Wedding Response Cards, Wedding RSVP Cards
When you order your wedding stationery, you need to order your response (RSVP) cards. These cards are sent with your invitations. They are returned by your guests to let you know if they will be attending – information that is important as you are finalizing the seating chart and calculating a last count for your caterers.
Response Card Etiquette
With formal invitations, you will probably purchase response cards that come with their own envelopes. Other couples choose postcard response cards. Either way, you need to pre-address the response cards so they can easily be returned to the proper person.
So who is the proper person?
Traditionally, response cards were mailed to the hosts of the wedding, usually the bride's parents. Today, couples often throw their own weddings. In that case, response cards should be mailed to the bride.
Besides simply addressing those envelopes and cards, each should be pre-stamped. You want to make it as easy on your guests to return the cards as possible.
Another etiquette issue are alternative ways of responding to invitations. If a guest chooses to call or email you in order to accept your invitation, you should politely ask them to still mail the card back. And by no means should you encourage guests to R. S. V. P. in such ways. Although they may seem more convenient, you can run into trouble keeping an accurate count of responses. The cards make it easier to stay organized.
Additionally, you should set a deadline for responding. If you don't, then guests will wait until right before your ceremony to respond. That's only going to be more work for you. Set your deadline about three to four weeks before the ceremony. Then you should begin phoning any people you invited who have not yet responded.
Response Card Content
Response cards should be very simple. They need a place for your guest's names and for them to say whether or not they will be attending. That's pretty much it. Of course, if you're having a sit down meal with multiple main course options you should allow guests to make those selections on the response card as well.
Below are two examples of response card content:
Please respond by April 24, 2007
M__________________________
Number of People Attending ____
_______ accepts ______ regrets
Please respond by April 24, 2007
M_________________________________
Guest's First Name ___________________
Chicken ___ Beef ____ Vegetarian ____
Guest's First Name ___________________
Chicken ___ Beef ____ Vegetarian ____
Guest's First Name ___________________
Chicken ___ Beef ____ Vegetarian ____
Tracking Response Cards
As the response deadline approaches, you'll probably be getting swamped with response cards. You need a good way of organizing your responses so you can keep track of who has returned the card and who is attending.
You could create a spreadsheet document on your computer, for example, with a list of all your potential guests. Have four columns to mark: Returned Card, Accepts, Regrets, and Number of Guests Attending. Each day when you receive those cards in the mail, you simply open your spreadsheet and mark the appropriate columns for each. This will help you stay organized.
If you don't want to use a spreadsheet, purchase index cards or use a notebook.
Also, make sure to hold onto all of those response cards and organize them by who will be attending and who will not. They can be a useful way of double-checking your final guest or catering count.
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