When to send your save the dates
Six to eight months before the wedding, or eight to twelve for long weekends, winter and guests flying in. A timing guide for Canadian weddings.
The short answer: six to eight months before the wedding. Eight to twelve months if many guests travel, if the wedding falls on a long weekend, or if it is in winter.
The longer answer depends on who you are inviting and where they come from. Here is how to pick your date, with the things that make Canadian weddings a little different.
What a save the date is for
A save the date has one job: to make sure the people you love keep the day free. It is not the invitation. It does not ask for a reply, a meal choice or a plus-one. It says who, when and where, and that a formal invitation will follow.
That is why timing matters more than wording. Sent too late, guests have already booked something else. Sent too early, it gets forgotten, or plans change before the invitation goes out.
The usual timeline
- 8 to 12 months before: the save the date, when guests travel, for long weekends and for winter weddings.
- 6 to 8 months before: the save the date, for a local wedding.
- 3 to 4 months before: the invitation, with the RSVP.
- 4 to 6 weeks before: the RSVP deadline.
- 1 to 2 weeks before: the final headcount, to the caterer and the venue.
Before you send anything, you need two things settled: the date and the city. The venue, the schedule and the dress code can wait for the invitation.
When to send earlier
Guests who fly in. Flights from Europe, South Asia or the Middle East cost more the later they are booked. Some guests also need a visitor visa or an electronic travel authorization to enter Canada, and the wait can be long. Give them eight to twelve months, and say so on the save the date if you can.
Long weekends. Victoria Day, Canada Day, the August civic holiday, Labour Day and Thanksgiving are popular wedding dates, and also the weekends people book the cottage or visit family. Tell guests early, before their own plans take the weekend.
Winter weddings. December and the holidays fill up quickly, and winter travel is less forgiving. For a wedding between late November and March, aim for nine months or more.
Destination weddings in Canada. A wedding in Banff, at a lake in Muskoka or in Old Québec means hotel rooms for most of your guests. Send the save the date once you have a room block, so guests can book while it lasts.
When later is fine
A small wedding, mostly local guests, on an ordinary Saturday: four to six months is enough. The same goes for a second celebration after a wedding abroad, when guests already know the date.
If you are already within four months, skip the save the date and send the invitation directly.
Who receives one
Send a save the date only to the people who will be invited. Once a household has it, it is very hard to leave them off the invitation.
If you are still deciding between two guest lists, send save the dates to the shorter one now, and add people with the invitation later.
In which language
If part of the family reads another language better than yours, send them the save the date in that language. A grandparent who reads it on their own does not need someone else to tell them the date. On Zendegi.Studio, each language gets its own link, in up to 30 languages: see one save the date, in up to 30 languages.
Paper, digital, or both
A paper save the date takes printing and postage time, and addresses you may not have yet. A digital one arrives the same day, lands where guests already talk to you, and can be sent again to anyone who lost it.
The most useful thing a digital save the date can do is put the date in the guest’s calendar. Every scene on Zendegi.Studio has an "Add to calendar" button for Apple, Google and Outlook, so the day is booked in one tap.
A simple plan
- Settle the date and the city.
- Make your guest list, at least the shortest version of it.
- Find out who will travel and which languages they read.
- Send the save the date at eight to twelve months if many travel, six to eight if most are local.
- Send the invitation three to four months before, with the RSVP.
You can make your save the date for free, watch it on your own phone first, and send it the day you are ready.