As we are getting back into "wedding season" I thought I would share some information on wedding invitations with you. I am often asked about proper timelines for sending out wedding stationery. Here are some thoughts on the different pieces:

Save the Date cards should be sent 1 year - 6 months prior to your wedding. These are particularly important if you are having a destination wedding, if your wedding will take place on or near a holiday, or if you have a lot of out of town guests.

Wedding Invitations should be sent out 8-12 weeks prior to your wedding. (If you have sent a save the date, you should be fine sending it closer to the 8 week side.)

Reply By dates for your response cards should be no more than 3 weeks prior to your wedding. (I know, I know, you can't wait to get your guest count nailed down and would much prefer to have your reply by date be a couple months before the big day. If you do this though, you will find that many people are unable to let you know that far in advance and end up not sending back the card which leaves you in a big mess - yes, I am speaking from experience!)

Thank You Cards can be sent as soon as you receive a present and should be sent no more than 3 months past the date that you received the gift. Ideally, you should send the thank you card out as soon as you receive the gift - it is so much easier this way than letting them pile up and having to write 100 thank you cards all in one sitting.