Welcome to 2018. Where everything can be done online. Our bills come out of our account automatically without me even having to lift a finger. You can order lunch to your office at the touch of a button. And thank goodness for Uber. Technology is fantastic, but it can also be a bit overwhelming for those who aren’t accustomed to it. Technology has also become a fantastic space for people to plan their weddings. You have access to a wide variety of helpful resources and online reviews. You have Pinterest boards filled with wedding inspo and even access to build your own wedding websites. One of the most controversial topics about wedding planning we have seen is over the online RSVP. Should you or should you not?

Well, the online RSVP camp seems to be split between the more traditional generation and the younger generation. Let’s backtrack a bit and review the online RSVP process. You include the link to your wedding website on your invitation and encourage people to head to your wedding website to submit their yes, no and guest name. The more traditional (read: older) generation seems to think this method is a bit tacky. They are used to including the RSVP card in the wedding invitation suite, and they aren’t adapting to our new digital ways. So, we went ahead and did a breakdown on the pros and cons of the online RSVP.

The pros:

You save on postage.
You save money by not having to print an RSVP card.
You decrease the chances of an RSVP reply getting lost in the mail.

The cons:

The online RSVP might be easier said than done for your older guests.
What if there is a technology glitch and your guests are not tracked properly?

Our Thoughts: 

We think as long as the your online RSVP system does not involve a Facebook event or a text reply – there should be no reason why you can’t go the digital route. If you have someone (like your mom or mother-in-law) who feels very strongly against the online RSVP system, you can alternatively order some paper RSVP response cards for their guests only. We went the paper route, but that’s because our response cards were included in our invitation suite design already. We feel like many of our guests would have been more than happy to go online to RSVP. Keep in mind that whichever method you choose to use, you will more than likely still have to call guests who just forget to RSVP one way or another. The moral of the story here: know your crowd. If you think the majority of your guests favor the traditional approach – use response cards and vice versa.

Some sites: 

http://www.blackbirdrsvp.com/

https://www.eventbrite.com/l/online-rsvp/

http://free-rsvp.com/

https://www.justrsvp.me/