Your cousin in Toronto needs four months to get leave and book a flight. Your colleague in Accra will forget a wedding announced six months ahead. Timing your invitations means planning for both, and many couples get it wrong in one direction or the other.
Save-the-dates: six to eight months
A save-the-date tells guests the date and place so they can plan. For weddings with guests travelling from abroad, send it six to eight months before. For a destination wedding or a wedding during busy seasons such as December in Ghana, when flights fill up and prices rise, send it even earlier. A simple digital card in a WhatsApp message is enough.
Formal invitations: two to three months
Send the full invitation, with times, venues, dress code and RSVP details, eight to twelve weeks before the wedding. For a local wedding with few travelling guests, six to eight weeks is often enough.
Traditional engagement invitations
If you are holding a traditional engagement and a church or civil wedding on different days, make it clear which events each guest is invited to. Many families issue separate cards. The engagement is often more family-focused, and invitations may go out through family heads.
RSVP deadline: four weeks before
Set the RSVP deadline about four weeks before the wedding. Caterers, venues and seating planners need final numbers, usually a week or two before the day. The extra time gives you room to chase guests who forget to reply.
Reminders
Send a gentle reminder a week before the RSVP deadline and a final message with practical details, such as directions, parking and timing, a few days before the wedding. In Ghana and Nigeria, many guests decide late, so expect to make phone calls.
Printed and digital
Many couples now send digital invitations, sometimes with a printed card for elders and important guests. Older relatives may prefer a physical card delivered by hand, which is also seen as more respectful. Decide early which guests get which format.
Wedding websites
A wedding website lets you put all the details in one place and update them if anything changes. Include the website address on save-the-dates and invitations.
Late additions
If you add guests after the main invitations go out, send their invitations as soon as possible and do not mention that they were added late. Keep a “B list” ready if your venue has a strict limit.
Good timing will not stop every guest from replying late. It will give the ones who need to travel the chance to be there, and give you the numbers you need before the caterer asks for them.
