple sponsoring the affair on their own. Whatever you end up with, just remember that grammatical and spelling errors are never a good thing!

A few other tips as you work to select the perfect wedding invitation:

• Don’t forget to include (and double and triple check) the date, time, and location of your event on the invitation.
• Calligraphy is still the preferred method for addressing invitations, but if penmanship isn’t your strong suit, rest assured that computerized labels are coming into their own vogue. Whatever you go with, legibility is of utmost importance.
• Plan to have your invitations at the post office no later than 4 weeks before your wedding date; double that (6 to 8 weeks) if you are inviting guests from overseas.