If your wedding is less than six months away, skip the save the date and send the invitation instead.
Your formal invitation follows later, usually five to six months before a local wedding and six to seven months before a destination wedding.
How early should you send a save the date for a local wedding?
Eight to ten months is usually enough when most of your guests live nearby. Six to eight months can also work for a smaller wedding outside the main summer season.
Send it earlier if your date falls on a holiday weekend, during a popular wedding month such as June or September, or in a location where accommodation is limited.
A save the date has one clear purpose: to give your guests enough notice to keep the date free.
It does not need to include the full wedding schedule, dress code or detailed venue information. Those details belong in the invitation.
Does a destination wedding need an earlier save the date?
Yes. For a destination wedding, eight to twelve months is a good starting point.
Your guests may need to request time off, book flights, arrange childcare and plan accommodation. If the wedding takes place abroad or over several days, sending the save the date around twelve months ahead is not too early.
The more travel your guests need to plan, the more useful an early save the date becomes.
For Paula and Timo's wedding at La Fortaleza in Mallorca, we sent the save the dates at the end of May 2024, around twelve and a half months before their wedding in mid-June 2025.
It was a multi-day destination wedding in one of Mallorca's most exclusive and sought-after settings, with an international guest list. Giving guests this much notice was important: everyone needed to reserve the dates well in advance and make travel and accommodation arrangements.
The save the date was also planned around the stationery production timeline. For a bespoke project, the design and production of the save the date can take around two months, so starting early gives everyone enough room to work without unnecessary pressure.
Does the timing change for a digital save the date?
The recommended timing stays the same. What changes is the production time.
A printed save the date needs time for design, proofs, printing, finishing and postage. Depending on the project, this can easily take four to eight weeks.
A digital save the date can be sent as soon as the essential details are confirmed. Your guests receive it immediately, including those travelling from abroad.
It also gives you something paper cannot: flexibility.
Plans can change. A digital save the date can be updated after it has been sent, so your guests always have access to the latest information.
With a personal link for each household, the same link can later become the full digital invitation and RSVP page.
When should the formal invitation be sent?
For a local wedding, five to six months before the wedding is the best time.
For a destination wedding, allow more time. Six to seven months gives your guests enough time to confirm their plans and make travel arrangements.
Set your RSVP deadline one to two months before a local wedding and three to four months before a destination wedding, depending on when your venue, caterer and other suppliers need the final numbers.
| Local wedding | Destination wedding | |
|---|---|---|
| Save the date | 8–10 months before | 8–12 months before |
| Invitation | 5–6 months before | 6–7 months before |
| RSVP deadline | 1–2 months before | 3–4 months before |
| Final numbers | 1–2 weeks before | Around 2 weeks before, or as your venue requires |
Who should receive a save the date?
Everyone who receives a save the date should also receive an invitation.
If your guest list is still changing, send save the dates only to the people you are certain you will invite. You can add further guests when the formal invitations are sent.
What if the date or venue changes?
Tell your guests as soon as the change is confirmed.
Ideally, use the same communication method as the original save the date. With printed stationery, this usually means sending another card or communication.
With a digital save the date, you can simply update the page. Your guests continue using the same link, so they see the new information without needing a new invitation.
How do you plan the stationery timeline?
For bespoke projects, we work individually with each couple and their planner, adapting the stationery timeline to the wider wedding planning.
We usually start with an initial concept based on our conversations, references and the couple's priorities, as well as the budget we are working with. Ideally, we begin around a year and a half before the wedding. This gives us enough time to develop the visual direction properly and plan the stationery without rushing the later stages.
The formal invitations can then be sent at a comfortable point in the planning process. Our recommendation is simple: start working on them as soon as you have all the essential wedding information. The earlier we start, the more room there is for the design, production and all the details to come together properly.
Save the Date FAQ
Not for a destination wedding or a wedding taking place over several days. Your guests may need to organise flights, accommodation and time off work.
For a local wedding, twelve months is early, but it can make sense for a holiday weekend or another date when guests are likely to have competing plans.
Not necessarily.
If you are inviting a small group of guests and the wedding is less than six months away, you can skip the save the date and send the invitation directly.
It can be useful, especially for destination weddings.
If your guests need travel, accommodation or weekend information before the formal invitation arrives, the save the date can include a link to your wedding website or digital invitation.
With a digital save the date, the page itself can hold this information and be updated as your plans develop.
One link for the Save the Date and invitation. A wedding website handcrafted by world-leading stationery designers, with seamless RSVP and guest management.
Launching November 2026