You generally send wedding invitations about 2–3 months before the wedding for most local events, and a bit earlier (around 3–4 months) for destination or peak-season weddings.

Standard Timing

  • For a typical local wedding, invitations are traditionally mailed 6–8 weeks before the big day, which is still widely considered good etiquette.
  • Many modern planners and stationers now suggest 2–3 months before the wedding to give guests extra time to RSVP and plan travel while keeping the event top of mind.

Destination & Peak-Season Weddings

  • For destination weddings, invitations are usually sent 3–4 months in advance, especially if guests need to book flights, hotels, or time off work.
  • If your date falls on a holiday weekend or in a very busy travel season, sending invites 10–12 weeks ahead is often recommended as a courtesy.

How Early Is Too Early?

  • Most etiquette and stationery pros caution against mailing invitations more than about 6 months before the wedding, even for special cases, because guests’ plans, addresses, and details can change.
  • If you want people to have the date far in advance, it is better to send save the dates 6–12 months ahead, then follow with formal invitations on the standard timeline.

RSVP Timing Basics

  • Set your RSVP date for about 1 month before the wedding so you have time to finalize your headcount and seating with vendors.
  • Some planners advise putting the RSVP deadline a few days earlier than vendors require, so you have a buffer to chase late responses.

Quick Reference Table (HTML)

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Wedding type When to send invitations RSVP deadline
Local / typical wedding 6–8 weeks before; many couples now choose ~2–3 months before.About 1 month before the wedding.
Destination wedding About 3–4 months before the wedding.Roughly 6–8 weeks before the wedding, or aligned with travel deadlines.
Holiday / peak season date 10–12 weeks before as a courtesy.About 1–2 months before, depending on vendor cutoffs.
Earliest advisable No more than ~6 months before the wedding.Not applicable.
**TL;DR:** Aim to send your invitations about **2 months out** for a standard wedding, **3–4 months** if it’s destination or during a holiday period, and rely on save the dates—not super-early invitations—to give guests the longest notice.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.