So Confused: STD, Invites, Bookings O My

Miss Lighting Bug · May 21, 2010

Hey everyone,

I am so lost on what should come first or when. I really did not want to do Save the dates per say. I wanted to do a large passport invite with all the information ppl will need to know very soon about 1 year ahead of time.

But I am not sure should I talk to the TA before sending information to guests? I will be inviting roughly 50-60 ppl but really have no idea how many will come it could be everyone or 10 ppl. So I didn't want to talk to the TA yet because I wasn't sure what number of rooms to tell her we needed. Then I thought well what if I have to change my dates because the original date is booked or over budget.

Then I wondered how should I have my guests RSVP...purely by booking with the TA?

I am so lost. I do know my family and many guests will have a budget and planning ahead is a must but from what I hear you can't book flights more than 9 months ahead of time and I want to book as a package deal for the cheapest deal possible.

Should I send my "invites/stds" 1 year ahead and state booking and down payments will be 9 months ahead when we get final costs or should I talk to a travel agent first?

WHAT DID YOU GUYS DO...MAYBE THAT IS THE BEST THING TO ASK.

THANKS Friends

PaperBagPrincess · May 22, 2010

I had the same problem. In the end I decided I needed to know rough costs to help people decide if they wanted to go or not, so I talked to a TA. For the resort I wanted she told me I only needed 10ppl for the group rate. So I had her get a quote for that. Then the resorts lets you book the wedding date, without booking your room yet (at least where I am). We are in the process of booking this. In the next few weeks we are going to send our Save the Dates asking people to provide a tentative RSVP to help us with planning. That's as far as we have got Hopefully this helps, it is rather confusing and sometimes frustrating. I switched TAs after 3 months, what a difference a good one makes! I understand the process much better now, as my new TA explains these things to me

I highly recommend contacting a few and asking all your questions then deciding who to go with. Good luck!

JanineA · May 22, 2010

I would say if you are planning on working with a TA try to get a quote first. Depending on the time of year rates may vary significantly. This is of course granted you have chosen a destination. From the quote you can make a decision as to just how much it will cost each guest. Then once you are comfortable with all the negotiations with the TA you can lock in your date. Once you have locked in the date with the venue, then you send out your STD. Save the dates usually go out 1 year to even 6 months before the wedding depending on the venue and the couple.

Usually for traditional at home weddings the invitations are sent 2 months out and for destination weddings 4 but these days since budget is an issue for many people in order to allow guests enough time to plan brides are sending invitations earlier (that way they have a clear picture from early as to how much they will really need to spend).

In my case I got engage on Sep. 19th I sent my save the dates on Nov. 10th (ensuring delivery by Nov. 13th) and I will be sending my invitations June 10th (ensuring delivery by June 13th because the deadline for RSVPs is August 31st. All guests will RSVP online.

Some brides don't do STDs they just make their invitations STDs and send them out early (year in advance that way guests have a longer period of time to see if they can budget and make it).

Hope this helps....remember it is your wedding and you can follow any order or don't follow that you choose.

You can't book flights for 9 months out but what I did was as soon as tickets were available I had a friend who is a travel agent call me and I started checking for cheap tickets and informing guests. If you have a TA they will do all of this for you.

Definitely talk to your TA first before giving guests any info this will avoid you giving them any misinformation and cut down on any confusion. Hope this helps!