Are RSVP cards absolutely necessary?

With a guest list like that, I would do it by mail, absolutely. You could do a simple post card, which would only cost about $.20 each in stamps. I would NOT risk any technical difficulties.

I would still do the paper RSVP's mainly because not everyone is computer saavy. For myself I found it easier to have the paper copy too.

Wow, 325 people is a great many people. Good luck!

I am a tradionalist when it comes to invites. Despite having a wedding website, I would still include RSVP cards. Some people do not have the internet, and others are not internet savvy.

Either way, you will probably still wind up having to track people down. : (

Good luck!

Definitely do an RSVP card. As Analy said, postcards work great and they are less expensive.

I'm with the majority. Include a paper RSVP (as Analy said, a simple post card will do).

We invited 280, and we did online RSVP by calling. It worked out pretty good. No matter which way you do it, you're going to have to call people anyway. Have you factored in the prices of gas to hand deliver some? It's gets pricey and time consuming. I mailed all of my invites. Not sure if it's the same in the US, but here in Canada, you can buy permament stamps that have no $ on them, just a little P in the corner. And you can use them to mail standard mail any time. No matter if you bought them for 40 Cents a piece or 50 cents. THey will get mailed. If that's the case. Buy a bunch now, before the price goes up. You will always need stamps. You can use the left overes for your thank you cards.

I'm also curious, and forgive me if this is rude. But what is your budget for 325 plus guests? Are you planning and budgeting for all guests attending?

I think that you can offer both, but I think a paper RSVP (postcard) is a must. We used postcards and they worked like a charm!

Thanks for the suggestions everyone! I'm currently investigating some options for post cards.

For FMS: Because of the holiday weekend of the wedding my fiance and I are guestimating between 250 and 275 to attend with a budget of 10k (though I'm really hoping we end up spending less). Most of our family lives within 20 minutes and we see them often throughout the year so some will be mailed and some will be hand-delivered. Thanks for your help!

FMS...I was wondering the same thing......Im only having about 100 guests and my eyes are still rolling from the cost! :-)

I would definately do paper RSVPs. Can you imagine how many phonecalls you will get?

When I sent out my STDs, I included a card that had our wedding website on there for info on hotels, locations, registry, etc. Out of the 50 I sent out, I got 30 phonecalls, emails and or facebook messages saying "Got your magnet....where do I find out about the location, maps, hotels, etc" DUH! Did you NOT read the card...???????

So in a nutshell..I think when people receive a wedding invitation they automatically look for the RSVP card cause that is the traditional way. If you ask guests to change an automatic, you WILL get phonecalls! Beware!

We did email and phone RSVPs because we only sent out 65 invites. The RSVP date is in three weeks...I'll let you know if it's a disaster.

I did both... online RSVPs for those guests I knew could handle it (with an option to call us if they encounter any problems), and paper response cards for the older bunch who would prefer the old fashioned way.

Only a 10K budget for that many people? How are you going to pull that one off? Yikes! Good luck!

We live in a small town in WI so prices are not nearly as high as many other parts of the country. The reception hall we booked is owned by relatives that are making sure we get a great deal with little to no cost for decorations. We are also doing a lot of the things such as invites and centerpieces ourselves or many family friends are doing parts like flowers and photography for a cheaper price as a wedding gift.

@ Stephanie, I know what you mean. We live in a super small town too! The wedding was fabulous and under budget!

Just refreshed my budget memory, Our booze and mix (along with lemon and limes, stuff for ceasars, etc) was $3000.00, our food was under $2000.00, and our cake was $120.00.

Thanks for the budget FMS - really helps me put some stuff into perspective

If one is going to be extremely traditional about invitations, there is no need for any RSVP cards, web tools, or anything else, because polite guests should know how to RSVP on their own (see: Miss Manners Guide to a Surprisingly Dignified Wedding).

I honestly believe that you don't get many more RSVPs if you do provide any of this stuff; as Miss Manners argues in the linked book, people who are not going to RSVP still won't RSVP if you lie down on the ground and invite them to kick you once for yes and twice for no (I'm barely paraphrasing here). Many people have developed a misconception that reply cards are required by etiquette because the stationery industry managed to make them so trendy, but in purely practical terms, they don't do much--and I certainly don't think they increase reply rates more than a web tool.

The few people you might lose at the upper end of the age range, I think, you would pick up at the lower end if you used the website tool. We did an electronic-only RSVP for our DW and our hometown reception, with 70 people invited to the former and about 120 to the latter. I had to chase down a few stragglers but as you'll see if you hang out here long enough, there is pretty much no way to avoid that.

The only problem I can see is that, as noted, the tendency to equate wedding trends with wedding manners may lead some guests to (mistakenly) think it was rude of you not to do reply cards. You have to make your own decision about that.

You're welcome.