Invitations/RSVP

This is an interesting topic as the protocol for this has changed over the last 10-20 years with the rise of technology.

Numbers

We purchased 160 formal invitations for 330 guests through the Knot. Of those, 210 guests attended our reception.

Within the same envelope, for the 50 guests who were invited to the rehearsal dinner, we included a second card detailing times and places. Of those, 48 guests attended the dinner.

RSVP

We decided to do an online RSVP through the Knot. My husband (fiancé at the time) made a QR code for the invitation with accompanying URL site link.

For the very few of our guests who are used to the tried and true standard of physical accept/regrets letters, it was hard to understand what they were supposed to do, even with the URL written out. With the help of family and friends, we got there in the end.

Our Timeframes

2 months before the wedding: sent the invites. If you don’t do save the dates, they need to go out much sooner.

1 month before: reached out to the 175 people who hadn’t responded, offering a direct link to our website RSVP. This is a normal, and following up is a part of every invitation process, no matter how you structure your RSVP.

2 weeks before: sent a second follow up to the 60 people who still hadn’t responded.

10 days before: closed the online RSVP. We could still update our vendors if someone let us know they were coming, but at this point we had done our due diligence to make sure everyone knew they were welcome.