When should I order my wedding invitations and what happens if I wait too long?

photo by Kelli Boyd Photography

There's a moment most brides know well. The venue is booked, the florist is chosen, the dress is somewhere between a daydream and a fitting appointment, and then someone asks about invitations. Suddenly the calendar looks a little different than it did five minutes ago.

You're not behind. But let's talk about timing.

The timeline that actually works

Wedding invitations aren't something to order the month before your wedding. They're the first physical piece of your day that lands in someone's hands and they deserve the time it takes to get them right.

Here's the honest breakdown:

Save the dates go out six to eight months before the wedding. For destination weddings or holiday weekends plan for eight to twelve months. Your guests need time to make travel arrangements and a save the date gives them that runway without locking in every detail.

Invitations are a little different depending on your guest situation. If you're hosting a local wedding six to eight weeks before the wedding date is the standard window. But if you're getting married in Savannah or anywhere in the Lowcountry and your guests are traveling from out of town, which most of ours are, we recommend ten to twelve weeks. That extra time accounts for travel planning, accommodations and the kind of details that come with a destination celebration.

Working backwards from there, if your invitations need to be in envelopes and ready to mail ten to twelve weeks before the wedding, you need to allow time for production before that. Our standard letterpress production runs three to four weeks from final design approval. Add design time, proofing rounds and any revisions and you're looking at starting the conversation at least three to four months before your mail date.

That means if your wedding is in October the conversation should start in April or May at the latest. June if you're cutting it close. The earlier you start the more room you have to breathe, and breathing room is something every bride deserves.

Why letterpress takes longer and why that's the point

Letterpress isn't printed on a digital machine and shipped in a week. Every suite is hand-fed through an antique press, one sheet at a time. Tom has been doing letterpress for over two decades and every job that comes off his press reflects that. He runs each sheet with the kind of attention that doesn't have an off switch- adjusting pressure, checking registration, wiping down the press until the color is exactly right before a single invitation is approved. It's meticulous work and it takes the time and care. That care is exactly what separates a hand-pressed letterpress invitation from everything else in your mailbox.

What if you're already running late

First, don't panic. Late is relative and we've seen it all.

If your timeline is tighter than ideal tell us upfront. We'll be honest about what's possible and what isn't. Sometimes the solution is a design from The Curated Collection that's already close to what you love and requires less back and forth. Sometimes it's streamlining the suite. Sometimes it's just getting started immediately so we're not losing days.

We will always work with you to find the path that gets your invitations in the mail on time without compromising what brought you here in the first place.

The conversation is always the first step

Every order at Lolli Pop Letterpess starts the same way, with a real exchange about your wedding, your vision and your timeline. However you reach us, what you'll find on the other end is a person who asks questions, listens and tells you exactly what's possible.

If you're reading this with your wedding date on the horizon and invitations still on the to-do list, reach out. Sooner is always better but later is rarely hopeless.

We'd love to hear about your wedding.

Ash | Creative Director & Designer

Lolli P