Send a destination wedding save the date 9 to 12 months before the wedding (12 when guests need passports or the date falls in peak season), with the dates of the whole weekend, the place, the airport to fly into, a passport reminder and when the invitation will follow, then send the full invitation with RSVP about four months before. In The Private Wedding App, the full wedding planning platform, the save the date and the invitation are the same private link: share it early by WhatsApp, text or a printable QR card with the dates and travel page showing, then switch on the RSVP, schedule and flight questions when you are ready, without guests needing a new link, for $19.99/month or $189 once. 3-day free trial.
For a wedding at home, a save the date is a courtesy. For a destination wedding it is the most important thing you send, because it is the message that makes people request vacation days, renew passports and watch flight prices. Everything that goes wrong later, the guest who booked the wrong Sunday, the cousin whose passport expires in October, usually started with a save the date that said too little or arrived too late. This guide covers the timeline, what the card has to say, wording you can copy in English and Spanish, and whether digital or paper fits your guests.
The timeline: from save the date to invitation
A hometown save the date goes out six to eight months ahead. A destination one goes out earlier, 9 to 12 months, because guests have to plan vacation days, budget for flights and rooms, and possibly renew a passport. Go to 12 months when the wedding falls in peak season, when the room block fills quickly, or when many guests travel from far away.
The full invitation with the RSVP follows about four months before, when the schedule, the hotel and the travel details are final. The RSVP deadline sits eight to ten weeks before the wedding, at least two weeks before the room-block cut-off.
Do not send the save the date before you have a signed venue and a date the hotel has confirmed. A changed date after a save the date costs guests real money.
The wedding checklist comes with a 12-month timeline, so the save the date, invitation and RSVP dates sit next to your other deadlines.
What a destination save the date must say
A destination save the date has one job: let guests make the decisions that cost money. That means the dates of the whole weekend, not just the wedding day, so nobody books a Sunday morning flight and misses the brunch. The town and the country. The airport to fly into. A line that an invitation will follow, so guests do not expect to RSVP yet.
Add a passport reminder for any international trip. It is the cheapest line on the card and the one that saves the most heartbreak.
If you already have the hotel, add it with a note that the group rate opens later. If you know the dress code is unusual (beach, all white, cocktail on sand), a word now helps guests shop.
On the digital invitation, the home page shows the dates and the travel page can go live first, with the RSVP switched off until you open it.
- Your names
- The dates of the whole weekend
- Town and country: Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
- The airport to fly into: Los Cabos (SJD)
- "Invitation to follow" with an approximate month
- A passport reminder
- The link to your wedding website
Digital or paper?
Paper is lovely, slow and final. A printed save the date mailed abroad can take weeks, cannot be corrected, and needs a second mailing for the invitation. Digital arrives in seconds, works for guests in every country, and can be updated if the hotel changes.
The middle ground most destination couples choose: a digital save the date for everyone, and a printed card with a QR code for the guests who expect paper, grandparents first. The QR opens the same link, so the paper card never goes out of date. Our comparison of free and paid save the date platforms covers the options.
Open the Cabo demo to see what guests land on when they scan the card.
Every plan includes a printable QR card, 5x7 with your link as a QR code, exportable in each language of a bilingual invitation.
Save the date wording, in English and Spanish
Keep it short and practical. The romance is in the design; the words are logistics. If part of the family reads Spanish, write their version natively rather than word for word: in Mexico "reserva la fecha" or "save the date" both work, and the formal register uses "ustedes".
On a bilingual invitation, each guest picks English or Spanish on opening, so each family reads its own wording, never a card crowded with both.
Who gets a save the date
Everyone who gets a save the date must get an invitation. There is no polite way to un-invite someone who has already booked a flight, so finalize the guest list before the save the dates go out, at least the outer edge of it.
If some guests are invited to the whole weekend and others only to the wedding day, the save the date can already say so: the family's version names the weekend, the colleagues' version names the Saturday. Separate group links make that simple, with each group seeing its own dates.
The guest list holds every guest with their group, phone and email, so the save the date and the invitation go to exactly the same people.
From save the date to invitation, on the same link
The easiest way to avoid two mailings is to make the save the date and the invitation the same thing. Send the link early with the home page and travel page showing. When the schedule is final, switch on the schedule, the RSVP per event and the flight question. Guests reopen the link they already have and find the invitation waiting.
Our guide to sending a destination wedding invitation in two languages covers the invitation itself, and the Cabo San Lucas destination wedding guide covers the travel details to put on it.
Start with the Talavera invitation designed around Cabo San Lucas or any theme, send it as your save the date this week, and start planning: $19.99 a month or $189 once for the whole planner.
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Try the full planner →When should you send save the dates for a destination wedding?
9 to 12 months before the wedding, and 12 when it falls in peak season or many guests need passports or long-haul flights. The full invitation with the RSVP follows about four months before.
What should a destination wedding save the date say?
Your names, the dates of the whole weekend, the town and country, the airport to fly into, a passport reminder, "invitation to follow" and the link to your wedding website. Add the hotel if you have it, with a note that the group rate opens later.
Is a digital save the date OK for a destination wedding?
Yes, and it suits a destination wedding better than paper: it arrives instantly in every country and can be updated if the hotel or a detail changes. Many couples add a printed card with a QR code for guests who expect paper.
Can the save the date and the invitation be the same link?
On The Private Wedding App, yes. Share the link early with the dates and travel page showing, then switch on the schedule, RSVP per event and flight question when you are ready. Guests reopen the same link and find the invitation.
Do you need an RSVP on a destination wedding save the date?
Not a binding one. Some couples ask a soft question (are you planning to come?) to size the room block, but the real RSVP comes with the invitation about four months before, with a deadline eight to ten weeks before the wedding.