Wedding Response Card FAQs
Should I Include a RSVP Deadline
for Response Cards?
Depending
on your planning needs, it may be wise to include a deadline. Of course this
date will depend on your own deadlines (when does your caterer need a final
headcount? When do you need to create seating arrangements, etc.?) It's safe to say that the deadline should
not be later than tree weeks before the day of the event
How Should I Keep Track of
Wedding Invitations Responses?
Worried
about being able to read and keep track of all those RSVP's? Heed our warning
about trying to decipher fancy and/or illegible handwriting. One helpful trick is to number each name on
guest list and lightly place that number on the back of the response card. This way, you can simply check number on the
back of the card and match it to the corresponding guest on your list.
How Should Response Cards be
Labeled and Addressed?
Encourage
guests to respond in a timely manner (and make it easy for them to do so) by
pre-printing your name and address on the front of the Response Card
envelope. Traditionally, the host's
name and address (for example that of the bride's parents') should appear here.
Of course in many cases this rule will not apply (for example, you are hosting
the wedding yourself, you live a long distance from the host and want to
receive the invitations, etc.) In these cases you will simply need to use your
own discretion (or creativity) to come up with an appropriate response label.
What Should I Do If Guests Don't
Return a Response Card?
You
should not have to guess when it comes to your final head count, and your
guests should understand that. If you don't receive a response within an
appropriate timeframe, call and ask if they are planning on coming. You can make this call in a polite way by
expressing your concern that the recipient may not have received the invitation. Chances are the response card is simply
sitting under a stack of mail, and your guest will not take offense to your
friendly reminder. If making this call
is absolutely not an option for you, it's best to assume the guest is coming.
You would rather have an empty seat at the reception than a guest with no place
to sit!
Are There Any Additional Rules
for Addressing Reply Cards?
Traditionally
speaking, the names of the bride and groom should not appear together in print
until after the wedding. In most cases, if an unmarried couple is living
together, the response cards should be addressed to the bride only.
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