The wedding planning process is exciting, but it can also be stressful. Whether you’re a friend, sister, or the bride herself, there are plenty of etiquette rules to keep track of at every state of the process. It’s not just the wedding itself that must be carefully planned. Bridal showers are another area affected by wedding etiquette guidelines, from who should host the shower to who should receive bridal shower invitations.

Wedding etiquette is very specific about who may hold a shower for the bride. Traditionally, the bridal shower was never held by her sister or mother, and certainly never by the bride-to-be herself. Today, it may be appropriate for her mother or sister to hold it in some cases, such as if the bride’s sister is acting as maid of honor. Typically, bridal showers are hosted by the bridesmaids or by the maid of honor. The hostess should volunteer for this position; according to wedding etiquette, the bride should not appoint a hostess for her bridal shower.

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How early is too early to send your wedding invitations? Many couples today begin planning their wedding a year or even two years in advance. Because the guest list is one of the first wedding decisions made, you may be wondering when to send the invitations. Although you can send them as soon as you’ve figured out details like the time and location of the ceremony and reception, you don’t want to send them so early that they are forgotten long before the big day. When you start planning so early, at what point in the process should you order and send the invitations?

It’s never too early to start considering the design of the invitations, which serve to notify guests not only of the time and date of the ceremony, but also of what kind of ceremony and reception to expect, whether your perfect wedding is a large, formal occasion or a contemporary and casual event. The invitations should be ordered as much time as possible before the wedding, at least twelve to sixteen weeks. This will give you enough time to receive them and to address them at a relaxed pace, ensuring that you’re not filling out hundreds of addresses the night before the invites go in the mail.

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