When to Send Save the Dates for a Destination Wedding

Send save the dates for a destination wedding 9 to 12 months before the day. Go for 12 months or more if most of your guests will fly internationally or you’re marrying in peak season. The formal invitation follows 4 to 6 months out, with RSVPs due before your hotel room block is released.

Your guests have flights to book, passports to check and leave to request, often for several nights away rather than one. The sooner they know the date and the place, the more of them can say yes.

Photo by @cartaliastudio

Your destination wedding timeline, month by month

Work backwards from your wedding date.

12 months or more before: lock the date and destination, then start your guest list and wedding website.
9 to 12 months before: send the save the dates. Aim for the earlier end if guests are coming from overseas, or if your date is in peak season or on a holiday weekend.
6 to 8 months before: finalise the venue details, room block and weekend schedule, and order your invitations.
4 to 6 months before: send the formal invitations.
10 to 12 weeks before: RSVPs due.
The day after your RSVP date: follow up with anyone who hasn’t replied, then confirm final numbers with your venue.

Your save the date covers the date and the place. Use the months between it and the invitation to settle everything else the invitation has to carry: times, the venue address, the room block and the dress code.

What goes on the save the date and invitation

Keep the save the date short. It needs your names, the date with the year, the city and country, your wedding website and the line “formal invitation to follow”. Leave off the venue address, times and RSVP details, since those can still change.

The invitation carries the rest: the venue and its address, ceremony and reception times, the dress code, your RSVP date and where guests should stay. For a destination wedding, add the room block booking deadline and the nearest airport. Then point guests to your wedding website for the full weekend schedule.

For designs, browse our save the date ideas.

When international guests need a full year

If most of your guests are flying in from overseas, send save the dates a full 12 months out. Go earlier if your date falls in peak season or on a public holiday weekend. Guests may need to renew a passport, apply for a visa, arrange several days of leave and book long-haul flights. Before you set your send date, check the current passport processing time in the countries most of your guests live in.

Sending much earlier than 12 months rarely helps. Plans are still moving that far out, and a card that arrives 18 months ahead is easy to lose. If you want people to hear sooner, tell your closest family and friends yourself and send the printed card on schedule.

Traditional vs digital invitations

Paper or digital, the timeline doesn’t change. Printed cards need production and postage time, so ask your stationer how long they take before you set a send date. Letterpress and foil take longer than digital print. Digital save the dates and invitations can go out the day they’re designed and reach overseas guests without international postage.

You can also mix the two: printed cards for family and the wedding party, digital for guests overseas. Either way, put your wedding website on the card, because that’s where guests will look for updates. You can build one free in Wonderland Studio, with online RSVPs included.

Follow up with your guests

Set your RSVP date 10 to 12 weeks before the wedding. That’s earlier than you’d set it for a wedding at home, because your venue, caterer and transport all need numbers. Any guest who hasn’t booked yet also has to do it before the room block is released.

Check your room block contract for its release date, and set the RSVP date before it. The day after the RSVP date, message anyone who hasn’t replied. Keep your wedding website up to date so guests see changes there first. Our guide to wedding RSVP websites compares the tools that chase replies for you.

Running late? What to do at four months

Four months out is too late for a destination save the date. Skip it and send the formal invitation now, with the room block, travel details and RSVP date all in one mailing. On the day you send it, call or message the guests you most want there so they can start booking.

If the wedding is still more than eight months away, you have time for both cards, so send the save the date now.

Who should get a save the date

Send one to everyone who will get an invitation, and nobody else. A save the date promises that an invitation is coming, so hold back anyone on a second list until early RSVPs come in. One card per household is enough. Adult children you’re inviting in their own right get their own card.

Once the save the dates are out, the next job is the weekend itself: where guests stay, what they do between events and how they get from the airport to the ceremony. Wedded Concierge can plan it with you. If you’re still choosing where, start with our destination wedding locations.

Frequently asked questions

How early should you send save the dates for a destination wedding?

9 to 12 months before the wedding. Send them 12 months out, or a little earlier, if most guests are travelling internationally or your date falls in peak season or on a holiday weekend.

When should destination wedding invitations go out?

4 to 6 months before the wedding, with an RSVP date 10 to 12 weeks before the day. Set that RSVP date before your hotel room block's release date.

Is 4 months too late to send save the dates?

For a destination wedding, yes. At four months, skip the save the date, send the formal invitation straight away, and contact your key guests personally so they can book.

Is 3 months too early to send out wedding invitations?

No. For a destination wedding, three months is on the late side, and 4 to 6 months gives guests more time to book. For a wedding close to home, three months is earlier than you need but does no harm.

Do save the dates and invitations go to the same people?

Yes. Only send a save the date to someone who will definitely receive an invitation. Guests you add later can receive the invitation on its own.

What should a destination wedding save the date include?

Your names, the date with the year, the city and country, your wedding website address and "formal invitation to follow". Leave the venue address, times and RSVP details for the invitation.