Proper amount of time to send out invitations

by Roxanne
(Colora, MD)

I was raised that wedding invitations should be sent six weeks prior to the event and birthday parties etc. about two weeks prior. I recently threw a 50th suprise birthday party for my husband. I started by telling people to save the date back in late August and began sending out invitations in early February. The party was March 27th. I was astonished at the number of people that could not make it due to a conflict in scheduling. Over 200 people were invited and about 65 attended of the 105 that RSVPed. Have these rules changed now that our lives have become busier? Is it still considered rude that several never responded at all and that those who said they would attend didn't show up. I can understand sudden illness/accident, but not from 40 people.