Early Bird RSVPing - a thing of the future!
Picture this: you’ve spent countless hours choosing a Save the Date, honing your guest list, collecting addresses, stuffing envelopes, buying a thousand stamps, only to finally send them out and have no idea who will be coming to your wedding. Beyond frustrating! But never fear, the times they are a changin’ and I’ve got a great solution for you. It’s as easy as this: including a way to RSVP! While in the past it’s generally been frowned upon to include an RSVP in your Save the Date, it’s a new trend that I absolutely love that’s changing the way we see Save the Dates. It may sound a little out of the box, especially for those of you who adhere to the strict rules of wedding etiquette, but by the end of this article I bet I can change your mind.
We put so much effort into sending out Save the Date cards that it seems like a shame to not give guests a way to respond. Sometimes people know right away if they can or cannot attend, and there’s no use waiting four more months to find out. Including an optional way for your guests to let you know ahead of time if they have a conflict is a great and easy way to make the most of your Save the Dates and give yourself a little peace of mind with a rough head count.
There are countless ways to do it, such as a separate RSVP card, an insert asking guests to respond if they definitely know they can or cannot attend, a note to visit your wedding website, or even just an email address where guests can tell you their RSVP. It’s a small detail that can help you a lot in figuring out what your guest count may be and will give guests with conflicts some peace of mind as well. You’re already putting in all the work of choosing and sending out Save the Dates, so you might as well get a jump start on nailing down that guest list (think of it as a little reward!). This is a real trend that I’ve been seeing surface and I could not love it more. Giving your guests that extra chance to RSVP will definitely make both of your lives easier and help you so much in making progress on details that rely on a head count. If you decide to take the leap and include a way to RSVP, make sure you say “formal invitation to follow” so guests who aren’t sure if they are going to be able to attend know they have another chance coming to give you their answer. Have you tried out this new Save the Date trend? I would love to hear your ideas and thoughts, and as always, happy planning!