WR: Venue and STD timing question (longish)

JohnGalt32

I have been lurking a bit on this board, and you ladies give good advice, so I hope will help me with my predicament.

FI and I have fallen in love with a beautiful historic theater in our area. The price is right, and it's just a fantastic spot.  The problem is, they can't officially confirm our date until 7 months in advance.  

This wouldn't be a problem, except that all of our extended family is out of town...actually...out of the country.  He has family coming from Australia and England.  For this reason, we wanted to send out STDs as close as possible to a year in advance.  

The coordinator at the venue said that she could "reserve" the date for us now, but that before 7 months, she couldn't completely confirm it.  So, I guess my question is this: Do we send out the STDs with our "reserved" date and then just hope for the best, or do we wait to send them out and give FI's family less time to save?  Or...is there any other option anyone can think of?   Thank you in advance for any advice!  

CN: Awesome venue can't confirm our date until 7 months in advance.  When to send out STDs for out of country guests?

AmoroAgain

Well, I would send them at 7 months, after you've confirmed your date.  That's plenty of time for them to make travel plans.

sucrets4

What would you do if someone made flight reservations and then you didn't have that date??

Wait for it to be absolutely confirmed.  You could tell them the possibility and then it's their choice, but do NOT tell them to save the date for something that you're not sure of!

mrsamyjones

I would send your STD out once you confirm. 7 months is plenty of time to give OOT guests.

FWIW my FI has 25 guests flying in from England and a handful from Africa and about 45 are coming from all over the US. Our STDs didn't go out till the 5 month mark. No one complained.

polichik

I've received plenty of STDs that only list the city, not the actual location. If you have a backup venue or two relatively close to your first choice (for hotel purposes), you could always send out the STDs like that.

Example:

Save the Date!
John and Sarah
are getting married
San Francisco, CA
9.10.2011

JohnGalt32

Cool.  You all are right.  Looking over my post, it makes WAY more sense to send them out at 7 months once it's confirmed, and maybe just give them a tentative date range via word of mouth sooner.  Thank you!  

lyndausvi

7 months is plenty of time.

 While I can't speak about your family, I know most of our family knew the wedding date even before the STD went out via word of mouth.  My mom and his mom have big mouths.

sucrets4

Ooo, I agree with poli, too.  If the area you're getting married in has lots of possibilities, then you could just do that, but I would feel weird about it.

3.6.10Bride

Most airlines won't let you make flight reservations that far in advance, so really, all you're needing to do at this point is let people know that a wedding is coming up in the future, they'll be invited, and they should start saving if they are going to come. I think all that could be accomplished in an email or by word of mouth. Then, when you have the details more finalized, send out your official save the date.

JohnGalt32

Poli: That is what I was thinking to do if we sent them out a year in advance (which wasn't exactly clear in my post).  There are plenty of other venues in the area, but I we are both pretty set on this one.   Thank you for the suggestion, though.  Oh...and I love your engagement photos!  You and your FI are adorable!