Response card help?

Question

Anyone know of a website that can send samples of the response card not just the invitation?

What exactly should it say?

How far in advance of the wedding date do you ask they be returned by? I'm getting married April 18th but our caterer needs a total count by March first, we have a lot of people coming from out of town so we're planning on sending them out in January, so what date do we ask them to be in by?

Answer 1

Send them with enough time to rope in the stragglers who don't reply by the date.  Feb 21st should be good.  If there aren't a lot of people coming in from out of town, I would do it even earlier.

My advice, from experience, is to make sure to send a self-addressed stamped envelope with the response card.  I addressed them but didn't stamp them, thinking I could save some money, and since we had a website where they could RSVP as well.  Almost half of my list didn't RSVP on time, and I think the lack of a stamp had something to do with it.

Answer 2

i mailed mine out with about a month to reply.  most people who are invited to the wedding know it is coming up and what day it is, they just dont know where it is being held yet...  

you can always send out save the date cards to those people who are invited and live out of twon to give them warning that the wedding will be on April 18th...

otherwise there are tons of sites that have respond card ideas...

http://www.printedcreationsweddingstore....

Answer 3

Try www.rexcraft.com/ they have beautiful (and inexpensive) announcements and many of them come with the response cards.  I would send out the Save the Date cards about 5-6 months early and then when you send out the actual announcement, make sure they read "Please respond by ___".   See if you can't get responses by the 2nd or 3rd week of Feb.  If you don't hear back you'll need to start asking.

Answer 4

You don't need to send them out three months before the wedding.  That is really early.  I sent mine out six weeks before and asked for the response cards to be returned two weeks before.  People know whether or not they are coming and should return the response cards as soon as they get them.  They response card will have their names and how many are attending or they will put a 0 if no one is attending.  The place where you get the invitations will show you examples.  Your caterer shouldn't need a head count until a few days before the wedding.  I never heard of that.  Just give him an estimate by March first of how many people you think will be attending.

Answer 5

If you have to have headcount by March first, I think sending them out about  the middle of January to beginning of February with a RSVP by February 25th will give you time to call stragglers who haven't sent in their RSVP cards.

Answer 6

It would be benefical to add Accepts and Regrets lines, so that you know exactly if the guest is coming or not.  Include the entree choices, if you are having a plate reception.  I do not suggest ordering from Rexcraft.  I ordered by RSVPs, Name Cards and Invitations from Rexcraft and about 20 of the 100 RSVPs were printed crooked.  Also, my invitations included ribbon as part of the package and they did not send the ribbon, I had to contact customer service to have my ribbon sent which should have came in the shipment.

Best of luck!  Congrats!

Answer 7

Rexcraft.com will send you samples of the response cards along with invitations, I believe.  You may also be able to email the sites you're looking at and ask them to send response cards as well.  Although, they should have pictures of the response cards on the website alongside the invitations, and the response cards are made from the same card stock and printing styles as their matching invitations.

As for what it should say, it depends on what you want to know and the style of your invitation!  There are plenty of examples online for you to look at, and I'm sure the invitation company you choose can give you some guidance as well.

You should ask for them to be returned a week before you have to give the caterer a final head count, to give you time to call those who didn't reply and find out if they're coming.

Good luck, and congratulations!

Answer 8

First, you should send your invitations out about 5-6 weeks before your required response date.  As for the appropriate response date, I would ask your caterer why they need a total count over a month BEFORE your event.  That's ridiculous!!  Most caterers/halls require a final count about 7 days before the event, not 7 weeks!  That's unheard of!  I would suggest confirming that date with the caterer first, then set a response date about 10 days before the final count is due.  This will give you time to account for those last minute responses to come filtering in.

Answer 9

Decide on a response date about two weeks before the wedding. Not all will tell you, so order some extra. Put, R.S.V.P. on the left hand corner at the bottom, and a date. Have a small card and envelope with a stamp included in the invitation. Most guests should send them back.