When to Order

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Order your invitations as soon as you have the information you need to print them, the earlier the better. 

Need a more specific answer?  Here are some factors to consider:

• Most invitations printers take between two and four weeks from the time they receive the order to the time it’s delivered, but they don’t guarantee delivery in that amount of time because they’re used to people ordering six months in advance.  Some kinds of invitations (like the kinds with photos printed on them) take a little longer to print than the traditional kind and if you’re doing something unusual give yourself more of a time buffer than you otherwise would.
• If you possibly can, add a week or more into your equation for mistakes.  No matter how diligent you are at proofreading, there could be a typo that no one catches.  We had a bride misspell her fiance’s name once, and the invitations had to be reprinted.  Occassionally the printer will make a mistake (printing on the wrong paper, using the wrong font or ink color, etc.), and the invitations will have to be reprinted.  If that happens, the printer will normally pay for the reprinting and rush the printing and shipping, but it will take time and you’ll be saved a lot of stress if you left some time for corrections.
• You will need time to address the invitations.  If you choose to handwrite the addresses, make sure you give yourself plenty of time to write.  I tell brides who are handwriting their addresses to give themselves about two weeks to do it.  If you’re printing address labels or printing the addresses directly on the envelopes, still give yourself a few days (I’d say about a week) to get it done.
• If you’re going to require an RSVP from your guests (like for a catered reception), add a couple of weeks to your calculations.
• A factor that most brides don’t know to consider when they’re deciding when to order their invitations is the geography of their guests.  People in different places have different expectations about how early a wedding invitation should arrive.  We suggest that brides sort their guest list by ZIP code and think about her guests by region.  Any time you send an invitation to someone who lives far away who might want to come to your wedding you need to give them plenty of notice so that they can get reasonable rates on their travel and lodging.  Try for 8 weeks before the wedding, if at all possible, if they need to fly in (especially internationally).  In the United States, people on either coast generally expect to receive wedding invitations 6-8 weeks before the event.  In some areas (like the Intermountain West) many people prefer to get invitations no more than two weeks before the wedding, possibly because the invitation is viewed as a reminder and if they get the invitation too early they’ll forget about it. 
• Don’t forget to add in the amount of time it will take in the mail!  Usually it takes 2-3 days in the US, but if you send the invitations around a major holiday like Christmas it could take a few days longer.  If you’re mailing internationally, try to find out how long it will take to arrive and plan with that number in mind. 
• The formality of your wedding and of your guests is another consideration.  The more formal the wedding and/or the guests, the earlier to invitations should arrive.  Eight weeks advanced notice is usually all that is expected even for the most formal wedding or from the most formal guest.

So, worst case scenario: 5 weeks for printing+2 weeks for reprinting because of typos+2 weeks for addressing+2 weeks for RSVPs+8 weeks before the wedding for guests who traveling in+1 week for time in the mail=Order 20 weeks before the wedding.

Best case scenario: 2 weeks for printing+0 time for reprinting+1 week for addressing+0 time for RSVPs+2 weeks before the wedding for informal guests who live nearby+2 days time in the mail=Order 5 weeks and a couple of days before the wedding.

Most people will want to order their invitations somewhere in between the worst and best case scenarios.  Hopefully the equations above will help you make an informed decision.  If you’re having a last-minute wedding and can only get your invitations to your guests a week in advance (or less!), don’t worry.  Hopefully you have a bunch of understanding friends and relatives who love you and don’t really care when their invitation arrives because they’re coming to the wedding with or without one.  Happy ordering!

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