How many wedding invitations should you order? The rule of thumb

If you're inviting 100 guests, you don't need 100 invitations. You need somewhere between 50 and 60 — and getting that maths right (or wrong) is the difference between a smooth print run and a last-minute scramble to set up a small reprint.

Count households, not guests

One invitation goes to one household. A couple at the same address counts as one invitation. A family of four counts as one invitation. A single guest with a plus-one counts as one invitation.

There's only one exception: adult children still living at the parental home. Tradition says you send them their own invitation if they're old enough that an envelope addressed jointly to Mr & Mrs Smith wouldn't feel like it included them. Most couples now send one invitation per household and let the parents pass on the details — but if you'd prefer the formal treatment, send the extras.

Add 10–15% extras

Always over-order. Standard practice is 10–15% more than your household count. Here's what those extras cover:

• Late additions — second cousins you forgot, the new partner of a single friend, last-minute children who'd been on the maybe list.
• Replacements for any lost in the post — Royal Mail doesn't always deliver.
• Keepsakes — one for each set of parents, one for your wedding photographer to shoot, one for your own scrapbook.
• Mistakes — handwritten names, addresses in the wrong format, the occasional envelope you'll seal before realising you wrote on it wrong.

Worked example: 120-guest wedding

120 guests typically equals about 65 households (a roughly even mix of couples, families and singles). Add 15% — that's 10 extras. Round up to a clean ordering quantity. Most stationers (us included) sell in tiers of 10, so order 75. You'll have 10 spare for keepsakes, lost-in-post, and mistakes.

Save the dates and thank-you cards follow the same rule

If you order 75 invitations, order 75 save the dates earlier and 75 thank-you cards later. Same households, same envelopes, same maths. The only piece of stationery that scales by guest count rather than household is the on-the-day suite (place cards, menus, order of service) — those are one per guest, plus 10% for the celebrant, photographer and keepsakes.