Confusion over who’s coming to the wedding or late RSVPs is the last thing an already stressed-out bride needs. Unfortunately for brides-to-be, you’re not in control of your prospective guests and so some late RSVPs might be inevitable. However, there are some handy tips on how to be clear and direct with your wedding guests to help you get as many RSVPs as possible.

Get Your Timing Right

Lilly Red

The RSVP date is usually set approximately eight weeks before your wedding day, and about three months beforehand if you’re lucky enough to tie the knot abroad; it is important to be stringent with this time rule so you have a clear idea in your head of the number of guests that will be there on the day. Being clear and direct with guests on exactly when to respond by, means avoiding any such confusion with venue capacity, catering numbers and carefully thought out table plans.

Make It Easy

Mary Costa Photography

When sending out your wedding invitations be sure to include RSVP cards with a stamped, addressed envelope. This will maximise the likelihood of your guests sending the RSVPs back. RSVP's are incredibly simple to fill in but can be easy to mess up if you're not careful, give your guests the most basic options to fill out, e.g. their name and a yes or no tick box, and to reduce the risk of any sneaky extra guests RSVPing through the cards stress the number of guests available for that specific invitation.

Give Multiple Options

Kayla Esparza Photography

Sometimes even a SAE with the RSVP ready to go can be too much effort for lazy guests, and whether it’s the etiquette or not, some might forget to put it in the post. It’s a good idea to add your number and email at the bottom as alternative ways to RSVP. We know, with a mobile number, home number and two email addresses, it can be easy to think there are enough ways for guests to RSVP without needing to include the actual card. You may be particularly tempted to do this to save on stationery costs. However, we’d advise against it. Some guests, particularly those from the older generations will still want to do things the old-fashioned way so it’s always good to include the RSVP card.

Keep Track

Jessica Lynn Photo

Some guests can return their RSVP without filling in their names. To counteract this blunder, why not create a guest list spreadsheet? Simply assign a number to each invitation and with this number written on the back of the anonymous RSVP, you can easily keep track.

Go Digital

Heather Jackson Photography

In this digital age making an online RSVP will alleviate a lot of the painful admin behind physical cards, it's a lot harder for An Post to lose an email so consider creating a simple website or even just making an email address for the wedding and printing it on your invitations. Not only is this a cost-saver, but it's also a great alternative for the environment because of the lack of extra paper waste!