How many wedding invitations do I need to order & when should I order them?
Planning and ordering wedding stationery can be rather daunting if you don't know what to do and how to go about it. Here I have put together some useful bits of information about planning and ordering your wedding invitations that will hopefully help you on your way.
Advice
Firstly you need to remember that you only need to send 1 invitation per couple/family, not 1 per person when working out the number of wedding invitations and evening invitations you need to order. Secondly I would recommend adding an extra 10% to the total number of invites you need, this will allow for any mistakes plus any last minute guests you may decide to invite. If you do run short, then don’t panic you can simply order some more, but be aware, there will probably be a minimum order quantity and postage on top of that so doing this can work out costly. Thirdly as a general rule I recommend ordering your wedding invitations 6 months prior to your wedding date. This will give you time to write your invitations, collate all your guests’ addresses and post them. You should aim to have them posted at least 3 months before your actual wedding date allowing time for your guests to RSVP. Fourthly whilst I recommend sending your invitations at least 3 months prior to your wedding date, I would definitely recommend sending them earlier if you’re getting married over a popular holiday period or 6 months to a year in advance if you’re getting married abroad as travel and accommodation will need to be arranged. Any extra information like, flight details, hotel options and resort information can be included on a guest information card so as not to spoil the look of your invitation. Guest information cards usually fit inside the same envelope as your invitation so can be posted out together saving you time and money.Useful Tips
- Plan your wording for your invitations before you begin to place your order as this will delay you further if you don’t know what you’re doing.
- If you are having separate RSVP cards or guest information cards then make sure you have all the information to hand as you will need to order these at the same time you order your invites if you’re posting them out together.
- Check lead times when ordering your stationery and remember to you need to add delivery times on top of this. Select a ‘guaranteed express delivery’ option if you need them quickly.
- When collating all your guests’ addresses for your invitations, remember to keep them all safe ready for when you write your thank you cards, it will save you lots of time later when you could be packing for your honeymoon.
- Check your stationery when it arrives, you don’t want to find out that they have got damaged in the post or you have put the wrong time for example after leaving them in the box for ‘3 weeks’.
