The Ultimate Save the Date and Invite Guide for Your Destination Wedding

Some of the most common questions I come across with brides planning their destination wedding are regarding the save-the-dates and invitations. There’s so much information about traditional wedding invitations, but when it comes to a destination wedding there isn’t really an extensive save-the-date and invite guide to follow.

There are a lot of factors regarding save the dates and invitations that are specific to destination weddings and can’t follow the traditional guidelines for a local wedding.

First of all, your timeline is different because your guests need more time to save and plan for the trip of your wedding. There’s also the question of if save-the-dates and invitations are necessary depending on the number of people you plan on inviting and how many people will actually be coming. Should you spend hundreds of dollars on 200 invites when you know only 20 people are likely to come?

Another big factor is the reservation and payment due date set by the resort for your room block. Some resorts require your guests to book up to 6 months in advance, so invitations need to be set well before that.

We’ll go over all of that and so much more in the following post (and podcast episode below) to help you navigate all your save the date and invitation questions.

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All Things Save the Dates

First of all, let’s tackle your questions about save the dates. When planning your destination wedding some couples question if they’re even necessary for a few reasons. To help you decide, answer the following questions:

• Are you going to have a very small and intimate wedding of 20 people or less?
• Are most or all of your guests already aware of the wedding and financially planning for it?
• Do you know that most of the guests you plan on inviting won’t be attending?

If you answered yes to one or more of those questions, you may consider passing on save the dates altogether. As long as those attending are well aware of your wedding date and when they need to book by (they’ll get an invite with that information later) then they shouldn’t need a save-the-date as a reminder as well. 

With that being said, that means you should be moving your invitations up even further when sending them. We’ll talk about the timeline in more details soon, but if you choose to forego save the dates then I recommend sending invitations between 9-12 months before the wedding.

If you don’t like the idea of completely foregoing save the dates then you could consider sending them via email through places like Greenvelope or Etsy. This will save you money and time, while still sticking with tradition by sending both save the dates and invitations.

When to Send Save the Dates and Invitations

Once you’ve decided if you’ll be sending save the dates or not, the next big question is when to be sending those and your invites. 

As mentioned earlier, for a traditional wedding, friends and family need a lot less time to plan. They don’t need to book flights, book the resort, and take time off of work (unless they’re coming in from a far distance) so save-the-dates and invitations for your destination wedding should be sent out with ample time for them.

Save the dates – it’s best to send them out 12 to 18 months before the wedding. This gives your friends and family time to save money, figure out which days to take off of work, and start looking at pricing for their flight and resort.

What if you are on a tight timeline and are already close to or passed the 12 month mark? That’s okay, just get them sent out ASAP. The more time your guests have the better.

For invitations – it’s best to send them out 6 to 8 months before the wedding. Ideally, this would be closer to the 8 month mark, but if you weren’t able to get them out by then, then 6 months is something to shoot for.

Why so early? There’s a few reasons.

As we already mentioned, your guests need more time to save and plan for your destination wedding than a stateside wedding, and the invitation is another reminder of how long they have.

Second, your room block contract may have strict guidelines on the reservation and payment due date. Some resorts require 180 days before your wedding date, which means all guests need to have their reservation placed 6 months before your big day. This is why 8 months is really ideal for getting those invitations out there.

And again, if you choose to forego save the dates entirely, then invitations should be sent even earlier, around the 9-12 month mark.

What Information Should You Be Including on Save the Dates?

Once you’ve decided on save the dates, invitations, and your timeline for sending, the next important question is what exactly to include on both of them.

For a destination wedding, save the dates can be almost like an informal invitation to get guests to book as early as possible, so you’ll want to include as much information as possible for them to do so. If you already have your resort and travel agent you can include the following:

• Your wedding website (this will include instructions on how to book and information about the resort)
• Your travel agent’s contact information
• The reservation and payment due date

If you don’t have the above information at 12 to 18 months before your wedding, that’s okay. Just make sure to include “details to follow” on your save the date or “refer back to our wedding website soon for more information”.

Some family and friends know right away that they won’t be attending, so they can visit your wedding website to find out where you’re registered if they’d like to send a gift.

What Information Should You Be Including on Invitations?

Your invitations are going to be where your guests receive all the information they need regarding your wedding. Everything from where you’re getting married, how to book, when to book by, and additional details outside of your wedding date like a gift registry, travel questions, and anything else you want them to know.

Make sure to have the following on your invitation or wedding website that they can access from your invitation:

• Resort name and location
• Travel agent’s name and contact information
• Reservation and payment due date
• Your wedding website with instructions on how to book
• RSVP information (their booking can be a informal RSVP as well)
• Stateside reception information (if you’re having one)
• Gift information (for those who won’t attend but want to send you a gift)

Here are a few examples:

How Should You Send Save the Dates and Invitations?

We’ve mentioned sending save the dates virtually if you’re going to have a small number of guests attend, but what about invitations?

Although you want to make everyone happy by sending them a formal invitation, it can also be a huge cost to you and your fiancé if you’re trying to keep things under a certain budget.

These days, most adults are technologically savvy enough that they can handle a virtual invitation and instructions on how to book through your website, so virtual invitations are on the rise now more than ever.

You can still send a really nice and formal looking invitation through email and can benefit you in one or more of the following ways:

• You can save a lot money on ordering and mailing save the dates and invitations
• People tend to respond faster by email/through your website
• They still receive an invitation and feel included

Whichever route you choose, as long as you send your save the dates and invitations well in advance with the necessary information, you’re well on your way to making the entire process easy for everyone.

I hope this ultimate save-the-date and invite guide for your destination wedding has been helpful. Ready to get started on your save-the-dates and invitations? Etsy and Pinterest are great places to start for template ideas.

Have any other ideas or thoughts that you think should have been included? Feel free to comment below or send something to me via my contact page!