Do you need save the dates?

Whether you need them

A save the date only asks guests to keep the day free. The invitation, with the details and the RSVPs, comes later. If the invitation can do that job in time, you don't need both.

How long paper takes

Here's each step for a list of 60 households, one card per address.

1. Gathering addresses

   Days to weeks

   Postcodes for every aunt, old flatmate and plus-one. For most couples this is the slow part, and it can't start until the guest list is settled.

2. Choosing and ordering

   An evening or two

   Picking a design, checking every name and date, and placing the order. Some stationers send a proof to approve first, which adds a round trip.

3. Printing and delivery

   4 to 10 working days

   From MOO's quickest free delivery to Vistaprint's cheapest option. Faster delivery costs extra.

4. Addressing and stamping

   About 3 hours

   Writing out 60 envelopes, filling and stamping them, at our rough guess of 3 minutes each by hand. Then a trip to the post box.

5. In the post

   1 to 3 working days

   First class aims for the next working day and second class for within three. In 2025/26, Royal Mail delivered 75.7% of first class and 90.2% of second class letters on time. Cards to Europe can take up to 5 working days.

From ordering to the last card arriving takes about 6 to 14 working days, plus however long the addresses take.

Printing and post times are the companies' own, from the sources below. The time spent gathering addresses and writing envelopes is our estimate, and yours will vary.

A link goes out the same evening

Make it, publish it and send the link to the family group or to each guest in one sitting. There are no addresses to chase, nothing to print and nothing to go missing in the post. Guests who've moved still get it, and anyone abroad gets it at the same moment as everyone else.

When things are moving fast

If you've just booked a popular date, or the wedding is under a year away, the days count. Guests' calendars fill up too, and a card that lands in two weeks gives someone else two weeks to ask them first. A link sent tonight puts the date in front of everyone straight away.

Or send both

You don't have to choose. Send the link to everyone now, then post printed cards later to the few who'd like one to keep, such as grandparents or anyone who isn't online. Once your page is live you can print it from your edit page for nothing extra, four cards to an A4 sheet that fit a C6 envelope.

Questions