Top 10 Response Card Tips

Top 10 Response Card Tips

Sending out wedding invitations is such a huge item to get checked off your list. It feels so good to finally put that last invite in the mail. I then found myself excited when people started sending back their responses. Who’s it from? Can they make the wedding? Never did I think getting a response card would add stress, but it did. Here are a few tips to help make your wedding planning easier!

1. Have a place for the guest(s) to write their name.

• You’d think this is totally obvious, but trust me; it can be a huge oversight.

2. Number your Guests

 Before sending out your invites, number your guests and write it in the corner of the response card. You can simply use a pen or some people have used black light pens so the guests can’t see it.

3. Number of Seats Reserved

 Make sure to write how many seats you have reserved for your guests on the response card. Many weddings are on a budget and it’s amazing how many guests will add people to the response card that weren’t invited. Make sure to write on the invitation envelope who’s invited (i.e. Mr. & Mrs. Jones or The Jones Family) and then make sure the amount stated on the response card matches.

4. Stamp your Response Card

 It is proper etiquette to supply the stamp. Most guests probably won’t even look to make sure a stamp is on it before popping it in the mail.

5. Postcard Style

 This will definitely help bring down the costs! First, you won’t have to supply an envelope for the response card and second; you can use a postcard stamp instead of a regular letter stamp. Make sure the postcard fits the USPS regulations.

6. Meal Selections

 If your wedding is having a plated dinner with meal options, make sure to list them so the guests can mark their choices.

7. Response Card Deadline!

 Make sure to state when you need the response cards returned by. The deadline should be about a month before the wedding date. There will be people who don’t respond, so this gives you time to contact those guests. This also helps you get the final numbers to your catering company.

8. Don’t Always Trust the Responses

 There will be people who respond that they’re coming and then don’t show. And you will also have people who don’t respond who do show. So your numbers will fluctuate a little. I have also heard of people showing up to weddings that were never even invited. This is more of a rare case and would only be a few people at most.

9. Wait to make the Seating Chart

 If you plan to make a seating chart, don’t work on it until the week before or week of the wedding. It’s amazing how things even that close to the wedding date will change. Someone you thought couldn’t come, now can or visa versa. Let me tell you from experience that finishing the seating chart and then finding out the next day a few people added or now can’t come was a huge stressor. It wasted a lot of time because I had to keep redoing the chart.

10. Percentage of Guests to Expect

 It’s pretty typical to expect around 75% of your guest list. It will obviously fluctuate depending on how many are out of town guests or what time of the year your wedding is.

Any tips to add? Did you have any major surprises with your RSVPs?