Save The Date/Invitation

[beDONce]

Hi all!

I'm planning my November 2015 Wishes wedding, and while I'm super excited, I'm a little confused as well...

I know I can't officially book the wedding until February, but I wanted to give my guests time to save money/make arrangements, so I sent out save the dates last week.

I would like to send out official invitations, as well. Wedding websites I'm researching tell me to send them out 2-3 months in advance, but this seems like no where near enough time to book/save/etc.

I'd also like to send out an information packet - which hotel to stay at, suggesting our guests buy a dining plan, etc. Should I send this out before invitations, with invitations, after invitations?!

I'm lost!

 

[kanadar]

With Wishes weddings you can book the venues 12 months out, so you will be able to book on your date in November. I am planning a October 2015 wedding and I'm planning on sending my save the dates out as soon as I know I have my official date so that they are just about a year out. Disney will send out an email with a link to your room blocks once you have that set with your Planner. A great book to get is the Passporter Disney Weddings and Honeymoons! It is a great reference to use before you talk to your Planner. And you are able to call Disney now and be assigned a Coordinator.

 

[elphie101]

If you google save the date/invitation timelines for destination weddings, you'll find things change a bit for what's considered "normal" for regular hometown weddings. Typically I think the internet assumes when you're having a destination wedding it's something that requires a passport, but obviously that's not the case in every situation

Frankly, the internet is not right about everything, especially when it comes to wedding rules that you ABSOLUTELY MUST BE FOLLOWING ON PAIN OF HAVING THE WORST WEDDING EVER (or that's what it feels like to me sometimes!)

Depending on your guests, I think having a wedding website with all the travel info and things guests would need to be aware of 15 months out is the way to go. A simple newsletter could also get the point across, especially where you don't have much to tell people at the present time. We included our website address with the STDs and invites.

We sent our invites out at 3 1/2 months before the date, with a RSVP due date of 6 weeks before the wedding. I wanted to give enough time for slackers to be chased down and to book their rooms before they're released at 30 days before the wedding (though hopefully it won't come to that!). I've seen invites go out anywhere from 5 months before to 2 months.

 

[alyaki]

What elphie said is spot on. Also, it's good to remember that part of the reason people can send them out later is partially because 1.) they sent save the dates, and/or 2.) they don't have to give final counts until the week before, and generally pay the final payment closer to the date.

I think there's a lot of Disney couples who send them out earlier, but in part, that's because our final payment is 30 days prior to the event - most of us want to have our final count by that point, so that we're paying the right amount. Obviously, we know that unexpected things can come up to affect things last minute, but it's a whole lot easier to contact Disney and say that we have to reduce the number after paying, then add. I think I've heard of people sending them as early as 6 months out, but the norm is that 5-3 months for the Disney group I think. It's also good to remember that lots of people generally set an RSVP date that is over a month prior to the wedding though - so they're really getting about the same amount of time to reply.

We'll be sending some out early (closer to the 5 months out) to a couple people who I have no clue about, since there were a couple others we wanted to invite if they confirm they aren't coming, but the majority are going out around the 3 1/2 months time. They'll all be due about 1 1/2 months prior to our events.

 

[Seia]

I agree with what everyone has said so far! Part of it boils down to your own preference and how well you know your guests, really. We are sending out our STDs at the 9 month mark and our invitations at the 4-5 month mark. I also made our RSVP deadline around 9 weeks before the wedding. Our guest list will be small (~35 people), so I don't foresee any problems with it. I just want everything finalized before the final payment deadline if possible.

 

[BrideBree]

I agree with the above posts. We've actually chosen our wedding invitation templates from our wedding website and though we haven't sent it out (our wedding is still in October 2015) we're starting to complete it with our love story and a few of our wedding details as we progress with the planning. Though there are tons of "proper" ideas found on the Internet, whose are just the options where you'd gain inspiration in wedding planning. Sending the invites is actually up to you and your FI's convenience.