Free tool
When to send invitations: invitation and RSVP timeline calculator
Enter the date of your event and get every date that leads up to it — save the date, invitations, RSVP deadline, reminders, final numbers — and the thank-you after it. Add them all to your calendar in one file.
- Free, no sign-up
- Runs in your browser — nothing you type is uploaded
- Excel, CSV and PDF, ready to use
Open a file you made here
Only files made with this Winglark tool can be opened and updated here. Open the PDF, Excel or CSV file it gave you, make your changes and download it again. The file is read in your browser; nothing is uploaded.
Adjust the steps
- Send the save the datedays before
- Send the invitationsdays before
- Remind those who have not replieddays before
- RSVP deadlinedays before
- Last call to the silentdays before
- Give the final numbersdays before
- Finish the seating plandays before
- Week-before note to those comingdays before
- Prepare the doordays before
- Day-before reminderdays before
- Send the thank-youdays after
The lead times are the usual conventions from our guides. Your caterer’s and venue’s deadlines come first — change any number to match them.
Event
Choose the date of your event to see the timeline.
How to use it
Choose the date of the event and the kind of event it is.
Read the timeline: every step with its date, the weekday and what to do on it.
Change any lead time to match your caterer’s and venue’s deadlines, or switch off the steps you do not need.
Download the dates as a calendar file, or print the timeline for the team.
In Winglark
In Winglark, the reminders know who has answered
The dates are the same; what changes is how much of each step you do by hand.
- Reminders go only to the guests who have not answered, never to the whole list.
- Every invitation’s delivery is traced, so a bounced address is corrected rather than reminded.
- Replies, companions and meal answers are counted as they arrive, so your final numbers are a list, not a guess.
Questions
How far in advance should invitations go out?
For most events six to eight weeks before; four to five weeks is common for business events; a wedding invitation goes out a couple of months ahead, after a save the date. The calculator starts from those conventions and lets you change every number.
When should the RSVP deadline be?
Work back from your earliest supplier date — usually the caterer’s final headcount — and leave about a week to follow up. For weddings that lands three to four weeks before the day; for receptions and parties one to two weeks.
When do I send a save the date?
When guests need to plan: four to eight months ahead for a wedding at home and more if guests travel, three to six months for a conference, two to three months for a gala, six to ten weeks for a milestone birthday.
Why did a date move to a Friday?
For business events the calculator keeps sends off weekends: a step that falls on a Saturday or Sunday moves to the Friday before, where people read their mail. Switch it off if your guests are fine with weekend messages.
See it on your own event.
Winglark is in early access. Request access, a person reviews it, and an invitation to your workspace follows.