How much time should I give my wedding guests to RSVP?

When determining how long in advance you should send out your invitations, and how much time you should give your invitees to respond, there are a few factors you want to consider.

1. Are you having a destination wedding?
2. Will a large number of your guests be traveling from out-of-town?

If you are having a destination wedding, we highly recommend that you mail out a save-the-date card 6-8 months before your wedding.  This will give your guests a "heads-up" to start making travel plans for your wedding.  We recommend that the invitation itself be mailed out 12 weeks before the wedding.

If a large number of your guests are traveling from out-of-town,  it's also a good idea to send out a save-the-date card.  We recommend that you send out your formal invitation no less than 10 weeks before you wedding.

If most of your guests are not traveling from out-of-town, we recommend that you send out your formal invitation 8 weeks before your wedding.

The RSVP deadline should be chosen based upon the requirements of your caterer or venue.  Most caterers will want a final head-count about 2 weeks before your wedding.  We recommend that you print a "reply-by" date on your invitations that is 1 week before the date your caterer needs the final count.  This will give you a week to track down any unconfirmed guests, which you should expect.  If RSVP Services is calling your unconfirmed guests for you, 1 week is the time it will take to reach everyone.