Wedding planning is stressful, but you already know that. There are so many aspects of the day to plan that it can get overwhelming quickly, like when to send wedding invitations
One of our goals at Lively Letter Co. is to make stationery fun for brides, and to remove as much stress as we can for our couples. So let me tell you a secret about wedding stationery that will *hopefully* take some stress off of your plate:
It doesn’t matter when you send your invitations.
Okay woah, what about that blog we shared a while ago, all about the perfect wedding stationery timeline? Did we just throw that out the window??
Not quite. That timeline is still considered proper etiquette and it’s a great resource and guideline for when you should send your stationery.
So what do we mean it doesn’t matter?
Wedding stationery isn’t something that you should be stressed about. If the ideal timeline is causing you stress — make it work for you! That timeline is more of a starting point to help you get an idea of what is proper, it’s not a strict deadline with swift repercussions if you’re late.
You shouldn’t be frantically stuffing envelopes and slapping on stamps at 3:55 to make the 4:00pm deadline at the post office, just to keep up with this arbitrary timeline.
Your guests won’t know the difference if you follow the proper etiquette.
It’s not like they won’t come if they don’t receive their invitation at exactly 8 weeks out from your big day. They’re not standing at the mailbox every day, tapping their foot and scoffing when another day goes by without an invitation. In fact, I’d say it’s the opposite if anything! Realistically, they’re probably not thinking much about your invitation but they will be excited whenever it does arrive in the mail.
So, what should couples do with their stationery timeline?
Don’t totally throw the timeline out the window. We still suggest you try to follow proper etiquette and this guide is a great resource to keep handy and reference throughout planning. The main takeaway here is:
Please don’t stress about when to send your invitations!
Send out your save the dates around 9 months in advance of your wedding. Guests will have plenty of time to make arrangements and reserve that day on their calendar. If you’re a little late — don’t worry, the important people in your life will make sure they can be there!
Send out your invitations around 2 months before. If you’re worried people need more time to make plans, send them earlier. If you’re running a little behind, that’s okay too because they’ve already saved the date.
Time and time again we see brides frantically trying to play catch up to an arbitrary stationery deadline. We just want you to know that it’s okay if you get off of the ideal timeline. You will get the stationery in the mail eventually, your guests will still come to your wedding, and it will be a beautiful day.
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