Didn’t send Save The Dates. When to send invitations?

Our wedding is currently up in the air due to COVID restrictions but assuming that our wedding goes ahead on 12 December 2021, we will be issuing invitations in the last week of August/first week of September and asking for RSVPs back by 1 November 2021.

I wanted RSVPs back 5-6 weeks early to avoid the stress of having to finalise everything last minute, and, just like you, did not send save the dates and hence wanted to give our guests plenty of notice.

Honestly, while I think STDs are a waste of money (unless for a destination wedding), I think 6-8 weeks is insufficient, especially in peak season or around the holidays - people need time to make plans, take time off work (if need be) etc. The weddings I've all been to have had longer 'invitation windows' (though it may be an Australian thing) and I've never heard anyone complain about having extra time afforded.

HI there!

First off CONGRATULATIONS! My fiancé and I are getting married October 2. 2021. Our RSVP due back date is September 1st. We sent our invites out July 12th. That gives our guest 8 weeks to RSVP by the due back date. However, our final numbers are not due to our reception venue until September 22nd. We chose to have our guest to RSVP by September 1st bc we figured some guests still wont make the September 1st deadline. We wanted our RSVPs to be back a few weeks early to give us little wiggle room between then and September 22nd when our numbers really will be due.

Could you send virtual or informal STDs now?

We send virtual STDs via email, which actually worked out really well. It saved us money, and having everyone's email address in advance ended up super handy when Covid popped into the world and we had to cancel/change plans at the last minute. Emailing all of our guests using the BCC field was WAY easier than it would have been to individually call/text/snail mail them all to let them know our state was shut down and the wedding we planned was not going to happen.

I do think people need more advanced notice of your wedding due to the holidays, but I think getting an invite in August for a wedding in December would make me feel really pressured to give a response well before I was actually ready (I'm one of those people who like to RSVP right away and not force couples to wait anxiously until the deadline). It would probably make me a little anxious TBH.

I would say, if you can informally notify your guests of your date in advance (ASAP) that would be best, even if its a simple "heads up!" text. If for some reason that's not possible I would send the invites a little bit earlier than usual, but probably sometime in mid-late September would be fine. August is still summer and I don't even want to think about snow and the holidays yet. By mid-September, kids are back in school and people's mindsets are already towards "fall" and holidays, so December doesn't seem that far out at that point, but its typically still well before people have actually made holiday plans.