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Getting wedding guests RSVPs on time and tracking them down if they don’t reply, can be a really frustrating process. We’ve prepared the list of 7 tricks, which will help you increase the response rate.
Not everyone knows, that RSVP comes from french “Répondez s’il vous plaît” and means “Respond please”. However the shortage should be stand-out (bold or large), it’s good to use the sentence as well:
It calls your guests to action!
Put the specific date your guests should reply by. It’s really important to give people enough time to respond, but at the same time not too much. You don’t want your invitation to be put aside in the “things to deal with later” pile. If people have the date, they are more keen to treat it as a deadline and put more importance to it.
Beside the date to reply by, your RSVP should include space for guest’s names (for you to identify it) and response options. Here you can choose the style to match your wedding, your characters and personalities – formal, informal, funny etc. Whatever style you choose, remember to put a box by each option for your wedding guests to tick – makes it easier for them! (and inclines them to actually reply in time!)
Traditionally wedding invitations are sent with an RSVP cards that your guests should give/send back to you. But that’s not the only possibility. We are, after all, in 21st century. Give your guests other ways to contact you like your:
Your guest will be more keen to get back to you if they feel their needs are important to you even on your wedding day. You can ask them in RSVP about:
All the information above will help you plan the perfect wedding not only for you, but also for your guests: they will feel welcomed and well looked after.
Just remember about the number 1 rule: the easier the better. So rather than putting all the possible options on your RSVP decide which ones you actually need (or are required by your venue, DJ, etc.)
Adding the pre-addressed envelopes with RSVP to your invitations will significantly increase the chance of them being sent back. To make it even more likely glue stamps on the envelopes. It generates an extra cost but makes all the process easier for your guest so it’s more beneficial for you at the end. Plus your guests will feel obliged to send it back, because you already paid for the stamp!
There is a trick to keep your RSVPs in order even if they come blank (yes, some people forget to put their name on it!). It’s a number system of sorts. You assign a number to each guest (couple, family etc.) on your guest list so every invitation have its own unique number. Then you write that small number somewhere on the RSVP card (like in the corner using a pencil or a spy pen). So when a silly guest forgets to sign it you can easily assign the blank RSVP to the guest it belongs to.
You probably won’t have all of the wedding guests responds on time either way (some people are just resistant!) but hopefully these tips will increase the percentage of received replies so you’ll have less hassle with chasing up those forgetful guests..
Our invitations that include RSVP cards:
Izzie, engaged for 12 years and the one who keeps an eye on wedding trends and constantly changes her mind about the venue, theme colours and style of the wedding (luckily the fiancé is still the same), and Caroline, for 12 years happily married, who went through the whole process of wedding planning herself and knows it's hard sometimes, but absolutely doable and at times even exciting! We work in the little studio on the South-East coast of England in beautiful Eastbourne.
We love helping couples plan their special day, and be there for every step of their wedding journey - from wedding invitations to 'on the day' stationery and thank you cards.
