When to send your wedding registry to guests

The registry should be live and linkable six months before the wedding, included on the save-the-date or wedding website (never the invitation itself), and re-surfaced exactly twice: at invitation time and two weeks before the wedding.

Here's the timing that actually works.

Why six months out, not later

Three forces want the registry live early:

1. Engagement parties and showers happen 3-5 months before the wedding. Guests at those events look for the registry that day. If it's not there, they buy off-script, usually duplicating something you'd later add, or grabbing a generic "couples gift" that ends up in a closet.
2. Out-of-town and older relatives shop early. A meaningful chunk of registry purchases, often 20-25%, happens more than two months out, mostly from the parents-of-the-couple network.
3. The registry needs revisions. Items go out of stock, prices shift, you'll cut twenty things and add thirty more. Six months gives you room to iterate without panicking.

Six months isn't aspirational; it's the floor. Earlier is better. A registry live the day you get engaged is fine; guests won't buy from it for months, but the link works the moment anyone asks.

What goes on the save-the-date

The save-the-date is the right place for the registry link, not the invitation. Save-the-dates go out 6-8 months before the wedding (longer for destination weddings) and they're the moment guests start mental planning, including gift planning.

What works:

Sarah & Jordan June 14, 2027 · Hudson Valley, NY sarahandjordan.com

The wedding website is the linked landing page. The registry lives one click away, alongside lodging, travel, and the schedule. Don't put the raw registry URL on the save-the-date itself; it's tacky and looks transactional.

If you don't have a wedding website, link directly to the registry. The crime is making guests Google you.

What goes on the invitation

Nothing about the registry. This is firm.

The invitation is the formal artifact. Registry information on a paper invitation reads as a request, not an event. Etiquette here hasn't moved in fifty years and isn't going to.

The mechanics that actually deliver the link:

• The wedding website printed somewhere on the invitation suite (often the details card)
• Word of mouth from your parents, the wedding party, your most-online friends. Guests ask each other.
• An RSVP-time email (if you do a digital RSVP) that includes a "find the registry here" link in the confirmation

Most guests will look for the registry the week they RSVP. If your wedding website is one click from the registry, the system works.

The two re-surface moments

After the save-the-date, the registry needs to be re-surfaced exactly twice. More than that and it reads as begging.

Moment 1: invitation time, 6-8 weeks out. Most guests engage with the wedding website in the week after the invitation lands. Make sure the registry link on the website is prominent (not buried under "FAQs"), the registry is fully populated, and at least 70% of items are still available.

Moment 2: two weeks before the wedding. This is the surge. Roughly 30-40% of registry purchases happen in the final two weeks. You don't need to email anyone, but make sure the registry is in good shape. Replenish anything that's been picked clean. Add a few items if you've cleared too much.

Don't send a "remember our registry!" email. Do send a "wedding logistics" email two weeks out that happens to link to the wedding website (which links to the registry). That's the polite version.

The shower problem

Bridal showers and engagement parties are registry-heavy events. The host typically wants to share the registry link with shower guests in their invitation, 6-8 weeks before the shower.

Two rules:

1. The registry must be live before shower invitations go out.
2. Don't make a separate "shower registry." Same registry, possibly with a note that smaller items are great for showers and bigger items for the wedding. Two registries split inventory and confuse everyone.

What "live" actually means

A registry isn't live when you've created an account. It's live when:

• It has at least 60% of its target item count (see the math: ~2.5 items per guest)
• It mixes price points, with real options under $75
• The shareable link works on mobile, with no login required for guests
• At least one cash fund is named specifically, not "general fund"
• Your name and the wedding date are visible on the landing page

Anything less and early shoppers will bounce. They'll buy you a vase you didn't ask for, and you'll have spent the goodwill of the early-shopper moment.

Quick checklist

1. Build the registry by 6 months out (sooner is fine)
2. Hit 60%+ of target item count before save-the-dates ship
3. Link the registry from your wedding website, not the invitation
4. Refresh the registry at invitation time (8 weeks out)
5. Refresh again at 2 weeks out, replenishing picked-over categories
6. Skip "reminder" emails, let the natural touchpoints do the work
7. Start your registry early, even if you only add a handful of items at first

A universal registry like Donum means you can keep adding items from any store as your taste evolves over those six months: no platform fees, two-minute setup, one link that handles cash, items, and group gifts.

Related reading

• How to build a registry when you already live together
• How to ask for a honeymoon fund without being weird about it

Bottom line: Live six months out, on the save-the-date and website, never on the invitation, re-surfaced twice. The rest takes care of itself.