How many wedding invitations should you actually order?

So you’ve booked your venue and you’re excited to tell guests all about it, you’re choosing your invitations and can’t wait to see the final piece! But, how many do you order again?

Well, there’s no strict rule on how many you should or shouldn’t order, but to make sure you’ve covered everyone, I’ve written down how to work out how many you will actually need, to prevent waste and save you a few pennies.

So let’s get to it...

The myth

Let’s first debunk the myth that you need one invitation per guest. This is absolutely not the case! This only causes a lot of waste and extra expense that you could use elsewhere in your wedding.

Most guests will live with their partner/spouse or family, so you can actually just send one per couple or household. This is a general rule of thumb, but you might still like to send a more per household if there are adult couples living together, i.e. your parents along with your brother and his partner for example.

Let's get down to basics

To count your quantity, simply couple up (or household up) your guest list, this at basic level is how many you’ll need. The only exception is to add on any as above where you’d like to send more than one per household. There will of course be some guests who are lone wolves so account for these too, if they have a plus one then add these to the same invitation.

Remember your immediate family and bridal party count here too so make sure these are all included.

The additions

The only additions you’ll need now are if you think you’ll require a couple of spares in case of anyone missed off the list, or if you think you’ll be adding any guests later on. Remember to order one spare for yourselves as well, to keep as a little wedding memento. It’s always nice to look back on years down the line!

Top tips to avoid over ordering

To summarise, here are my top tips to avoid ordering too many invitations and excess waste, and to help you save on that budget:

• Find a stationer (like me!) who will allow you to order just a couple of extras later on without a minimum order fee requirement

• Order just a handful of spares, maybe up to 5 at most (it’s unlikely you’ll need more than this)

• Double check your list first before ordering - there’s always someone missed the first time around!

• If you have menu choices, add extra slots to the rsvp card in the same invitation, this means you won’t need to send extra invites where households are larger

I hope this helps with the maths for your wedding, but if you need any assistance with your invitation numbers please get in touch, I'd be happy to help.

If you’re ready to get started designing your stationery, get in touch today or book your free consultation here.