'Peonies' by Yana Beylinson for LookLoveSend.com
If you’re in a comfortably long engagement, with your wedding day anywhere from a year or more away, you have the luxury of timing your wedding save the date cards as etiquette demands. Brides engaged for a year or more are encouraged to send out save the dates between 9 months to a year before the wedding. Although sending save the dates too far in advance could run the risk of being forgettable, it’s helpful to guests for weddings planned during the busy summer season or requiring extensive travel.
Timing Guidelines for Wedding Save the Date Cards
Here’s a quick look at timing etiquette you can use to guide your wedding save the date cards, based on the length of your engagement:
| If engaged for… | Then send Save the Dates… |
| 1 year + | 9-12 months ahead |
| 9-12 months | 6-9 months ahead |
| 6-9 months | 4-6 months ahead |
But what happens when you’re speeding through your engagement much faster? Is there a point when you need to simply let go of giving guests a heads up with a save the date card and go right to wedding invitations instead?
Save the Dates for Short Engagements
For speedy engagements lasting less than six months, there may be reason to ignore the four-month rule as the customary last point for sending wedding save the date cards. You may consider sending save the dates as late as 10-12 weeks before your wedding date in order to:
- Help traveling guests find good deals on airfare. Don’t skip save the date cards for those who must make extra travel arrangements.
- Buy extra time if you are delayed for any reason with your wedding invitations (decisiveness, a reprint from an error, etc.)
- Remind your most important and special guests that formal wedding invitations are coming soon.
While sending very late save the dates is not customary, and edges uncomfortably close to the time for sending wedding invitations (6-8 weeks before the wedding), it can be a good idea for specific reasons like these.
No matter when you send your save the dates, be sure to coordinate their look and style with your wedding invitation design. Shop the complete wedding invitation suites available through www.looklovesend.com, where designers create collections for all the components you could want for your wedding date, including save the dates for weddings, invitations, programs, thank you cards and more.
