Graduation Announcement Etiquette
First find out how many seats are available to you during the graduation ceremony so you can determine how many actual invites you plan to send versus graduation announcements. Family members such as grandparents that are coming from out of town for your graduation ceremony should always get top priority on your limited seats.
If you are inviting the recipient to attend then your graduation announcements should be mailed four weeks before the ceremony or celebration event, however 14 days is acceptable. When you are not actually inviting the recipient to an event then the announcements can be sent before or after the actual ceremony takes place, up to 14 days out as a way to announce your achievement.
When having your graduation announcements printed it is acceptable to have the ceremony or event invite printed on vellum paper to include as an insert on the select few that you expect to attend. This makes it easier so you do not have to have two separate announcements made.
Providing friends and family with enough notice prior to your celebration event or ceremony and showing your immediate family members the highest priority for attendance is the best way to show proper etiquette.