Here are some tips that may help you with your invitation planning:
TIMELINE 1) FOR A WEDDING IN YOUR OWN STATE:
Use this timeline if you are having the wedding in the state in which you live, or if the Response Cards (RSVP) are being returned to the state where your wedding will take place:
1) Event Date
2) RSVP date = 4 weeks prior to #1
3) Mail out invites = 5 weeks prior to #2
4) Invites "in hand" = 3 weeks prior to #3
5) Order invites = 5 - 7 weeks prior to #4 (check with your vendor for their turnaround time)
You can adjust the timeframe to fit your specific needs, however the above is a typical timeline that most couples find works for them.
TIMELINE 2) FOR A DESTINATION WEDDING:
If you are having your wedding out-of-state then you will want to use a timeline such as the one below to allow for your flying out of town 1 - 2 weeks ahead. However, use this timeline ONLY if you are having the RSVP cards returned to YOU. If you are having the RSVP cards sent to someone else who lives in the state you are having your wedding, then refer to TIMELINE 1 above, since they can receive it up until you arrive.
1) Event Date
2) RSVP date = 5 - 6 weeks prior to #1
3) Mail out invites = 5 weeks prior to #2
4) Invites "in hand" = 3 weeks prior to #3
5) Order invites = 5 - 7 weeks prior to #4 (check with your vendor for their turnaround time)
You can adjust the timeframe to fit your specific needs, however the above is a typical timeline that most couples find works for them.
TIP #1) SAVE-THE-DATE cards:
For your guests who need to make vacation and travel arrangements, you will want to send out a Save-the-Date card approx. 5 - 6 months prior to your wedding date. This is a better alternative then sending out the actual invitation too far in advance. Here's why:
Problem 1) Unexpected changes to the invite could occur. From our experience, we have had customers who their Minister had to change the time of the ceremony, or the location had to be moved, thus needed to reprint their invites. This can be very stressful and expensive, so we do not recommend ordering your invites earlier than you need them. Although you may think you have everything set, there are circumstances that are just out of your control, so it's better to be safe than sorry.
Problem 2) Guests either lose the invite or forget and don't show up due to the length of time from when they receive the invite to when the actual wedding takes place.
TIP #2) QUANTITY OF INVITES:
We've had couples not realize the difference between "invite count" and "head count" and explaining the difference to them ensured that they ordered what they needed, thus NOT spending more money than they should.
When ordering your invites, keep in mind that "invitation count" (what is mailed out) is NOT the same as the "head count" (number of people attending). You need only ONE invite per couple/household.
So, if your location can only accommodate 200 total head count, then you really only need about 125 - 150 invites (half the head count - since most will be couples) plus extras (for singles and in case you add to your guest list after your invites have been printed.) Everyone's situation is different, however, (you may be mailing out more invites then you know will show up, or have a "B" list for early "declines", etc.) so of course you will need to order as fit your needs. The best way to get an accurate invitation count is to actually make a list of who you are sending invites to:
Example:
1. Mr. & Mrs. John Anderson
2. Mr. & Mrs. Phillip Ashton and Tracy
3. Ms. Tabitha Baker & Guest
4. Mr. Steven Carter
etc.
Each number represents an invite being mailed. The above example shows a quantity of 4 invites with a "head count" of 8 people.
Make sure you add extra invites to your actual list, because you will undoubtedly add guests to your list after your invites have been printed. To reorder a small quantity is very EXPENSIVE because most companies treat reorders as a new and separate order.
TIP #3) THE RESPONSE CARD (RSVP):
Make sure that you have your guests return the Response Cards whether they accept or decline. This is very important, because once the RSVP reaches the deadline date, you will need to call all those who you did not receive a card back from. If you do not ask for the declines back, then you will have that many more people to call.
The reason you have to call those who do not send back the RSVP card is ... you cannot assume that because they did not return the card, they are not attending. You do not know who may not have received their invite (thus your guest will be hurt if they think they were not invited) or if their RSVP card was lost in the mail. Since you have to affix a postage stamp for each RSVP card anyway, you might as well get them ALL returned to you.
Also, after you've numbered your invitation guest list (as the above sample shows in Tip #2), write the correlating number on the backside corner of the RSVP card. When the RSVP card is returned to you, and if that guest has forgotten to write their name in the "M ___________" section, you will at least know who that card was from (thus saving you from having to add another phone call to your list.) From our experience, this does happen (guests forgetting to write their name), so number coding the Response Cards will make your life a LOT easier.
Consider including a "___ Seats reserved for you" line on your RSVP card. You then fill this in with a number that you want your guests to know are invited. By entering "2" your guest knows that they can't bring their whole family along, or bring guests who are in town visiting them who you do not even know (believe us, this happens). If you enter "4" your guest then knows that the 4 in their family are invited.
This is normally helpful if you have a sit-down reception or if you are limited to a certain number of people that can occupy the room/location. You will probably get a few people disregarding the number you indicate (we've seen people scratch out the number and put their own, yes, it happens), but for the most-part, it saves you from having to call up your guests to tell them that they can't bring those uninvited guests.
Also consider having a "Number of persons attending ___" line, for that lets you know a more accurate head count. For example, sometimes you may allow a single-person to bring a guest, so you enter "2" in the "___ Seats reserved for you" line, but they may decide to attend alone, thus if you only had a "___ accepts" line, and they put a checkmark, then you would be assuming that 2 were attending, thus not know an exact head count and will be catering more food than you need. It could add up when you have a huge guest list.
Hopefully, these tips will help you to avoid a lot of necessary additional work and stress with your event planning.
{ Back to top }