Our wedding was originally scheduled for June of last year. We ordered the invitations before Covid was on our radar, and by the time they were addressed and ready to send out it was clear we needed to tuck in an extra enclosure to alert everyone there would likely be a postponement, even though we were still hopeful. Long story short: we did get married in June, with just our family in attendance, but postponed the reception to this June. Now I am assembling the reception invitations, but a couple things have come up that I'm not sure how to handle. I've seen advice on both in various articles and forums over the past few months, but of course now can't find it back to verify, so am hoping for some collective shared wisdom:
1. Quite a few of our guests sent gifts around the time of our wedding, and I sent out all the thank-you notes. I'd like a graceful way to remind/reassure those people that they have already sent a gift we have been using and enjoying for the past year so they don't stress out trying to remember if they already sent one, or wonder if we're expecting another one. I was thinking of a short note along the lines of "We've been making good use of the cookie sheets, and think of you with a smile every time we use them. We look forward to seeing you and hope you can join us to celebrate!"
2. We sent out a "save the date" update via email a few weeks ago, and a few have already responded to say they can't come. One of them was going to be a groomsman in the wedding we'd originally planned that got downgraded to family only. I feel like it's a nice gesture to send invitations anyway, maybe with a note "Just in case your plans change, but if not, we'd love to see you some other time." (I need better wording for this one.) But maybe it's just gift-grabby?
And if I do these things, is it better to write directly on the invitation, or tuck a separate one inside?
3. I decided to do online RSVPs this time, in part to save on postage and invitation costs, but also because the Covid situation has made me very well aware of the importance of being able to communicate changes and updates on very short notice. What I didn't realize until everything was set up, with invitations approved and on their way to the printer, was that as soon as a guest RVSPs either yes or no they will receive a confirmation message directing them to our registry! I haven't been able to turn this off, and it's too late to do anything about it now. Is there any way to say to the guests "Sorry about the tacky go-to-registry button; I couldn't turn it off." Probably not.
Pre-Covid I was prepared to follow traditional etiquette to the letter, and now I feel like I'm trying to apply Robert's Rules of Order to a kindergarten class during a tornado drill.
