How to Write and Send Wedding Save-the-Dates, Invitations, and RSVP Cards – Comprehensive Version

A lot of things are involved in planning a wedding and one of the most significant aspects is your wedding stationery. Your wedding invitations and RSVP cards are the first point of contact of your big day while your save the date cards are a way of informing the guests early. When you get the timing, wording, and design correct then this will be a stress free process for you and your guests.

In this guide, I will be breaking down everything you need to know about wedding save-the-dates, invitations, and RSVP etiquette, as well as some expert secret sauce tips on how to make the whole process stress free.

Save-the-Date Cards: What You Need to Know

What Are Wedding Save-the-Dates?
A save the date card is a small but very necessary part of the wedding planning process. It tells your guests when and where you are getting married in advance so they can start making travel arrangements. If you send a Save-the-Date to an individual, you have to send them a formal Wedding Invitation.

When to Send Save-the-Date:

• Destination weddings: Do send save-the-dates 10 to 12 months in advance of your Wedding Date. However pay attention to “tips” below.
• Local weddings: Send them 7 to 9 months ahead of your Wedding Date. However pay attention to “tips” below.
• If your wedding falls on a holiday, peak season or a festival is being held, send them earlier to insure guests can book accommodations.

What needs to be on a Save-the-Dates:

• Your names
• Wedding date
• Location (city and state)
• A note that a formal invitation will follow

How to Send Wedding Invitations the Right Way

When to Send Wedding Invitations:

The best time to send wedding invitations depends on your type of wedding:

• Local weddings: Send 10 to 12 weeks before the big day.
• Destination weddings: Send 4 to 5 months in advance.

If you’re using digital wedding invitations, you can send them slightly later, but be mindful of giving guests enough time to RSVP and to follow up with the non-responders.

The best time to send wedding invitations depends on your type of wedding:

• Local weddings: Most planners will say send 6 to 8 weeks before the big day.  It is best though to back it just a little bit so you have your final guest count completed and checked off your to-do list 30 days prior to your wedding date.  
• Plus, you need to leave a cushion of 2 weeks before that 30 day period for time to communicate with those that have not responded by sending in their RSVP.  Tell those people that the food and beverage caterer and the venue need an exact number of guests attending.
• Destination weddings: Send 4 to 5 months in advance.

If you’re using digital wedding invitations, you can send them slightly later, but be mindful of giving guests enough time to RSVP.

What to Include in Wedding Invitations:

A complete wedding invitation suite should include:

• Wedding invitation card with names, date, time, and venue.
• RSVP card (or details for an online RSVP wedding website).
• Reception details if different from the ceremony.
• Dress code (optional but helpful for guests).

Insure your wedding invitation design aligns with your wedding theme, be it modern wedding invitations, classic wedding invites or beach wedding stationery.

Emily Summer’s Video on Wedding Invitations

How to Manage RSVPs for Your Wedding

What Is an RSVP Card?

A RSVP wedding card is the tool used by guests to reply to the event. It helps you to know who is attending your wedding and clenching the numbers for seating, catering and so on.

When Should Guests RSVP?

You should set the RSVP deadline for 6-8 weeks before the wedding, this way you will have enough time to follow up with the guests who didn’t reply.

What to Include in Your RSVP Cards

• Response deadline
• Yes or no attendance options
• Meal choices (if applicable)
• Space for dietary restrictions
• Hand write in a tiny legible number on the RSVP and make a list of the number and person assigned to that number

You can also offer digital wedding rsvps as well, to make it easier for guests to reply through your wedding website’s RSVP form.

Digital vs. Traditional Wedding Invitations and RSVPs

Pros of Digital Wedding Invitations

• Quicker delivery with email wedding invitations or text wedding invites.
• Easy to track guest responses online.
• More eco-friendly wedding invitation option.

Pros of Traditional Wedding Invitations

• Guests will see and feel a more elegant wedding invitation for a formal event.
• A keepsake for guests.
• Adds a personal touch to your wedding planning.

You might consider blending both by using mailed wedding invitations with an online RSVP link.

Wedding Invitation Wording Examples

Formal Wedding Invitation Examples: [“Bride’s Name”] and [“Groom’s Name”] request the honor of your presence at the wedding which is to be held on [Date] at [Venue].”]

Casual Wedding Invitation Example: “Let’s celebrate love! [Bride’s Name] and [Groom’s Name] are tying the knot on [Date] at [Venue]. Fun, food, and dancing to follow!”

Do make sure your wedding invitation wording matches the tone of your Wedding Day.

Final Tips for Wedding Stationery Success

• Check addresses before mailing invitations. Do this 3 times.
• Use wedding stationery that is personalized from you and that suits your style.
• Get your wedding invitations and RSVP cards ordered first, before anything other stationery, to prevent delays.
• Include wedding website information for guests to easily find details.
• Make a trip to your local post office and bring with you one of the entire invitation suite that you plan on sending out to your guests.  Ask them to weigh it and tell you how much postage is needed.  Do this to eliminate invitations being returned for not enough postage.
• When ready to send off, actually take the invitations to the post office for them to hand stamp each invitation.  
• Do realize that you will have guests that do not respond to your RSVPs. It always happens and so expect it.
• Plan on and follow up with guests who haven’t RSVPed by the deadline.  Do allow 2 weeks to do this follow-up.

Repeat – You Should Once Again Check for Success

• Check addresses three times before mailing invitations.
• Use personalized wedding stationery that reflects your and your fiance’s style.
• Wedding invitations and RSVP cards should be ordered early to avoid delays.
• Include wedding website information for guests to find details.
• Make a trip to your local post office and bring with you one of the entire invitation suite.  Ask them to weigh it and tell you how much postage is needed.  Do this to eliminate invitations being returned for not enough postage.
• When ready to send off, actually take the invitations to the post office for them to hand stamp each invitation.  
• Follow up with guests who haven’t RSVPed by the deadline.  Allow 2 weeks to do this follow-up.

Using this guide will help you have a smooth and stress free wedding invitations, save the dates and RSVP!

Websites for On-Line Digital Wedding Invitations

When planning your wedding and if you are considering digital invitations, here are some of the best websites that provide beautiful and customizable online wedding invitations.

• Paperless Post You’ll find a vast selection of digital wedding invitations created by top designers including Kate Spade New York and Monique Lhuillier at Paperless Post. You can make changes to the design and include sections for important details like travel information, registry site, and event timeline.
• Minted has more than 300 exclusive digital invitation designs available. It has simple address collection and online RSVP, and manages guest responses for several events and sends auto follow-ups for reminders.
• Greenvelope is beautiful digital wedding invitations that come with useful features like RSVP Management and the ability to embed maps and other event information. It is a complete solution for you and your guests to have a great time.
• Evite is a digital invitations expert for all kinds of events, including weddings. You can create your card on your desktop or even on the company’s mobile app, which is very convenient.
• WedSites provides digital wedding invitations with online responses. They provide a single-source solution to your guest list, invitations, and responses.

These platforms provide a choice of templates and functions for different wedding themes and types. Discover each of them and select the one that is most appropriate for your event.

Timeline for Invitations

This is a simple example timeline to take action for your wedding invitations:

Excited to Read More?

After reading this post about the blog above about How to Write and Send Wedding Invitations and RSVPs Cards from Palafox Wharf Waterfront wedding venue you might also enjoy reading ~

Thank You for Stopping by our Blog to learn about wedding invitations and RSVPs for Wedding Planning

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