Wedding Stationery Timeline
Spring is upon us soon, and I'm fully into custom wedding invitations for my summer brides, so I thought it would be helpful to go through the timeline process for any current or future brides to be! There are so many things to remember and take care of during the wedding planning process, and trying to figure out the best times to send out all of the invitation related items can seem like one more thing to worry about. But not today! Simplifying the process for you is where I come in, so see below for wedding stationery timeline information to make your life easier!
Save the Dates
Typically, Save the Dates are sent 6 months before your wedding date, but if you are having a destination wedding or feel like it is necessary to go ahead and get the date on the calendar, there is no reason not to send as early as you would like.
Wedding Invitations
If you sent Save the Dates, wedding invitations are typically sent 6 to 8 weeks before your wedding day. If you did not send Save the Dates you may want to consider sending the invitations at least 3 months in advance.
RSVP Reply by Date
Most of the time your venue will require a final count and/or payment by a certain date, so you want to make sure your reply date is before that deadline. Most of the time the date is 2 to 3 weeks before your wedding day, but the main things to keep in mind are the venue requirements and your day-of stationer’s timeline!
Rehearsal Dinner Invitations
About 4-6 weeks before the wedding is typical for sending rehearsal dinner invitations. Since the people attending the rehearsal dinner will be attending the wedding, once the wedding invitations are sent out, you can go ahead and get the rehearsal dinner invites in the mail as well!
Day-of Paper Goods (Signs, Seating Charts, Table Numbers)
Depending on the complexity and volume of items, you will want to source these 4-6 weeks in advance of the wedding (with the exception of place cards/seating charts because you won't know the final information until a few weeks before the wedding). It is definitely advisable to have all of your day-of items in your hands at least a week before the wedding to avoid any wedding week stress. As soon as you know all of your guest names and seating assignments you will want to send those over to your calligrapher or designer so they can finalize place cards or seating charts.
Thank You Notes
If you are using coordinating thank you notes throughout the entire wedding process, you will want to ensure you have them before your first wedding shower or party where you will send thank you notes. If you only want to coordinate with the wedding invitations you have more time and can work with your designer to design them along with your invites. Although the "official" timeline everyone goes by for sending thank you notes is 1 year, your guests will certainly appreciate it if you send them a nice thank you within 3-4 months of your wedding.
What I've listed above is when to send all of the paper goods, so add about 6-8 weeks onto those numbers to know when to start thinking about and working with your designer to ensure they are ready to be dropped in the mail by your ideal date. My Custom Wedding Invitation Process page and FAQ page have all kinds of details about the custom process and how much time to allow when we work together!
I hope this takes some of the stress and worry out of the wedding planning, and gives you a brief glimpse into the timeline of it all! Any questions? Drop me a note below or feel free to reach out via the Contact page or email!
