Your wedding save-the dates and invitations are often the first touch point you have with your guests. Whether you go with a physical invitation or a digital one, the design and wording used on your stationery will ultimately set the tone and give them an idea of what to expect on your special day.
Digital invites are increasingly becoming a popular choice for brides as an eco-friendly and affordable option to their physical counterparts. According to Katherine Hollensteiner of Cheree Berry Paper, the average cost of a wedding invitation is $5,000 to $8,000 for a set of 100 invites.
Now, now, keep in mind that those figures are just an average. Katherine mentions she’s seen brides pay much more and much less than those numbers. There are many different printing methods to take into consideration and will affect your invitation budget.
While Emily Post would probably roll over in her grave, if you’re thinking of sending paperless wedding invitations as a green alternative, we say go for it! Times have changed and it’s not totally uncommon to get an e-invite these days.
Paperless invitations are perfect for eco-friendly wedding couples looking to keep their costs down, and will save you a lot of time.
And in the spirit of automation, we’ve introduced digital invitations as part of WedSites!
Introducing Paperless Invitations
Under the ethos of streamlining the wedding planning process, we felt that introducing digital stationery suites to the platform would help our brides save time, money, and make the RSVP process super easy for both the couple and their guests.
Traditionally, you would send out a pre-stamped envelope with an RSVP card to your guests who would then mail it back to you. With digital invites, you can save yourself a lot of time by getting guests to simply click through to your wedding website to RSVP.
Digital Invitations with RSVP Tracking
Each of the digital stationery suites includes a Save-the-Date, invitation, and wedding website template to keep the look and feel of your wedding consistent.
Once you’ve figured out who to invite and who you’re not inviting, chasing up late wedding RSVPs can be the most awkward and slightly annoying part of this entire process. (Don’t be that person!)
For a lot of brides, managing the guest list and getting the RSVPs back are one of the most stressful parts of the wedding planning process. To alleviate some of that stress, we’ve introduced a RSVP reminder feature to gently follow up with guests who may have forgotten about your deadline, so you don’t have to!
Tips for Dealing with Late RSVPs
Unfortunately, it’s pretty common for your RSVP deadline to pass and to be waiting on last minute responses from your guests. Considering you’ve got seating charts to organize, place cards to create, and caterers waiting to get the final head count, this can be very frustrating.
But before you stress over late wedding RSVPs, take a deep breath and consider these suggestions on how to deal with these last minute stragglers.
Give Yourself a Bit of a Buffer to Work With
Give your guests a due date at least 1 to 2 weeks before your caterers are asking for your final guest count. That will buy you some time to make phone calls to your guests and allow a couple extra days for any last minute responses cards that are arriving by mail.
Make Some Phone Calls
Sometimes innocent mistakes happen and people don’t realise how big of a deal it is to RSVP on time.
But really, the last thing you want are 5 extra guests that you didn’t account for showing up at your wedding. So to prevent any surprises, take the time to call or email these guests to confirm whether or not they’ll be attending.
If someone does rock up on your wedding day without ever responding, even after you’ve followed-up with them, save that conversation for another day.
Showing up without RSVPing is very inconsiderate but it’s totally not worth stressing over on your wedding day! If you need to get it off your chest, save it for another day. Preferably after your honeymoon when it’s not so fresh and you can have a good laugh about it.
Always Be Kind
While it’s totally understandable to be frustrated by the lack of response from your guests, the last thing you want is to be labelled a bridezilla!
So before you call or email your guests, take a breather. Give them the benefit of the doubt, be gracious and politely ask if they’ve received your invitation, want to confirm their attendance and hope they can make it!
Kindness goes a long way and considering you invited them, you probably want them there, right?
No matter how clearly you may have written the RSVP deadline, not everyone is going to remember. Miscommunication is always a possibility so don’t take it personally!
Ask For Help
If you’re finding yourself overwhelmed by this task, ask your wedding party, family, or close friends to help you do the chasing. Some guests may even find it easier to decline through a bridesmaid than telling you directly.
Send Out Automatic Reminders
If you’re using WedSites, you’ll be able to send out friendly reminders automatically to any guest who hasn’t responded so they don’t miss your deadline!
Once a guest has RSVPed on your website, you’ll see their status automatically update inside of your guest list manager so you’ll get a quick look at who is attending, has declined, and who you’re still waiting to hear back from.
Happy planning x
