The Real Wedding Stationery Timeline: When You Actually Need to Order
- Andrea Cooper-Badkin
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
Just got engaged? Congratulations! Now take a breath, because despite what the wedding industry might suggest, you don't need to think about stationery for months yet.
If you got engaged over the festive season (or recently), you're probably being bombarded with advice about booking suppliers immediately. There's this underlying panic that if you don't secure everything within weeks of getting engaged, you'll miss out.
Here's the honest truth about wedding stationery timing: you have plenty of time.
When to order wedding stationery
Let's break down the real timeline for when to order wedding stationery so you can stop worrying and enjoy being engaged.
Save the Dates: 9-12 months before your wedding
That's when you should aim to send them out. You'll want to book your stationery design slot about 1-2 months before you need to receive them, so roughly 10-13 months before your wedding date.
If you think save the dates are unnecessary for your situation (maybe most guests are local, or your date isn't near holidays), skip them entirely and send your invitations a bit earlier instead.
Invitations: 4-6 months before your wedding
This gives guests plenty of notice while keeping the information current. Your venue and suppliers will tell you when they need final guest counts, so work backwards from that deadline. Set your RSVP date, build in buffer time for late responses, and then you'll know when to send invitations.
Book your design slot 1-2 months before you want to send them, so around 5-7 months before your wedding.
On the Day Items: 2-3 months before your wedding
Menus, place cards, table plans, signage, and order of service booklets can all wait until you have your final guest list and seating arrangements sorted. There's no point designing a table plan when you don't yet know who's actually coming.
What This Means for Your Timeline
Got engaged in 2025 and planning a late Autumn 2026 wedding? You might want to be sending Save the Dates out soon (if you think you need them). Invitations can wait until later in Spring 2026.
Planning a Summer 2027 wedding? You've got plenty of time before you need Save the Dates, and even longer for everything else.
Why Book Early Then?
You might be thinking: if I don't need stationery for months, why do stationery designers talk about booking early?
Two reasons.
First, if you want a bespoke design (something created entirely from scratch just for you), that process takes longer. The design work happens before production, so you'll want to book your design slot earlier to allow time for concepts, revisions, and finalising artwork.
Second, small studios like mine work with a limited number of couples each season. I take advance bookings with a small booking fee to hold your slot in my schedule, especially for popular wedding seasons. This guarantees you get the time and attention your project deserves, rather than me trying to squeeze in too many projects at once.
But here's what I want you to understand: booking early means reserving your spot in my schedule for when you actually need the work done. It doesn't mean you need your stationery now.
What You Should Do Right Now
If you're newly engaged:
Enjoy it, celebrate with your people, let the excitement settle. Talk about what kind of wedding you actually want before you start booking things.
When you're ready to think about stationery (and not before), here's what helps:
Know your wedding date and venue
Have a rough idea of guest count
Think about the overall vibe you're going for
That's it. You don't need your full wedding vision mapped out. You don't need to know your colour palette or have a Pinterest board with 500 pins.
Current Availability
I'm currently booking for 2026 and 2027 weddings, with plenty of availability still across both years.
If you've got your date and venue sorted and want to secure your spot, get in touch. If you're still figuring things out, save this post and come back when you're ready.
There's no rush. Your stationery will be beautiful whether you book today or in three months.
When you're ready to talk about your wedding stationery, enquire at thoughtfullywild.com/weddings/enquiries or email info@thoughtfullywild.com.
