I Want My, I Want My, I Want My…R.S.V.P!

Vintage Lace Response Card
Vintage Lace Response Card (Photo credit: blush printables)

Why guests don’t reply to wedding invitations? An age old problem. How do you get them to RSVP? Here are some proactive tips for couples:

  • Leave enough time: You’ll read in books that invitations are traditionally sent 8 weeks before the event.  With guests behaving as they do, that’s bullfeathers. Allow yourself plenty of time, and then tack on 2 weeks to chase after people. Don’t add stress by cutting your window too short.
  • Double check your response cards: There are too many couples who happily seal their invitations only to turn around and see extra sheets of stamps – they’ve forgotten to stamp the return envelopes. Have a second set of eyes check that everything looks A-OK.
  • Enlist the cool kids: Get point people to set a good example- if there’s a family matriarch, see if you can get her to RSVP early and let everyone know that’s what’s expected.  Have your wedding party spread the word among friends, etc.
  • Relax A Little: In the end, there are going to be slackers.  You’re going to have to have your Mom, and close friends work the phones a little anyway, no matter how hard you try, so there’s no point in fretting that your cards aren’t coming back fast enough.

There you have it! Now all you have to worry about is seating everyone. Piece of cake. Unless you haven’t picked a cake. Which is nothing to worry about – THAT’S a fun one!

Be well and love well.

-Dinah

Now That’s What I Call A Wedding Crasher

You’ll see stories from time to time about a couple who had an unexpected guest show up at their wedding – but not in such a bad way. If your uninvited plus one or two is a celebrity, somehow that turns a nightmare into a crazy, fun wedding memory.  There’s a couple who had Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez come strolling down the beach into their tented reception, and then a lovely English couple who found the cast and crew of “The Iron Lady” attending their ceremony. (At least Meryl Streep is well raised – she brought a gift).

But by far, this weekend’s instance of a celeb turning up unexpected (though not uninvited) is one that will be tough to top. This couple invited Queen Elizabeth to their wedding as a bit of a lark, never expecting her to come.  Indeed, they received a polite decline.  But lo and behold, on wedding day, Her Majesty and Prince Philip dropped by to wish the couple well. Now that’s a crash to end all crashes! And such a cute hat, too.
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Just goes to show, you’ve got to think outside the stationery box.  Want The Clintons at your wedding? Cher? Send the invitation. You never know who’s going to take you up on it.  But that also goes for people who get the “obligatory invitations” that you might rather not see.

The take-away: don’t send an invitation to people you can’t stand OR that are beyond your social circle thinking “they’ll never come” because they just might surprise you. Good advice all around, if it’s applied to Barry Manilow, or Uncle Eugene. You’re rolling the dice, and you might end up with a floorshow, but you’re also risking a monologue about the war years in Moldavia.

Be well, and love well!

Dinah

 

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Mark Your Calendars for the April Wedding Warriors Mixer! It’s Gonna Be COLORFUL

Oh yes – we’ve got a hot-hot-hot location for our next Wedding Warriors mixer. Drumroll please….

THE SAGUARO PALM SPRINGS!

So save the date. April 4, 2012. Invitations to come.  Want on the list? Add your email to the comments below and we’ll make sure you get an invite.  All event/hospitality/travel/entertainment professionals (and those wishing to do business with them) welcome.

Do you recognize the old Holiday Inn? Didn't think so!
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