When to send wedding invitations (and save-the-dates)

Send save-the-dates six to eight months before the wedding, or nine to twelve if it is abroad or on a holiday weekend, and send the wedding invitations about three months before — three to four months for a wedding abroad. Set the reply date four to six weeks before the day, working back from the date your caterer or venue needs the final number: a week or two before it, so there is time to chase the guests who have not answered.

Customs differ — in some places six to eight weeks' notice is normal — but earlier rarely hurts. Below: why each date sits where it does, two worked timelines, what goes on the card and what on your website, and how to word it.

When to send save-the-dates

A save-the-date has one job: to get your date into calendars before guests plan a holiday or another wedding. It asks for no answer.

• Near home: six to eight months before.
• School holidays, a long weekend or guests travelling far: eight to twelve months.
• Abroad: nine to twelve months, because guests need flights, time off and a budget.
• Less than four months to go: skip the save-the-date and send the invitation itself.

Send them only once the venue and the date are signed — a save-the-date for a date you then move is worse than none — and only to people you are certain to invite, because a save-the-date is a promise of an invitation. That means settling the list first; here is how to make your wedding guest list without losing friends.

What goes on it: your names, the date, the town (and the country, if it is abroad), "Invitation to follow" and your website address, where guests can look up travel and rooms as soon as you know them.

When to send wedding invitations

The invitation carries the details and asks for an answer. Too early, and guests cannot commit yet; too late, and their weekends are taken and the replies run into the caterer's deadline.

A wedding near home

About three months before — ten to twelve weeks — works for most guest lists. Six to eight weeks is the minimum when everyone lives nearby and has already had a save-the-date. If you skip the save-the-date, send the invitations four to six months ahead instead, and expect some replies to wait.

A wedding abroad

Three to four months before, after save-the-dates nine to twelve months ahead. By then most guests have booked their flights; the invitation confirms the plan, the programme (welcome drinks, the day, a brunch) and the reply date. If you hold a block of hotel rooms, the hotel usually releases the unbooked ones some weeks before the day, often three to six: ask for that date in writing and put your reply date before it.

Guests who need a visa for the Schengen area can apply no earlier than six months and at least 15 days before their journey, and a decision normally takes 15 days, longer if the consulate asks for more documents (the EU's rules for applying). They have to show the purpose of their trip, so send theirs early and let their consulate tell them what it accepts. For the legal side and the season, see getting married in Portugal.

Setting the reply date: work back from the caterer's final number

The reply date is not a matter of taste. It is set by the people who need your numbers.

1. Ask the caterer and the venue, in writing, when they need the final number. Commonly one to three weeks before the day — more in our guide to wedding catering.
2. Put your reply date one to two weeks before that. For most weddings this lands four to six weeks before the day; abroad, six to eight.
3. Send a short reminder a week before the reply date.
4. The day after the reply date, call everyone who has not answered. A call works better than a third message.
5. Then give the caterer the number — and only after that send the seating plan and the place cards to print.

Leave a little room for late changes: someone always drops out in the final week, and caterers often charge for the number you gave them even if fewer come.

On a website that takes replies, the reply date is also when the form closes. On an Eventadore site your guests can reply, and change their reply, until that date, and every answer lands in your guest list — how replies reach your guest list.

A worked example: one date, two timelines

Lena and Jonas marry on Saturday 4 September 2027, with 80 guests.

Near home

• Saturday 6 February 2027 (seven months): save-the-dates go out, by post to the grandparents and by message to everyone else, with the website address.
• April: invitations ordered, proofs checked twice.
• Saturday 5 June (13 weeks): invitations posted.
• Saturday 24 July: a reminder to everyone who has not replied.
• Saturday 31 July (five weeks): reply date.
• The first week of August: phone calls to the last few.
• Saturday 14 August (three weeks): final number to the caterer; the seating plan follows.

In Portugal

The same date at a quinta in Portugal, with most guests flying in:

• Saturday 14 November 2026 (ten months): save-the-dates, with the nearest airports and places to stay on the website.
• Early March 2027 (six months): guests who need a visa can start applying.
• Saturday 8 May (four months): invitations posted — the ones going furthest first.
• Saturday 17 July (seven weeks): reply date, a week before the hotel releases the rooms it is holding.
• Saturday 14 August (three weeks): final number to the caterer.

The rest of their run-up — when to book the venue, the photographer, the rings — is in the month-by-month wedding planning checklist.

What goes on the invitation, and what goes on the website

The card holds what nobody may misread. The website holds everything that might change or needs more than a line.

On the card:

• Who is inviting — the two of you, or you and your families.
• Your names.
• The day, the date and the time the ceremony starts.
• The place, or places, with the town.
• The reply date, and how to reply: your website address or a QR code.
• The dress code, if there is one, in a few words.
• The password, if your website has one.

On the website:

• The day hour by hour — a sample wedding day timeline helps you write it.
• Directions, parking, and how to get from the ceremony to the party.
• Where to stay, with any rooms you hold and the date they are released.
• The dress code explained, and who is invited: children, plus-ones.
• Gifts, and your bank details if you want them.
• Food wishes and allergies, asked with the reply.
• A short list of questions and answers.

There is more on what to put on your wedding website. If you make yours on Eventadore, it is free and gives you a QR code for print, shows bank details only after a guest presses Show details, and is read by each guest in their own language. For a site only your guests can open, choose a six-digit password printed on the invitation, or let in only the households on your guest list — how to make your wedding website.

Paper or digital invitations?

Neither is more correct: choose by who your guests are.

• Paper is a keepsake, reaches the people who never check their email, and says "this matters" before a word is read. It costs money and time.
• Digital — an email, a message with a link — costs nothing, arrives at once, crosses borders and can be corrected. It is also easy to overlook, and a few guests will find it less personal.
• Both is a common middle way: printed cards for grandparents, godparents and anyone who would put one on the fridge, a personal message with the link for everyone else, and the same website behind both.

As a rough guide for 2026, a digitally printed invitation ordered in quantity costs about €1.50 to €5 a card, and one with foil, letterpress or handmade details €5 to €20, before envelopes, inserts and postage. Small runs cost more per card: 50 cards cost more each than 150. You can compare designers in our search for wedding stationery and message any of them from their profile about proofs and printing times.

Ordering, addressing and posting

• Count households, not guests. One invitation per household: 80 guests might be 40 invitations.
• Order 10 to 15 % more for wrong addresses, the second round of guests and keepsakes — and keep one for your photographer to shoot on the day.
• Allow time to print. From about two weeks for a ready-made design printed digitally to two or three months for one made for you, proofs included.
• Proofread the facts twice: names, the date, and that the weekday matches it.
• Let the envelope say who is invited. "Anna and Tom Weber" invites two; "The Weber family" includes the children; "Anna Weber and guest" brings a plus-one.
• Weigh one finished invitation at the post office before you buy stamps: a square envelope, thick card or an insert often moves it into a dearer postal class.
• Post abroad first. Within Europe, letters often take three to five working days; beyond Europe, a week or more.
• Hand-deliver in the same week. Many families still take the grandparents' and closest relatives' invitations round in person; do it as the post goes out, so nobody hears the news second-hand.

Invitation wording that answers questions before they are asked

• When the two of you invite: "Together with their families, Lena Becker and Jonas Weber invite you to celebrate their marriage."
• When parents host: "Maria and Peter Becker request the pleasure of your company at the marriage of their daughter Lena to Jonas Weber."
• When it is relaxed: "We're getting married! Come and celebrate with us on Saturday, 4 September 2027."
• "Please reply by 31 July" is clearer than four letters some guests have to look up.
• Plus-ones and children are said by the names on the envelope. If you want it in words, put one warm line on your website — "We would love to celebrate with everyone named on your invitation" — not on the card.
• Give the dress code in a few words: "Black tie", "Smart summer", "Garden party — flat shoes for the lawn".
• If the ceremony is small and the party large, say clearly what each guest is invited to: "for the celebration from 6 pm".

Frequently asked questions

Can you send wedding invitations too early?

Rarely, once the venue and the date are fixed. Sent much more than six months ahead, an invitation tends to be put aside and answered late — getting the date in early is the save-the-date's job. About three months is right near home, three to four abroad.

Can we send wedding invitations by WhatsApp or email?

Yes, and for guests abroad it is often the most reliable way. Write to each household personally, never to a group, and post cards to anyone who would miss one. Point everyone to the same website, so all read the same details.

Do we need save-the-dates if the invitations go out early?

If the invitations go out four months ahead and the wedding is near home, you can do without. For a wedding abroad, on a holiday weekend or in peak season, send them: by the time the invitation arrives, flights and time off may already be gone.

What do we do about guests who have not replied?

Send one reminder a week before the reply date, then call the day after it; most simply forgot. Count nobody as a yes until they say so.

When is it too late to send wedding invitations?

Under six weeks is late, but not hopeless: send them digitally at once, call the guests who matter most, and set a reply date that still lands before the caterer's deadline. A second round of guests, after the first declines, should be invited six to eight weeks before the day at the latest.

Should the gift list go on the invitation?

Traditionally not, and it reads more gracefully on your website, where guests look for it anyway. A website can also keep your bank details out of sight until a guest chooses to see them.