Wedding invitations are a lot of work to design, mail, and manage RSVPs for. If you’re planning to mail physical invitations, you probably have a hard copy of the guest list—or maybe even a digital copy you can easily update. But wouldn’t it be great if, when a guest sends in their RSVP, the guest list updated automatically? And you didn’t even have to send a thank you text? Offering digital RSVPs for your wedding will save you a lot of time and stress.
Of course, there are brides and grooms worried that the less tech-savvy guests will struggle with going online—especially when the invitation is a physical card. But you can still include a mail-back RSVP card with your invitation; digital RSVPs don’t have to be the only option. You might not want to pay the extra cost for all those stamps guests might not even use. But many wedding websites offer digital RSVPs for free, and at the end of the day, this is a way to get more friends and family at your wedding—and get you a more accurate head count early on!
Consider these four benefits of offering digital RSVPs for your wedding. As always, consider your audience and if they would actually use the feature. Sending guests to your wedding website also gives them a chance to see other helpful information, like directions and hotel details. All of this should be in the invitation package, but some guests just respond better to online resources!
1. Easy to Send Reminders
Typically, wedding invitations go out a few months before the actual ceremony. This gives your guests enough time to coordinate travel, take time off work, and get a present. It also gives you enough time to have an actual head count for the caterer and venue! But with all this lead time, invitations have a greater risk of getting lost in the mail, or even under a stack of other mail. People forget to RSVP, or wait until the last minute to do so.
Digital RSVPs change all that. You’ll be able to not only manage your guest list easily, but you’ll also be able to send reminders to friends and family who haven’t responded yet. And the best part is they’ll be able to respond directly from the email! They won’t even need to mail in their RSVP card.
2. Receive the RSVP Instantly
With a digital RSVP, there’s no checking the mail every day for responses. Instead, your guests can instantly let you know. And better yet—many websites will update your guest list based on the RSVPs, so that’s less work for you, too! Of course, if you send a paper mail-back card, not everyone will use the digital RSVP option. But once again, you can send those folks a reminder email to mail or submit their response.
If you’re planning a wedding on short notice, or need a head count very early to secure your venue or florist, you can always require digital RSVPs. To do this, don’t include any mail-back card—instead, give instructions to go online and respond. This way, you won’t be waiting for cards in the mail, and all the RSVPs truly will be instant.
3. Optional Guest List
With digital RSVPs on your wedding website, you also have the option to let other guests see the invite list—which can be beneficial in the right situations. Guests can see that they know other people going, and that will make them more likely to attend, especially if they were on the fence. For example, if you have a group of college friends who don’t talk as much as they used to, they may all come if they see the others coming. Large celebrations like weddings can be awkward if you don’t know many people, so being able to see the guest list can be comforting.
Do keep in mind any feuding family or friends—in a situation like that, carefully consider if seeing the guest list would discourage anyone from attending. After all, the point of digital RSVPs is to get more guests, not fewer!
4. Confirmation Email
For any event, guests like to know their RSVP was received. Unfortunately, when they mail in an RSVP card, they don’t always get a confirmation from the happy couple. That’s to be expected, especially for big weddings, but it can be a little unsettling, hoping that your RSVP arrived to the right address. Digital RSVPs, however, can be designed to send a confirmation email to the guest. This not only eases the guest’s worry, but it’s also a chance to include hotel information and directions once again, and even link to gift registries or online photo albums.
While sending an automated email might not seem personal to you, it will feel personal to your guests. They will appreciate that instant confirmation, and can easily print any details they need to (because they may have already lost the invite!).
Conclusion
There are many benefits to offering digital RSVPs as an option for your wedding guests. It can save valuable time and stress, while giving guests the confirmation they don’t always get for large events. Even more, you’re able to reiterate important information—just in case they missed it on the paper invitations.
Have you ever responded to a wedding digitally? Was it an easy experience? Share it with us below!
