When to Send Wedding Invitations

A couple sits down to finalise their wedding invitation wording and realises the date is six weeks away. Half their guest list lives outside Uyo and needs time to arrange travel. The maths doesn't work anymore.

The general guidance is 6–8 weeks of notice for a local wedding, stretching to 10–12 weeks when guests are travelling. That's the send date, but it's the last step in a longer chain, and it's the earlier steps that usually eat the time nobody budgeted for.

Wording takes longer to agree than expected. Every name needs checking. A printed proof needs reviewing before the full batch runs, because a spelling mistake caught after printing is a far more expensive mistake than one caught on a proof.

One detail worth deciding early: registry information belongs on a wedding website, not squeezed onto the invitation card itself. It keeps the card focused on what actually matters: who, when, where, and how to RSVP.

A workable rule: settle wording and design with at least 10 weeks left, leave a week for a proof and any correction, and post with 6–8 weeks still on the clock. It feels tight because the design stage always takes longer than planned. Budget for that, not for the ideal case.