08 Mar Destination Wedding Invites: The Ins, Outs, and What to Avoid
You’re planning a stunning wedding ceremony in an exotic location. Guests, of course, are desired and you want to make sure to invite everyone on your list. But, just what goes into creating destination wedding invitations? There’s a lot more to it than you probably think, but it all adds up to good sense to help your guests prepare for the big day.
Destination wedding etiquette generally calls for two rounds of invitations instead of just one formal document. It can also be helpful to have a wedding website that assists guests in making their travel plans. This is especially so if the wedding location is far away.
Here’s what to consider in invitations for your destination wedding:
- An initial “save the date” notice – This is an initial, rather informal invitation that helps your guests start planning for travel and to even see if it’s feasible. It should go out at least 10 months before the ceremony. Up to a year in advance can be very helpful for a costly trip in helping guests save and also enabling them plenty of time to request vacations and whatnot. This invitation doesn’t need to be terribly formal in terminology, but it can be nice to have it match the style of the upcoming wedding in colors. It should include the date, time and location of the ceremony. A URL for the wedding website is also very helpful here. You can find some great destination wedding invitations on Etsy.
- The formal invitation – About six months before the big day, the formal invitations should go out. These don’t need to include travel details, but it’s helpful to include a URL for the wedding website as well as your travel consultant’s contact info. Also, include where the ceremony will be (beach, a reception hall, garden), so guests know how to dress. These invitations are critical for helping remind guests who haven’t yet booked they might want to do so. Remember-most destination wedding guests will like having the travel info, but tend to book about six months before departure.
- The website – There are lots of free services out there that enable couples to create their own wedding websites. These are very useful for destination weddings because it’s possible to include lots of travel information. Consider adding tabs to local hotels, information on the weather, attractions and so on. Your travel consultant will likely have some great tools you can use as well.
Planning for a wedding in a faraway location does call for a few more steps than a ceremony down the street. The results, however, are memories that will last a lifetime. Just be sure to follow destination wedding etiquette – especially on those invitations – to help your guests plan, too.
Do you have some destination wedding invitations tips you’d like to share? Post them here!