Many wedding couples often ask “When should I send out my wedding invitations?”
Never assume that invitations and stationery are quick and easy to organize. Much less assume that invitation design and printing can be completed within a day.
You should never leave your invitation design and printing right to the very last, cutting it too close to the wedding date. This adds more stress to the already stressful preparations of the wedding, and also deprives you from getting the wedding invitation you really want!
First and foremost, decide if you would prefer custom-designed wedding invitations or invitations you can pick off a collection, but modified to fit your requirements.
Once you have worked that out, it is now time to work backwards, the time you really have for the preparation of your invitations.
When to send out your invitations
As a general guide, aim to mail your wedding invitations at least 4-6 weeks before the wedding date for local weddings. Cater at least 8-10 weeks if you are expecting overseas guests, having your wedding over a long weekend or having a destination wedding. Indicate that you would like a response at least 3 weeks before the wedding date.
So, if your local wedding date is 1st of October, mail your invitations by 15th of August and ask that they respond by 7th of September. This will give guests time to receive their invitations and respond. And this in turn will give you time to firm up the number of tables, catering plans, seating arrangements, etc.
When to design and print your invitations
Once you have worked out the mail-out date, prepare and order the invites approximately 8 weeks before they are scheduled to be mailed (Especially if they are to be custom-designed). So if you plan on mailing your wedding invitations around the 15th of August, aim to order them by June 15th. Afterall, there is no harm having the wedding invitations ready a couple of days or weeks earlier than the planned mail- out date.
If you have opted to pick off a current collection, with small modifications, aim to place your order at least 4 weeks prior to the mail-out date. While this option is relatively quicker than a custom design option, you will still need to factor in some time for any adaptations like colour or font changes, map additions etc
When to commence printing your wedding invitations
You can plan your design really early, but request to commence printing only slightly later when the guest list has been firmed up. Printing and production timelines depend very much on the complexity of the design and your designer would be the best person to advise this. In general, it would be wise to allocate a minimum of 2 weeks for the printing of your invitation cards.
So there you have it! A quick guide to planning your wedding invitation timelines!
Article contributed by Ola Designs LLP
Photo Credit: Ola Designs LLP
Ola Designs LLP specializes in custom and ready-to-order invitations. For more information, please visit Ola Designs LLP
