Wedding RSVP Example – Quick Ideas to Great RSVPs
On the long wedding planning list of things to prepare and account for are the wedding invitations and all their parts — there’s the invitation itself, sometimes there’s a card with directions to the ceremony and reception locations, and then there’s the all important RSVP card (which if you didn’t already know is short for the French phrase réspondez s’il vous plait – simply translated, it means “reply please”) that without you would have no idea how many people are going to show up. RSVP cards are typically an insert in the wedding invitation. It can be as simple and inexpensive as a postcard you have handwritten on or be a separate card with envelope that you have printed with your invitations. However, one thing that invitation etiquette suggests is that all RSVPs should be pre-posted for guests, meaning the guest does not need to add postage.
We hope we can help make at least this part of your planning much easier by giving you a wedding RSVP example to pull inspiration from – just copy from any of these several samples rather than have to put energy into figuring out what you should put on your RSVP Card. The wedding RSVP examples below will show you some variations and of course give you an idea of what are the important details that should be on the RSVP card.
RSVPs are often requested to be returned at least three weeks before the date. You need them this soon primarily for two reasons: 1) most caterers require a fairly accurate estimate of the number of guests they will be serving two weeks in advance, and 2) for weddings that are have a formal seated dinner at the reception where they are assigning seats, you will ample time to determine who you want to sit with whom and make all your table name cards.
SOME EXAMPLES:
A Simple Wedding RSVP Example:
Most couples use the simplest form of response they can, to make it easier on themselves and guests.
M__________________
_____ Gladly accepts
_____ Number attending
_____ Regretfully declines
A response is requested by June 15.
The line after the “M” is meant for your guest to fill in Ms, Mr. or Mrs., and write their name(s).
A Wedding RSVP Example for when Dinner Choices need to be included:
For couples who are having a choice of two or more main dishes, you will want to find out how many people want each dish.
We hope to celebrate our special day with you!
Kindly reply by the 20th of April.
M____________________
____ lemon chicken
____ roast beef
____ vegetarian lasagna
_____ Cannot attend
A Wedding RSVP Example for Adults Only Receptions:
Despite addressing the invitation only to the adults in the household, some guests may assume the entire family is invited. To help cut down on confusion, response cards could be written like the following:
A favor of a response is kindly requested by the 30th of March.
Mr. and Mrs. Nathan Doe
_____ Accepts
_____ Declines
The RSVP can be more generally worded, like the following:
Please reply by the 20th of March.
M_____________________
_____ Adults accepting
_____ Adults declining
A Couple More Casual and Fun Wedding RSVP Examples:
We look forward to
celebrating with you.
Please reply by June 16, 2006
M___________________________
____ accepts _____ regrets
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We have reserved two seats in your honor.
M___________________________
{ } Accept with pleasure
{ } Decline with regret
Please respond by June 16, 2006
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kindly reply before June 16, 2005
Name(s) _________________
___Can’t wait!
___Can’t come!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you need a wedding RSVP example to go by that shows layout ideas also, check out Wedding Invitations by Wedding Paper Divas. You can get tons of ideas from this site from informal, formal, fun, colorful, funky, etc. When you open up the website, just click on the heading called Wedding Invitations and under that you can click on All Response Cards to get to their RSVP cards only. You can get to their website by clicking on their logo below.
And remember, to encourage your guests to respond, it’s advisable to include self-addressed, stamped envelopes to make it as painless as possible! You can even include a web address for them to respond to if you think it would give you better results! Invariably, some guests will not return and you will have to follow up on these guests to get a solid answer.
By Cheryl Cox, Editor of YourWeddingDollars.com, See “Note from the Editor” for more information on Cheryl and her credentials.
“Create Your Own Wedding — Own Your Style, Not Someone Else’s — and do it all while keeping money in your pocket!”
Wedding Invitation Ideas for Post Wedding Reception Wording
Most couples have their wedding ceremony and reception on the same day; however, on some occasions, the wedding reception is completely separate from the ceremony and can be days, if not months, later. This can be the case with elopements, where the ceremony is kept private, where the bride and groom simply prefer a less lavish affair with only family invited, or perhaps there is limited seating at the ceremony venue. Whatever the reason, the post wedding reception wording you create for your “reception-only” wedding invitations will obviously not include the typical ceremony and reception together wedding invitation phrases.
When it comes to ideas for the style of wedding invitations for a post wedding reception, there are no firm rules – your invitations can be hand written, professionally designed or printed from your home/office printer, and they can range from traditional to modern in style. If you are having everything printed professionally, it is probably cheaper to keep the same design for everything. Regardless of the design or style, if you are sending out invitations to the reception only, be sure your post wedding reception wording is very clear with the fact that the invitation is just for the reception only – you don’t want any confused guests!
“Enclosing a copy of a wedding announcement is a great idea; this way there can be no doubt that the wedding has already taken place…”
The following are a few ideas of wedding invitation phrases specifically for post wedding reception wording that should help you get started in the right direction:
“This is to announce that Mr. and Mrs.__ were married in a private ceremony on __. Your company is requested at their wedding reception on __ at __”
“You are invited to a wedding reception in honor of the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. __ at __ on __”
“Mr. and Mrs. __ invite you to celebrate their recent marriage at a reception being held at __ on __
Another variation is “Mr. and Mrs. __, who were happily married on __ at __, are holding a wedding reception on __ at __ and request the pleasure of your company.”
For further clarification, your post wedding reception wording could also describe the event as a late or separate reception, rather than just a reception. Enclosing a copy of a wedding announcement is a great idea; this way there can be no doubt that the wedding has already taken place and the invitation is to the reception only. And guests just like to see the announcement anyway!
The wedding invitation phrases you use for post wedding reception wording may depend on who is actually paying for the wedding. If the bride’s family is paying for the reception – or both the ceremony and reception – a slight change in the wording will help to imply this, such as:
“Mr. and Mrs. __ request the pleasure of your company to celebrate the recent marriage of their daughter __ to __.”
If both couples are paying, the wording can be changed accordingly.
Don’t forget the practical information. Even if your invitation is for the reception only, you still need to clearly indicate the date, time and place, and including directions is always a good idea, especially if out of town guests are coming. Some other things to consider when creating the wording for your invitations is whether or not having children not attend is a criteria for you, in which case a simple “no children” will suffice. And if you are having a sit down meal that includes more than one entrée choice, don’t forget to ask for your guests’ menu choices. And lastly, while obvious, it’s still important to note here that you don’t want to forget to request that recipients RSVP so you know how many guests are coming. A stamped and addressed envelope helps to ensure that your guests will reply.
Remember a primary concern with a reception that is to take place on a day other than the same day of the actual wedding ceremony is for the wedding invitation to be very clear that this is a reception only event. And how much fun are you going to have when it’s “just a party,” and you’re not worried about all the details that go along with the ceremony portion…? – LOTS! So enjoy!
By Cheryl Cox, Editor of YourWeddingDollars.com, See “Note from the Editor” for more information on Cheryl and her credentials.