Sounds pretty sweet, right? Online RSVP services are quick, easy and usually free. However, what happens when it comes time to actually ask your wedding guests to RSVP? You will still need to send response cards or include your RSVP details on the invitation (if room allows). Here are some questions to consider when wording your response cards plus examples to help you choose the wording you want.
1. What does a traditional response card look like?
Depending on the information you’re trying to gather, a traditional response card can have just a few lines on it to collect names and number of guests but it might also have meal options, song suggestions, a spot for guests to list food sensitivities, etc. All of these details are fairly common so be sure to decide exactly what information you want from guests before personalizing your response cards. Also remember that postage should be included on traditional response cards as a courtesy for guests.
2. Can I give guests the option to reply via response card or online?
Yes, and this is pretty common among today’s couples. Since some of your wedding guests may not have the tech-savvy skills required to respond online (grandparents, for example) you may want to send traditional response cards with online RSVP wording (see example). This allows some guests to send in response cards and others to go ahead and respond online.
3. Can I get by without a response card?
Yes, you can get by without response cards if you want all of your guests to respond online. You will need to find wedding invitations with enough room toward the bottom to include your online RSVP wording (see example). Eliminating response cards will save you money. However, if you can’t find wedding invitations with enough room for additional wording, you can order response cards and still save money on postage since guests won’t need to send the cards back to you.
4. Can I include other forms of contact information?
You can include a phone number and/or email address for guests to send responses to. This is a great option if you don’t want to deal with getting response cards back in the mail and you want to make sure every guest is able to respond in some way. This much information usually requires a separate response card (unlike option #3) but you’ll still save money by not needing to purchase postage for all of your response cards.
