Wedding invitation suite for vintage cowboy wedding — Suite designed by Handmade Darling printed on acrylic and paper.

When it comes to wedding planning there are so many little details to juggle!

At The Maples Estate we help our couples stay on track with wedding planning by providing each of our clients with a personalized digital wedding planning checklist in your client portal. You can follow along with the scheduled tasks by date, check off items on your to do list and update your checklist to suit your individual wedding!

One of the tasks that we tend to get questions about though, is

“When should we send our wedding invitations out?”

What details should we include in our wedding invitation?
Do wedding invitations need to be physical or is a digital invite okay?
Do we need to send Save The Dates? Can they be sent digitally?
Do we need to create a wedding website?
What do we include on our wedding website?

Also, what’s so important about getting all those details in a physical or digital form that our guests can access and respond to?

With many of our clients guest counts at 50-150 guests, that’s a lot of people to wrangle, call, email or text leading up to your wedding. You want to make sure your guests have all the information they need to RSVP, schedule their travel, book a hotel, select their meals, dress to impress and all arrive on time! Your save the date, wedding invitation and website are your saving grace in helping your guests navigate your wedding weekend without reaching out to you for direction.

So, let’s chat through all these questions and look at some sample wedding invitations for reference as you start to think through your own invites.

Invitation suite for romantic boho wedding upstate — Suite designed by Handmade Darling printed on hand torn paper.

First off, let’s answer that big question: “When should we send our wedding invitations out?”

Answer: At least 8 weeks prior to your wedding weekend - 12 to 20 weeks is even better!

Let’s explain: Every wedding is a bit different, but at the latest you should give your guests 6 to 8 weeks to respond. You will also need enough time after the ‘RSVP by date’ to follow up with guests that you have not yet heard from, finalize your guest count, confirm meal selections with your caterer, set your floor plan, and print your seating chart and place cards - give yourself 2-4 weeks for this. You do have more wiggle room if your caterer does not need exact guest counts or meal selections and if you are skipping assigned seating.

You will also want to give your guests as much time as possible to confirm their schedule, take time off work, book their travel and accommodations.

It’s all in the details

What details should we include in our wedding invitations?

Like I mentioned before, the more details you provide your guests, the less questions they will ask you.

Every invitation will be different depending on the couple but let’s review an invitation suite from one of our wedding coaching clients here at The Maples Estate! I will point out all those key items that your guests will want to know upfront. Keep in mind that they also sent save the dates and have a wedding website where their guests can find more information about their wedding.

Wedding invitation with colorful florals

Common items included in an invitation suite

Invitation Card
Response Card + Meal Selection + Envelope
Mailing Envelope
Postage

Additional items you might want to include

Design Images / Invitation Wrapper
Details Card(s)
- Directions
- Additional Weekend Events
- Accommodations
- Transporation
QR Code Linked to Your Website

Wedding invite details page for colorful summer wedding

Invitation Card

Couple Names
Many couples like to have full spelling of their individual names.

Reference Families
Many couples choose to reference their family as part of the invite.

Wedding Date
Note the date of your main wedding events.

Arrival Time and/or Start Time
Note the time that your events will begin. Many guests will arrive early so it’s best not to add a buffer period into your start time. Instead you can list a suggested arrival time.

Location
Include the address of your first event.

Any other events to follow
Note any additional event details so guests have an idea of how the day will go.

Wedding invitation accommodations and brunch details card

Details Card(s)

Together in one card or separately through multiple cards, list out important details such as:

Accommodations & Room Blocks
If you have a room block or suggested location for guests to stay, it’s a great idea to include these details in your invitation. Include the name of the lodging site, address, any details for making a reservation, etc.

Rehearsal Dinner, Welcome Events or Farewell Brunches
If everyone is able to attend additional events throughout your wedding weekend, feel free to include them in your invite. If the guest list for these events are limited, it’s better to include a specific card just for those invited or a digital invite sent separately.

Transportation
If you will have a shuttle it’s great to list the times and location in your invite. You can also provide notes about taxis and ride share services or the closest airport, train or bus stations.

Suggested Attire
If you have specific thoughts on what your guests should wear you can also include this in your invite. Things like pastel colors, black and white, formal, casual, no skinny heals, bring layers, etc.

RSVP Card

Response Date
Include a deadline to respond. We suggest 2-4 weeks before your wedding. Include all wedding events unless they are drop in.

Physical Card + Envelope -or- QR Code + Password
Give your guests a place to RSVP. That can be a physical card with return envelope and stamp or even a digital response using a QR code and password or email.

Meal Selections
Many caterers will ask you to include a meal option on your invites to confirm the guests meal selection. Confirm with your caterer ahead of time what date they need responses by. Example: Chicken, Beef, Fish, Veggie, etc.

Wedding invitation colorful design for summer wedding

Design Elements and Postage

This is the fun part where you can show your personality and also give a glimpse into your wedding design with colors, patterns and vibes!

Design Elements
Invitations can have many design elements from wrappers to ties to seals or decorative cards.

Envelope
Don’t forget a colorful envelope to stand out in the mail! You may also want to include an envelope for your RSVP card.

Postage
Postage can be a fun design element to make your envelope pop! You may also want to include postage for your RSVP card.

Wedding Invitation Q&A

Digital invites are a great way to save money and streamline the RSVP process. However, some couples and guests enjoy having the physical cards as mementos following the wedding. An invite can also be included in your flat lay which may be something your photographer shoots for you on your wedding day. See examples below!
Many couples choose to send Save The Dates once their wedding date and guest list is set. That way their guests have time to block the date on their calendar and plan ahead. This can be as simple as an email to your guests and could also be sent digitally or in physical form similar to your invite. You would provide your guests with the date of your wedding as well as the location so they have an idea for travel purposes. The save the date does not include an RSVP option and is simply announcing your wedding date and location.
You do not have to do anything, but if you are looking to limit the number of texts, calls and emails leading up to and on your wedding day, a wedding website is a great option! This is a place where you can tell your story, share your engagement photos, faqs and repeat the details on the invite in the case it gets lost.
The more information you provide your guests the better! Repeat details from your invitation including the wedding date, location, start time, other events, link to RSVP.
Share your engagement photos
Share Your Story! How you met, your proposal story, wedding party features, etc.
Guest FAQs: Lodging, transportation, wedding attire, venue setting, fun activities + attractions nearby, wedding gift registry, etc.