How Many Invitations Do I Need?

Photography | Chua Lee Photography

The most common error I see engaged couples make is ordering the wrong quantity of save the dates or invitations. Let's say you're inviting 200 guests. That means you need 200 chairs, 200 place settings, 200 favors... and 200 invitations, right? Wrong! Though you need one for each guest for most categories, you only need one invitation per household. That means that a married couple with three children (5 guests), only needs one invitation to invite the whole family. Out of 200 people, the majority are most likely paired up, so therefore I typically see a guest count of 200 people needing roughly 125-135 invitations. 

I recommend are bare minimum of five extra invitations, but it's much safer to order 10-15 extras. Why so many you ask? Mother-in-laws to be are notorious for adding another three, twelve or twenty-seven addresses on. Avoid this, by being up front with the other side of the family to-be and ask all addresses be submitted by a certain date. All jokes aside though, most couples will have some last minute additions. The next reason is that the postal service is not infallible — they make errors, mail gets lost... or destroyed. If a guest doesn't get their invitation (and why is it always the VIP guests this happens to... ahem, Grandma). With extras on hand, you have a backup to make sure they aren't accidentally neglected. Lastly, we recommend taking at least two invitations on wedding day with you to be photographed that have not been through the postal service. Why two? Wedding invitation suites often have multiple components that cannot be seen simultaneously. For example, you purchased beautiful vintage stamps, but you also invested in a gorgeous water color wedding venue illustration. How can you show the inside of the envelope with the envelope liner and the outside with your pretty stamps in the same shot? You can't... unless you bring two copies! We also often have guests save copies for keepsakes or to put in light boxes. If all this doesn't convince you, maybe the pocket book will. Ordering a handful of invitations after-the-fact is expensive. Printing minimums and paper and/or envelope minimums must be met when going back to re-order. So even though you only need three, you'll have to pay for 25-50 in printing and materials just to get those three you need. All-in-all it's better to have a few extras initially than have to order a lot extra later at a higher price tag.

The most common error I see engaged couples make is ordering the wrong quantity of save the dates or invitations. Let's say you're inviting 200 guests. That means you need 200 chairs, 200 place settings, 200 favors... and 200 invitations, right? Wrong! Though you need one for each guest for most categories, you only need one invitation per household. That means that a married couple with three children (5 guests), only needs one invitation to invite the whole family. Out of 200 people, the majority are most likely paired up, so therefore I typically see a guest count of 200 people needing roughly 125-135 invitations.