Wednesday, September 19, 2012

a bride's guide | RSVP cards


there are so many teeny tiny details that go into planning this huge, spectacular day. [had i known this fun fact, i may have considered an elopement. just kidding. kind of, but not really...] there are certain things that i spent hours upon hours searching for. most have to do with wedding etiquette.

i know i'm not the only bride with questions, so i hope i can help even one other bride find some answers.

today i'm going to tackle RSVP cards. we are one week past our "due date." i wish someone would've told me that you can't expect everyone to send their RSVP card back, [even if you affixed a stamp and printed your address on every single card.] people are busy, they lose it, forget about it, leave it in their car, drop it in a gutter, etc. even i am guilty of this mortal sin. [one which i promise to never commit again.]

regardless, you should always include one in your formal invites anyway if you are following proper wedding etiquette.

so, on with the tips...


sometimes people don't fill their name out on the line provided, especially if they are regretfully declining...also, almost no one wrote their return address on the envelope. save the headache of trying to figure out who sent it by assigning each guest a number & printing that number on the back of their RSVP card.


make sending it back as easy as possible for your guests. never expect your guests to pay for postage to send your RSVP card back, or to address the envelope themselves.
note: it cost us 1 forever stamp per RSVP envelope. [$54.05 total] 


since we are having a plated dinner, it was important to take dinner orders in advance to get a count for the caterer & to provide the serving staff with a chart of who ordered which entree.

why did we include a line for "dietary restrictions?" 
short answer: we love everyone who is coming & we don't want to kill them if they have a food allergy.


i should also note that these little suckers were a DIY project. my wonderful bridesmaid [who happens to be a graphic designer] helped me create the image for the card [fo free.] i had them printed [fo cheap.] on 100lb white card stock & cut. i ordered my super cute, but unassembled, invitation pocketfold suite from cards & pockets. to address, i ran each envelope through my printer at home...one-by-one. when it 

was all said & done, we saved over $200 by DIYing these suckers instead of ordering them ready-made. [it's all about the benjamins, baby.]

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