When to send invitations?

[JessHooper]

Hello everyone! When is the best time to send out invitations if you're not doing save the dates? It will be a destination wedding for all my guests so we want to give enough time so they can all come but we're unsure when that time is. Any ideas???? (BTW, his family still doesn't know we're getting married, because he hasn't even asked me yet. We're in two different countries right now being both in the Army. He wants to tell them when he gets home in May.) Just a little back ground info on us.

 

[groomtb]

I'd plan ahead of time on the invitations, know what you're getting and the wordings, but send it out right after he asked his parents. gives people atleast 3~5 months ahead of time to plan the destination travel. to order plane tickets and stuffs. Keep an eye on hotel advance reservation discounts too.
Does your guests know it'll be a destination wedding?

 

[sajetto]

We're sending ours out 5 months in advance so that everyone gets plenty of time to make their arrangements

 

[LouisianaDisneyFan]

It depends on when your wedding is... I would think your EM would be able to give you a better guesstimate about how far in advance rooms need to be booked for your particular travel date. During peak times, the rooms go 6 months out for most of the more popular resorts, and flights can be a nightmare (i.e., Christmas, Thanksgiving, etc.). The fare for the flight between our home (Baton Rouge) and Orlando has already gone up $50/ticket due to sold seats, and we're still 9 months out (Christmas time). It will go up even more, or sell out, within a few months. During slack times, you don't have that same worry. Check with your EM for his/her advice on this, and perhaps call a travel agent to check on booking trends during that season between the location of most of your guests and Orlando. Good luck! ~Ev

 

[JessHooper]

I'd plan ahead of time on the invitations, know what you're getting and the wordings, but send it out right after he asked his parents. gives people atleast 3~5 months ahead of time to plan the destination travel. to order plane tickets and stuffs. Keep an eye on hotel advance reservation discounts too.
Does your guests know it'll be a destination wedding?

Well, my side of the family knows we're getting married in November in Disney so part of the guests know and part don't. He just wants to be able to ask me before he tells his family. Which again is difficult when we're countries away from one another. But his family goes to Disney every year and does a lot of traveling last minute. Believe me, they can afford it, unlike my family. Which is why we chose to tell my family at Christmas time. Just so they could either prepare to go to FL for the wedding or know sooner if they could go. Make plans to take time off from work...etc... We already booked our hotel so we're set and my family has already booked too. If we send them out in May, that will give guests 6 months to plan. That's okay right? Its the week after Thanksgiving. Which according to Disney, its the slowest week of the year because everyone has just gotten off their Thanksgiving breaks.

 

[groomtb]

6 months would be plenty of time
good idea to include some hotel, flight, transportation information with the invitation.

 

[Luvndisney]

like everyone else said do whats best for you and your guests. Everyone is different We sent ours out at 8 months before adn had our rsvp at the 6 month mark. So we have known for awhile who was going and what the cost would be.

 

[RangerPooh]

We sent ours out 6 months in adavnce so that our guests could start planning their trips as well as requesting time off from work. All of our guests were traveling for the wedding so we did not want anyone to be suprised by the location.