Even if you consider yourself to be incredibly organized, keeping track of your wedding RSVPs can be overwhelming – especially if you’re having a large wedding! If you’re worried about tracking your guests’ responses, don’t fret. These tips will help you confidently manage your wedding RSVPs.
Make it Easy for Guests to RSVP
Before you send out your invitations and RSVP cards, you’ll want to make sure the process of RSVPing is simple and straightforward. It’s far more likely you’ll get a high number of responses if the process is easy for guests – and ultimately, that’ll make matters easier for you! This means using clear wording on the invitation and providing an addressed return envelope. Here are a few wedding RSVP tips you can put in place to make sure you get the best response rate possible.
Create a System for Tracking
It’s important to have a clear system ready for tracking your RSVPs. If you’re doing digital invitations, many wedding website companies provide online tracking systems. If you’re doing mail-in RSVPs, you’ll want to create a spreadsheet. Ideally, you’ve already created one when you put together your guest list, so you can just work off of that. Include a column for their response, as well as a column for their meal choice if you asked for it. Don’t forget to include plus-ones in the guest count, as well. Once you have all of your responses, you can create a second sheet with the final guest count, and forward it on to all vendors who need it.
Stay on Top of Your RSVPs as They Come In
When you get your RSVPs in the mail, don’t stack them in a pile on your kitchen counter to take care of later. To limit your stress as much as possible, it is best to open them and put the information into a spreadsheet as each RSVP comes in. You could also take care of them every few days and do them in smaller batches. Whatever you do, don’t put it all off until your RSVP date!
This will make the process a lot less stressful, because you won’t have a stack of RSVPs to deal with a few short weeks before your wedding date. Additionally, some people will likely make a mistake on their RSVP cards, such as forgetting to select a meal. If you open them as they come in, you can contact your guests to get everything cleared up quickly.
Have a Plan for Guests Who Don’t Respond
It’s inevitable – there will be at least one guest who doesn’t respond, whether it’s because they simply forgot or didn’t realize they actually needed to RSVP (which is why wording is important!). Since you’ll want to get any missing responses as soon as possible, put a reminder in your phone or calendar to contact anyone who hasn’t RSVPed the day after the deadline passes. That way you won’t forget to get in touch with them, and will hopefully get responses quickly so that you can finalize your guest list.
If you are in the process of planning your wedding, come to the next Georgia Bridal Show near you. You will have the chance to meet with professional wedding vendors from Georgia and the Southeast who can help bring your vision to life!
Georgia wedding vendors, as well as other wedding professionals across the Southeast, can contact us about opportunities for exhibition and online marketing with Georgia Bridal Show.