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When to send the save the date, and when to send the invitation
Send the save the date as soon as the date and city are fixed, usually three to six months before the wedding, and six months or more if guests have to fly or book leave. Send the full invitation six to eight weeks before, once the functions, venues and timings are final. These are common practice rather than rules, and the right gap depends on how far your guests travel.
The save the date has one job
A save the date only asks people to block the dates. It carries the couple's names, the date and the city, and nothing else. It goes out early because flights, hotel rooms and leave get harder to arrange the closer the wedding is, especially in the November to February season when many weddings fall on the same auspicious dates.
It should not list the functions or their timings. At that stage they are rarely final, and whatever you send early is what people remember. If the sangeet moves from Friday to Thursday later, the invitation has to undo what the save the date said.
The invitation carries the details
The invitation goes out when the schedule is settled: each function, its venue, time, map and dress code, and a way to reply. Six to eight weeks is long enough for guests to plan and short enough that the details are unlikely to change again. It is also the point at which you need replies, because the caterer and the hotel will ask for numbers.
Adjusting the timing
| Situation | Save the date | Invitation |
|---|---|---|
| Hometown wedding, most guests local | 2 to 3 months before | 4 to 6 weeks before |
| Guests travelling within India | 3 to 6 months before | 6 to 8 weeks before |
| Destination wedding or family abroad | 6 to 9 months before | 8 to 10 weeks before |
| Short engagement, under 3 months | Skip it, or send it the week the date is fixed | As soon as venues are booked |
If you are sending only one message because time is short, send the invitation and make sure it asks for a reply. A save the date without an invitation leaves guests with a date and no plan.
Who gets which
Not everyone needs a save the date. It matters most for the people who have to travel or take time off: out-of-town family, friends in other cities, relatives abroad. Guests in the same city can wait for the invitation. Sending the save the date to a smaller group also keeps it from reading like a mass forward.
ShaadiMode makes both from the same details, so the save the date and the invitation never disagree about the date. See the save the date designs
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