Around the 9-12 month mark {after you've booked your wedding venue, planner and photographer} you should start thinking about wedding stationery. If you are doing save the date cards, now is the time to start working with your invitation designer to start those, especially if you already have your engagement photos back and are eager to show them off!

Disclaimer: if you are less than 9 months out from your wedding, it does not at all mean we can't work together. We can adjust timelines and make them work in the timeframe you have! My own engagement was only six months long, so I am an expert at tighter timelines.

Hire a Wedding Stationer & Start Save the Date Design

Save the Dates can be mailed anywhere between seven and twelve months before your wedding date to give guests plenty of time to plan for your wedding. If you have less than 6 months to go before your wedding, skip the save the dates and move straight to wedding invitations.

Design of your wedding invitation suite also typically starts around this time and can be anywhere from 1-3 months of designing, sometimes more!

Mail Save the Dates and Start Invitation Design

Your invitation suite will be sent to the printer within 24-48 hours of final approvals being submitted, typically at the 4-5 month prior to the wedding. This allows time for receiving the invitations, assembly and stuffing and stamping envelopes before they need to go in the mail.

Invitations are put into production.

I always recommend a minimum of 8 weeks for wedding invitations to be mailed, but more time doesn't hurt, especially if you are mailing during a busy holiday season. It’s is also recommended to mail them sooner if you are having a holiday or destination wedding (to give guests more time to plan for accommodations and time off work) or are sending invitations internationally.

Also, start thinking about any day of wedding signage and stationery you’d like to include on your wedding day. Design can start before you have final guest counts so you are ahead of the game and not stressing about design elements right before your wedding. Most day of stationery can be shipped directly to you or your wedding planner to avoid extra shipping times.

Mail Invitations, Start Designing Wedding Day Stationery

This timeframe is when you want to make sure you have received your guests’ response cards back so you can plan for a total number of guests both for your caterer and also get any day of stationery like seating charts or escort cards on order.

Recommended Return Timeframe for RSVP Responses

Start thinking about what thank you cards or holiday cards you’d like to send out after your wedding to show off those amazing newlywed photos. These can be designed to match your wedding invitations or be a completely unique design!

Order Thank You Cards and Holiday Greetings