Quick answer: in the UK, couples commonly send save the dates six to 12 months before the wedding and invitations around four to six months before, and no later than two months. Ask guests to reply about four to six weeks before the day. For a wedding abroad, send save the dates as early as you can.
Knowing when to send save the dates and invitations is mostly a matter of working backwards. Your caterer needs a final number, your guests need a reply date, and they need the invitation in good time before that. The timings below are common UK practice, taken from named stationers, rather than fixed rules, so adjust them to suit your wedding.
When should you send save the dates and invitations?
Work back from your wedding date. Here is a simple timeline for a wedding on Saturday 12 June 2027:
- Save the dates: six to 12 months before, so between June and December 2026.
- Invitations: four to six months before, so between mid-December 2026 and mid-February 2027, and no later than mid-April 2027.
- Reply date: four to six weeks before, so between Saturday 1 May and Saturday 15 May 2027.
- Final numbers to your venue: whenever your contract says, which is why your reply date should come a week or two before it.
When should save the dates go out?
Six to 12 months before the wedding is the usual window. Stationer Lisa Forde of Dotty About Paper, in her wedding stationery FAQs (April 2025), says “the general advice is to send them out 6 to 12 months before your wedding date”. Papier’s guide to wedding stationery timelines gives the same six to 12 month window.
Send them once your venue and date are booked. Lean towards the earlier end for a summer Saturday, a bank holiday weekend or a wedding a long way from most of your guests. Our guide to save the date wording has short examples to copy.
How far ahead should wedding invitations be sent?
Around four to six months before the wedding, and at least two months. Dotty About Paper, in its guide to evening wedding invitations (September 2025), suggests sending invitations about four to six months ahead so guests have time to plan. Papier says final invitations should go out “a minimum of two months before your wedding date”.
Sending earlier gives guests time to book travel, childcare and somewhere to stay. Sending later than two months leaves very little room between the invitation landing and your reply date. Send day and evening invitations together, so nobody feels like an afterthought. For wording, see our guides to wedding invitation wording and evening invitation wording.
When should guests reply by?
About four to six weeks before the wedding. Dotty About Paper says couples typically request replies “at least 4-6 weeks before the wedding”. The real anchor is your caterer: find out when they need final numbers, then set your reply date a week or two earlier so you have time to chase the quiet ones. Our guide to setting your RSVP deadline walks through it.
What changes for a wedding abroad?
Everything moves earlier. Papier advises sending destination save the dates “as soon as possible so your guests have time to plan their journey”, and Dotty About Paper suggests up to a year ahead. Guests may need flights, time off and sometimes passports, so give them as much notice as you can, and set an earlier reply date so you can confirm numbers with venues and hotels.
Where do couples get stuck with replies?
Sending on time is the easy part. The hard part starts afterwards. The time: replies arrive by text, email, a phone call and a word at a birthday party, and one of you has to write each one down. The chasing: a few guests always go quiet, and nudging them falls to you. The money: until the replies are in, you are paying for food and drink based on a guess. And the last-minute pressure: your venue wants final numbers just as the gaps become obvious.
How does AisleReply take the job off you?
AisleReply looks after the replies once your invitations are out. Each guest gets a personal WhatsApp message and replies in the chat, in their own language. Meal choices and dietary needs come back in that same reply. Gentle reminders go out on their own to anyone who has not answered, and you can watch a live headcount build as answers arrive, so your final number is ready when your venue asks for it. Our guide to collecting wedding RSVPs on WhatsApp explains more.
FAQs
Do we have to send save the dates?
No. Save the dates are optional, but they help if your wedding is in peak season, on a bank holiday weekend or somewhere guests need to travel to. If your invitations will go out more than six months ahead anyway, you can skip them.
Is it too late to send invitations two months before?
Two months is the latest most stationers suggest, so it is tight but workable. Give guests a reply date about four weeks before the wedding and follow up quickly with anyone who goes quiet, so your caterer still gets an accurate number.
Should evening guests get save the dates too?
If you want them to keep the date free, yes. Many couples send save the dates only to day guests and send evening invitations with the day invitations, but anyone travelling a long way will appreciate the early notice.
Do we need to send everything by post?
No. You can send save the dates and invitations by post, by email or by message, or a mix of all three. Whatever you choose, keep the timings the same so every guest hears at the same time.
The short version
Save the dates six to 12 months before, invitations four to six months before and never later than two, and a reply date four to six weeks before the day. For a wedding abroad, send everything earlier. For more help with the replies side of your wedding, browse the rest of our guides or see how AisleReply works.
Let your guests reply on WhatsApp
A personal message for every guest, replies in one place, a live headcount for you, and gentle reminders for the ones who go quiet.