RSVP: To mail or not to mail?

My advice: Try, try, try, and try the online system before sending out invites and RSVPs. I was originally going to use online based, but I couldn't get it to work as I wanted to (maybe I'm not that computer savvy...?) and abandoned the idea last minute. If it works, use it.

I ended up going with mail RSVPs and got 2/3 of the back before the deadline. Now we're just hunting down the stragglers.

Whatever method you choose, build yourself in a buffer between your RSVP deadline and caterer deadline to chase people around.

We did ours through mail and didn't have any major problems. One guest (known for being scatterbrained) lost her RSVP card and mailed us a letter instead. We were lucky, and had 0 no-shows so everyone who replied "yes" came. I'm unsure if there is data on this, but I do wonder if people take a response that they physical write on + mail in slightly more seriously. Just a thought, like I said, I don't have comparison data.

Like Spara said, whichever way you choose, just make sure you have a buffer between the deadline and the time you need to give your final count.

We did RSVP cards (no stamp) and online RSVP through the website but the contact page not the rsvp site (the rsvp site wasn't working that well for us).

About 40 percent did rsvp cards, about 40 percent did rsvp online (I am still getting them from people that couldn't remember if they rsvped or not) and then the people that didn't rsvp.

I would provide the paper option too because I knew we had some less than tech savvy people in the group I was sending the invites too but wow...people are computer stupid sometimes...I had a lot of people that couldn't figure out the backslash for our wedding website....www.weddingwire.com/peterandkelsey (they got this wrong time and time again). Which then required me to post it on FB or send the link to them directly so they could just click on it.

I'm mailing RSVPs although people are tech savy I like to have things in hand in front of me. Plus I'm going for a more formal vibe, so I'm trying to make sure that everything along the way is more traditional.

I didn't do online RSVP's, mine were all paper. I like having a physical record of the guests attendance plus its a good keep sake.

Also for someone like me who isn't on any social networking or into anything techy really, if I received your invite and it said to rsvp online, I would probably get confused and end up calling you as to how to do it. As well there is a good chance I would forget the date/time/location without having a physical card I can stick somewhere, which means another phone call to you.

So if your only doing online RSVP's I would say get ready for people like me.

I did mine through the mail and got a pretty decent response. I think with RSVP in general, you're not going to get a 100% response any way you go because some people just aren't planners.

I'm still doing formal invitations and STD postcards, but the RSVP cards just seem like another thing to send in the mail for postage. I would include a card in the invitation pointing to the website and instructions on how to reply... I think it may just be the easiest. My guest list is only about 70 people so I think my chances are pretty good with a 2 week buffer.

I am doing a formal invitation but decided to save the money instead of doing RSVP cars and reception cards. Instead my invitation indicates who is invited and to please RSVP to this email (we created an email just for this that way it is not intertwined with other emails) by this date. After the wedding that email will become a shared email for the both of us we will most likely use our last name and the date as an email name. Some may say it is tacky, but it works. People are on the phone all the time and it is easy just to send a message and convenient. Plus I am saving on money and postage!

We're going to have people RSVP by either email or calling/texting.

We are doing mail RSVP's. I tried to get the online thing to work and am pretty decent with computers but had some issues. I had created 'groups' or 'families' while doing my seating chart and list. I had a friend test out her RSVP and she ended up RSVP'ing for the entire 'group'. It also asked her to RSVP for several things and select food (we are doing stations so not relevant). I figured it would be a headache so I disabled the function. If you're tech savvy.. good luck with it!

We are doing online RSVPs via our wedding website and also a phone/text option for anyone who isn't comfortable with the online RSVP. I personally don't want to keep track of RSVP cards when it's easier for me to reach out to guests directly. (and my wedding is still going to be formal.) I made a Google Docs link for RSVPs so it goes straight to a spreadsheet. And also, my grandma navigated my wedding website with great ease so she pretty much set the tone for everyone else

I requested RSVP via email or mail. Most people have been email RSVP'ing but I'm surprised at how many people have been mailing them back...at least 50 of 200! I feel bad now because I only included an RSVP stamp for the older people who I knew wouldn't email...which was like 5.

We're doing both. I will be adding the RSVP card and envelope to our invitations with a request to RSVP on our site. I know most of our guests are competent with computers but i still want to give the option to those who may not be, to mail their RSVP cards. We will not include postage on the RSVP envelopes though.

We're doing strictly online rsvp.

Mail. i miss real mail and things like weddings deserve the extra tradition, i feel.

We are going the traditional route and having everyone mail their RSVPs back.

We had ours mailed back and it was SO MUCH FUN. I couldn't wait to get the mail every day. A lot of people sent us personal notes along with the RSVP cards which made it that much nicer. I can't imagine feeling the same excitement with an online RSVP. It's just not the same and the postage cost was nominal ($30 or so).

We are doing our wedding website for RSVPing, a wedding email and the phone option. I'm hoping it all goes well! As much as I love mail, I think it might be easier this way andddd it does let us put that extra money into the evening!

We're going to use our website. I think it's easier for people + USPS is so unreliable.

But we are thinking about maybe printing a couple of RSVP cards and including them with invitations to the few older people who might not be online.