Food for Thought: RSVPs (part two)

Earlier in part one, I talked about electronic RSVPs and why they are so appealing. But now I want to talk paper. And there is definitely some strong support for utilizing the USPS for wedding correspondence.

{yes, those are our current stack of RSVPs}
To some, electronic RSVPs are right up there will calling the couple to let you know they're attending. It just makes the whole responding process that much more casual. Which is fine if you're planning an informal wedding in a state park. But if you're going for a formal and elegant affair having people email their RSVPs doesn't exactly send a cohesive message about the formality of your wedding.

A related point is what to do about the senior citizens that might be attending (or planning to attend) your wedding. Both of my grandparents are octogenarians that don't email. However, one our guests, one of Granma's BFFs Miss Alyce does email, and she's well into her 80s. All that's to say that if your only options for RSVPs are electronic ones, its plausible you may have to make special concessions for your older (or non-tech savvy younger) guests. Not a deal breaker, but just something else to consider.

Paper RSVPs could also be a nice keepsake. One of our early RSVP designs had a space for guests to write a message to the PHI and I. I canned that for a more classic design, but I liked the sentiment behind including something like that. On a more practical note, I've also seen couples use that blank space on the RSVP card to obtain infromation about their guests plans for travel and accommodation. If you have alot of guests coming in from out of town and/or are coordinating their transportation from the ceremony to the reception site, having this kind of information as early as possible is invaluable.

Some critics argue that having a card mailed back is really old fashioned. Not just traditional, but old fashioned (negative connotation and all). And on this point, they're actually right. People have been using RSVP cards a looong time, all the way back to the days where written correspondence was the only way to correspond. Most people I know no longer send hand-written correspondence. They dont own any form of personal stationary, nor do they feel the need to send written notes for any reason other than graduations or weddings. Maybe its just me (cause I love stationary, especially if its personalized), but I think that's kinda sad. Im starting to feel like hand-written notes are becoming a lost art form.

I cant say that we struggled with the decision of what to do about our RSVPs. The PHI could care less and I knew right from the beginning that I wanted our invitation suite to include printed cards and envelopes. Personally, I love sending and recieving mail. So seeing a few of those 4Bar sized envelopes in our mailbox daily makes me immesely happy.

But that's me. And these are just some of my thoughts about RSVPs. At this point, I'm more interested in what ya'll think.

What are your thoughts on RSVPs? Is there a technological line to be drawn when it comes to weddings? Or does anything go?

♥