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

   Zip codes for every aunt, old roommate 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 shipping

   8 to 15 business days

   From Vistaprint's cheapest delivery at its quickest to Zola's printing time plus standard shipping. Faster shipping costs extra.

4. Addressing and stamping

   About 3 hours

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

5. In the mail

   Up to 5 days

   USPS gives First-Class Mail 1–5 days. In fiscal 2025, the Postal Regulatory Commission found it delivered 72.76% of single letters with a 3–5-day standard on time, against a target of 80%. Letters going shorter distances did better, at 83.19%.

From ordering to the last card arriving takes about 14 to 21 business days, plus however long the addresses take.

Printing and mail times are the companies' own and the regulator's, 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 a group text or to each guest in one sitting. There are no addresses to chase, nothing to print and nothing to go missing in the mail. Guests who've moved still get it, and anyone overseas 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 right away.

Or send both

You don't have to choose. Send the link to everyone now, then mail printed cards later to the few who'd like one to keep, like 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 a letter-size sheet that fit an A6 envelope.

Questions