how many invitations do I need?
Pop your numbers in below and I'll tell you how many save the dates, invitations and thank you cards to order.
The total headcount for the full day- everyone invited to the ceremony and daytime celebrations. I'll work out the invitation count from this.
Headcount for guests joining later for food, drinks and dancing. Leave as 0 if you're not sending separate evening invitations.
A small buffer for address mistakes, keepsakes for friends and family, a spare for your photographer to shoot your morning-of details, and late additions. 10% works for most couples; nudge it up if you expect late add-ons.
how to count your guests
The thing that trips most couples up: wedding invitations are counted by address, not by headcount. One per household, not one per person on the list. So 100 guests often means more like 60-65 invitations.
A rough rule of thumb to get your head around it: for every two guests on your list, you'll likely be sending around one invitation. Couples, families and anyone living at the same address share. Single friends and plus-ones living alone each get their own.
Save the dates only go to guests invited to the full day- evening-only guests don't traditionally receive them. The idea is to let your day guests block the date out early for the parts of the celebration that are more planning-sensitive.
Evening-only invitations should be clearly different from your day invitations to avoid any mix-ups. The main change is the inviting line- join us for the evening rather than celebrate our marriage.
Thank you cards are usually one per household you'd like to thank, plus a few extras for your suppliers and any guests who send unexpected gifts. Matching your day + evening invitation count combined is a safe starting point.
Why the buffer? A small percentage of extras (around 10% is standard) covers the inevitable: a mistyped address or two, keepsakes for friends and family who'd love one, a spare for your photographer to use for your morning-of flat-lay shots, and the odd late addition to the list. Reordering a top-up later is much more expensive per card than ordering a few extra at the start.
wedding invitation count FAQs
How many wedding invitations do I need? +
You need one invitation per household, not per guest. A couple at the same address counts as one, a family counts as one, a single person counts as one. Add roughly 10% extra for address mistakes, keepsakes for friends and family, a spare for your photographer, and late additions.
Do all my guests need a save the date? +
Save the dates only go to guests invited to the full day — evening-only guests don't traditionally receive them, since the planning-sensitive parts (travel, time off work) are less relevant for a single evening.
How many thank you cards should I order? +
Most couples order one thank you card per household they received a gift or card from, plus a handful of extras for suppliers who went above and beyond and any guests who send unexpected gifts in the post. Matching your day + evening invitation total is a safe default.
Why do I need extras? +
A small buffer (around 10%) covers the inevitable: a mistyped address or two, keepsakes for friends and family who'd love one, a spare for your photographer to use for your morning-of detail shots, and the odd late addition. Reordering a small top-up later usually costs significantly more per card than ordering a few extra at the start.
Should I count children when working out invitations? +
Children living at the same address as their parents are counted within that household — one invitation covers them all. You can name the children directly on the envelope, or address it to The Smith Family to include everyone.
ready to make it official?
Now you pretty much know what you need, you can build a quote in minutes- pick a design, drop in the quantities above, you'll get an instant quote and we can get the ball rolling.