4 Ways to get more RSVPs back from wedding guests

The biggest cost of your wedding will most likely be the food.  You don’t want to pay for more people than necessary and on the flip side you want to make sure there is enough food.  But getting your guests to RSVP will be a headache in your wedding planning process.  There is no guaranteed way to make your guests RSVP but there are some ways to increase your chances of getting your guests to RSVP.  There is no perfect solution (or I would be rich!) but these steps can help.

1. Stamps- If you are doing an RSVP with an envelope you will greatly increase your chances of getting the RSVPs returned if you stamp the envelopes.  Most people don’t mail often so most households don’t keep stamps on hand.  If you stamp the envelopes it makes it very easy on your guests to respond.  It is an additional expense for your wedding invitations but it could save you a lot of frustration.  If you are looking to save money, try an RSVP postcard because they are cheaper to order as well as cheaper to mail.
2. Online RSVP- Wedding websites like The Knot and WeddingWire offer online RSVPs.  These websites are mobile optimized so guests can easily RSVP from their phones.  If you want to make it even easier you can include a QR code on your RSVP card in your invitation suite so guests can scan and RSVP.
3. Email- You can set up a dedicated email and have guests email you there.  This is something people can do from their phones as well so that greatly increases your chances of them doing it.  A dedicated email will be easiest for you because then all of the RSVPs will be housed in one place and you won’t have your personal emails getting mixed up with them.  Text messages are not ideal because those tend to get lost amongst your other texts as well. 
4. Ask a question- Other than the obvious “are you coming or not?”  The 2 most common questions are asking for a food option and asking for a song request.  If you are having a plated dinner you will need to ask guests for what they would like so this is easy.  If you are having a buffet, you can use it as a survey of what guests would like to eat.  You could even put it on there just as a question to get them to respond and disregard it completely.  Asking for a song request is a good option because your DJ will probably ask you for a list of songs you would like played so if your guests help you out with that it takes something off your plate.

The greatest way to get your guests to RSVP is to make it easy.  If it takes any effort at all your percentage of RSVPs returned will drop significantly.  There is no guaranteed way to get all your guests to respond.  You will still need to track down RSVPs but using these tips can lower how many you have to track down.  To give yourself time I recommend having your RSVP date be 1 month before your wedding.  Anything closer to your wedding is going to add stress to you ad your fiancé.

Keywords: wedding, RSVP, wedding date, wedding budget, postage, stamps