The Wedding Invitation

You have your wedding invitations in hand and are excited to get them in the mail. But when is the correct time to mail your invitations? Luckily for you there is a standard timeline, which eliminates the guesswork. You do not want to mail them too soon for fear your guests will lose them or forget to RSVP. Sending invitations too late may not give your guests enough time to plan accordingly. Follow these tips for stress free invitation mailing:

TIMING
1. If your wedding is local, invitations should be mailed eight weeks before the wedding. If it is a destination wedding then the invitation can be sent up to three months ahead of time.
2. The RSVP deadline should be four weeks prior to the wedding. This allows you time to contact those who have not replied and give your caterer an accurate guest count. It also allows you time to finalize the seating chart.

TIPS
1. Sometimes guests forget to write their name on the reply card. To avoid having to figure out who the card is from, create a numerical list of guests. Write the guest’s number in pencil on the bottom corner of the back of the reply card. If the guest has not written their name on the reply card, simply look at the number on the back of the card and match it to your numerical guest list!
2. Calligraphy: If you plan on using a calligrapher to address your envelopes, add an extra two to three weeks to give the calligrapher time to complete all of the invitations. Contact your calligrapher as soon as you have confirmed your invitation printing schedule.
3. Assembly: Allow yourself at least a few days to stuff and seal your invitations.
4. Postage: When you have a fully assembled invitation, take it to the post office. Before placing stamps on your beautifully assembled invitations, you need to ensure the weight of the envelope matches the postage you plan to use. Scales at different post offices could record slightly different weights so make sure to go to the post office where you plan to mail them.


Photo credit: Rebecca Barger Photography

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