Wedding Invitations: RSVP

        Ok, so all of the wedding invitations are out, except for about 20 due to either address changes, haven't received an address from the guest, or just recently got the address and I have been procrastinating about printing. I am awful. Tomorrow, they will all be printed and mailed though, I promise myself they will be!

         

          If you have followed my blog or know me at all, then you know I made these invitations myself. I was secretly jumping for joy inside when Henry's Uncle John walked into the office today and said, "Dang Heather!! Ya'll must have spent a fortune on those invitations! They were NICE!" I was happy to A) Know that a MALE noticed how nice they were B) He thought they cost a fortune C) Inform him that we didn't spend a fortune after all, just $300 and a lot of hard-work :-). I then enjoyed his bug-eyed reaction at the $300 and his reply of, "I thought ya'll had to have spent at least $15 a piece on those!" No sir, 130 double-pocket invites for $300, yes I did. Do the math people. 

        When I was putting these together I think I had to have fret the most over the RSVPs. I googled the crap out of "Creative RSVPs" "Original RSVPs" etc. I wouldn't say my turned out GREAT or very original at that, but I do like how they came out. I had the obvious "RSVP" title and the RSVP return date. I opted to put "name(s)" instead of "M" because quite frankly I have received invitations I had no idea what that meant, and figured it was less formal - like our overall wedding.

         I then gave the "Choice of Entree" - which I am sure people looked at and said, "What!? Huh? No fried chicken?" But the menu is themed around our favorite restaurant/cookbook - The Reatta <3 

         The "creative" part, which wasn't very creative, was just putting at the bottom the option of "REQUEST A SONG that will get you up on the dance floor" - I loved this idea because I obviously know a few classics and various songs that are popular for my "generation", but I wanted song options from other people too. It has so far worked out great because I have gotten some wonderful song requests I would have NEVER thought to tell our DJ. 

         "Creative" Part Zwei - "We have reserved _____ seat(s) in your honor" - I love kids, I do. However, when we started our guest list, we had 500+ people on it. Our solution was to limit kids and rando girlfriends/boyfriends. I am sorry single guys/girls, I love you, but I don't love your random fling of the week and I would much rather have two friends, than one friend and someone I don't know. For kids, this was tough. If we knew all the relatives were going to be at the wedding, such as a few of Henry's neices/nephews, and it would be near impossible for a babysitter, we let the kids slide. If it was a distant cousin/relative/friend of the sort, we had to cut those kids. If you can find a babysitter on your date nights or whatever it is you two do, I am sure you can find one this time too. It wasn't an easy decision, I promise! Then there was a friend's wedding who invited a single guy friend "Mr. Joe Bob and Guest" - and he tried to invite some random girl PLUS a college buddy and the college buddy's date. People, if the name isn't on the envelope, they weren't invited - it's etiquette. 

          "Creative" Part Tres - in the midst of googling I came across a girl who had put on her WEDDING INVITATION "P.S. If you don't RSVP bring a chair and a sandwich" - When I read this, I laughed SO FREAKING HARD! The reviews beneath were mixed. Some were appalled, some seemed to be just as amused as I was. Then I read the girl's reasoning - she had attended a wedding herself a few short months prior to her own wedding where 40 - yes, FOURTY,....FOUR-ZERO - guests showed up who had not RSVPed. My jaw dropped. Our venue can only accommodate 150 people comfortably - I mean comfortably as in pushing-it-comfortably - if 40 extra people showed up, there would LITERALLY be no where to add extra tables or chairs without diminishing the dance floor. Not an option people, this crowd knows how to get down. 

          After reading that, I asked a few family members - which all had the same cracking up response I did. If people get their panties in a wad over it, well then they are probably the people that wouldn't have RSVPed and would've shown up anyway. So, people can loosen up, have a little chuckle and send in those RSVPs - whether it is a yes or no! Please :-) 

       Now, I did put it on the back, bottom-side of the RSVP card so it wasn't all up in their face yelling at them and I included a little clipart piece of a heart being placed into an envelope. So, hopefully people understand I say it with love. :-)

       Last note - if you are a family/friend reading this, please RSVP one way or another, it makes life so much easier on the bride and groom. We even paid for custom stamps and pre-addressed the return envelope, so all you have to do is fill out the card and stick it in your mailbox. :-] If you are a follower reading this, please remember to turn in any RSVP you get for any event! It is such a pain to track down RSVPs when vendors are calling you to get final numbers and deadlines are approaching.  Yes or No - give an RSVP. It's the nice thing to do. :-]

Alana - XoXo