When to Send Wedding Invitations (and Save the Dates): The Complete Timeline

Send wedding invitations six to eight weeks before the wedding, and save-the-dates three to six months before — earlier for a destination wedding. That's the standard etiquette timeline from the Emily Post Institute. Set your RSVP deadline about three to four weeks before the day, so you have time to chase late replies and give your caterer final numbers.

What is the full wedding invitation timeline?

Save-the-dates go first, then the invitation, then a reminder, then final numbers to your vendors. Here's the whole sequence on one page.

When	What to send	Destination wedding
6–12 months before	Set up your guest list and design	Save-the-date with travel dates
3–6 months before	Save-the-date	Hotel block and travel details
6–8 weeks before	The invitation	The invitation (10–12 weeks)
3–4 weeks before	RSVP deadline	RSVP deadline (5–6 weeks)
1–2 weeks before	A reminder with directions	Reminder with the full weekend schedule

When should you send save-the-dates?

Three to six months before the wedding, or earlier if many guests have to travel — Emily Post's planning series puts save-the-dates in the three-to-six-month window "or earlier". For a destination wedding or a holiday weekend, eight to twelve months gives guests time to book flights and leave.

Save-the-dates are the one piece etiquette is happy to send by email: Emily Post calls email a great way to send an informal note asking friends to save the date. Only send one to people who'll definitely get an invitation.

When should you send wedding invitations?

Six to eight weeks before the wedding — the window Emily Post recommends for mailing invitations. That's long enough for guests to plan and short enough that they won't forget to reply.

Digital invitations follow the same window. The difference is that you can send them all at once, the same evening, and see who has opened them.

How early should you send destination wedding invitations?

Ten to twelve weeks before, after a save-the-date eight to twelve months out. Guests need to book flights, hotels and time off, so the invitation should arrive with all the travel details at once — see our destination wedding invitation guide.

When should the RSVP deadline be?

Three to four weeks before the wedding for a local wedding, five to six weeks for a destination wedding. Check your caterer's and venue's deadlines for final numbers, then set your RSVP date a week or two before theirs.

On PixerInvite you set a "reply by" date when you create the invitation; guests see "Kindly reply by…", and the RSVP closes automatically afterwards so no late changes slip in after you've sent numbers to the caterer.

What do you do about guests who haven't replied?

Send a friendly personal reminder a few days after the deadline — most late replies are forgetfulness, not rudeness. With personal invitation links you can see exactly which households haven't answered and send each a one-line nudge.

Hi Sarah! Just checking you got our wedding invitation — we'd love to know if you can make it by Friday so we can finalise numbers. Here's the link again: …

Should you send a reminder before the wedding?

Yes — a week or two before, send a short note with the schedule, the venue map and anything guests need to know on the day. With an invitation link, it's the same link: everything is already up to date.

Frequently asked questions

Is 4 weeks too late to send wedding invitations?

It's tight. Guests may already have plans, and you'll have very little time to collect RSVPs. Aim for six to eight weeks.

Can you send wedding invitations too early?

More than three months ahead for a local wedding, guests tend to forget to reply. Send a save-the-date early instead.

Do you need save-the-dates?

They're optional for a local wedding with a short engagement, and close to essential for destination weddings or holiday weekends.

When should I send invitations to a weekend wedding?

Treat it like a destination wedding: a save-the-date 8–12 months ahead and the invitation with the full weekend schedule 10–12 weeks before.