Our family is so big and they live all over the place…cousins in Canada, grandparents in Texas, parents in PA, a sister in Ireland… When my brother and his fiance were planning their summer wedding, they mailed out traditional invites about 6 weeks before the ceremony. The problem was that many family members had already planned vacations or had work commitments that same weekend. My brother was really bummed when our Canadian cousins–who were his childhood best friends–couldn’t come! When it came time to plan my wedding, I got smart and sent out save the date invitations 4 months before the ceremony. It gave our guests the chance to set the date aside. We sent out the traditional ceremony invites last week and I’m so excited by all the responses I’m getting–it looks like everyone is coming!