Wednesday, December 30, 2015

How much time should I give my wedding guests to RSVP?

When determining how long in advance you should send out your invitations, and how much time you should give your invitees to respond, there are a few factors you want to consider.


  1. Are you having a destination wedding?
  2. Will a large number of your guests be traveling from out-of-town?


If you are having a destination wedding, we highly recommend that you mail out a save-the-date card 6-8 months before your wedding.  This will give your guests a "heads-up" to start making travel plans for your wedding.  We recommend that the invitation itself be mailed out 12 weeks before the wedding.

If a large number of your guests are traveling from out-of-town,  it's also a good idea to send out a save-the-date card.  We recommend that you send out your formal invitation no less than 10 weeks before you wedding.

If most of your guests are not traveling from out-of-town, we recommend that you send out your formal invitation 8 weeks before your wedding.

The RSVP deadline should be chosen based upon the requirements of your caterer or venue.  Most caterers will want a final head-count about 2 weeks before your wedding.  We recommend that you print a "reply-by" date on your invitations that is 1 week before the date your caterer needs the final count.  This will give you a week to track down any unconfirmed guests, which you should expect.  If RSVP Services is calling your unconfirmed guests for you, 1 week is the time it will take to reach everyone.


Monday, December 28, 2015

What does RSVP mean, and do I have to respond?


Répondez s'il vous plaît, or R.S.V.P., is a French phrase that simply means "Please Reply".  While many of your  guests may forget to respond for a number of reasons, using the initialism R.S.V.P. implies that you want a response - whether it's a confirmation or a regret.

If you don't need a response from un-attending guests, simply add "regrets only" after your RSVP instructions.

If you don't want to worry about tracking down unconfirmed guests, we recommend you use a telephone reservation service for your RSVPs.  RSVP Services provides an outbound calling feature to remind unconfirmed guests to RSVP.





Saturday, December 26, 2015

How much food do I need per guest when catering my own wedding?

Having the right amount of food for your self-catered wedding can be tricky - you don't want to overspend and have too much food left-over, but you also want to make sure you have enough food to keep all of your guests full and happy.

Here is our recommendation of how much food you should prepare for each person attending your wedding or reception.  Keep in mind that you will always want to order a few extra plates in case any of your unconfirmed guests decide to show up.  You can always adjust this number based upon the number of guests who didn't RSVP and who you know won't be in attendance.


Appetizers

If you don't plan to serve dinner within the first hour of your reception, we recommend that you have some finger foods or appetizers available to help hold your guests over as they wait.  Here are some examples of how many appetizers you should have prepared:


  • 40 pieces of vegetables with 1 pint of dip, 2 ounces of cheese, and 1/2 lbs. of crackers per 10 guests.
  • you should serve dinner 30 minutes to 1 hour after you first begin to server appetizers. 


The Main Course

When preparing the main course, you should include at minimum of one main entree and 2 side dishes for each guest attending your wedding.  It is also recommended that you server a salad with bread at the beginning of the meal.  If you serve appetizers before the main meal, you can serve smaller portions for the main course - appetizers tend to be less expensive so having your guests fill up on appetizers will lower your main catering costs.

You should serve the following portions to each guest:
Main entree (meats) – 6-8 ounce serving
Side Dishes – 4-6 ounces per person for 3 side dishes
1 side salad
Non alcoholic beverages - 16oz per person


Dessert

While it may be the sweetest part of the meal, many of your guests will skip this course.  If you are serving cake, we recommend you have enough for every guest (even though many of them won't eat any).  The difference in cost between a cake for 100 and 150 people is pretty minimal, and many of your guests will enjoy the option to take home an extra slice.  Here is how much cake you should have on hand if you want to have a slice available for everyone:

Cake:  2.3-3 oz. per person







www.rsvpservices.com/wedding-rsvp-services.aspx

Tuesday, December 22, 2015

6 Ways To Word Your Wedding Invitations


There are 100's of ways you can word your wedding invitation. Here are a few quick examples of different ways you can make your big announcement.


Here are a few traditional examples:

Mrs. and Mrs. David Williams Are Pleased to Announce the Marriage of Their Daughter

Rebecca Marie To David Lee Richards

Son of
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Richards

On The Fourth of April, Two Thousand and Thirteen at Seven O’clock in the Evening United Church of Christ 15 S Ft Thomas Avenue Fort Thomas, Kentucky The honor of your reply is requested by the first day of May, two thousand and sixteen 1-888-902-3011 x.1001 or www.sendrsvp.com/1001
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Griggs Have The Honor of Announcing The Marriage of Their Daughter Kaitlyn Marie Griggs To Brian Lawrence Calhoun Son of Mr. David Calhoun and Ms. Terry Dunn On Saturday, The Second day of January Two Thousand and Thirteen at Half Past Six O’clock in the Evening St. Peters Cathedral
325 W 8th Street Cincinnati, Ohio
The honor of your reply is requested by the first day of May, two thousand and sixteen 1-888-902-3011 x.1001 or www.sendrsvp.com/1001



--------------------------------------------------------------------

Mr. and Mrs. David Johnson
invite you to celebrate the marriage of their daughter

Jennifer Emma
To
Michael Thomas Perry Jr.

Son of Mr. and Mrs. Michael Perry Thompson Sr.

The Fifteenth Day of September
Two Thousand and Thirteen
at Seven O’Clock in the Evening

St. Peters Cathedral
325 W 8th Street Cincinnati, Ohio
The honor of your reply is requested by the first day of May, two thousand and sixteen 1-888-902-3011 x.1001 or www.sendrsvp.com/1001




Here are a few examples for couples who are paying for their own wedding, or who simply don't want to deal with the complexities of who's names to include:
Together with our families, we Nicole Kathleen Duke and Patrick Harris Roth Request the honor of your presence as we are joined in marriage Friday, the twenty-sixth day of March Two thousand and thirteen at half past five o’clock in the evening
United Church of Christ 15 S Ft Thomas Avenue Fort Thomas, Kentucky The honor of your reply is requested by the first day of May, two thousand and sixteen 1-888-902-3011 x.1001 or www.sendrsvp.com/1001

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Lori Lee Hampton And Jason Perry Baker Together With Our Parents Invite you to Share The Beginning of our new life together When we exchange marriage vows Saturday, The Twelfth of September Two-Thousand and Thirteen at Half Past Six O’clock in the Evening
St. Peters Cathedral
325 W 8th Street Cincinnati, Ohio
The honor of your reply is requested by the first day of May, two thousand and sixteen 1-888-902-3011 x.1001 or www.sendrsvp.com/1001
---------------------------------------------------------------------

Alexandra Dee Jones and Douglas Alfred Gastright Request the honor of your presence at the celebration of their marriage Saturday, the fourteenth of May Two Thousand and Thirteen at half past six o’clock in the evening

United Church of Christ 15 S Ft Thomas Avenue Fort Thomas, Kentucky The honor of your reply is requested by the first day of May, two thousand and sixteen 1-888-902-3011 x.1001 or www.sendrsvp.com/1001













Monday, December 21, 2015

Sunday, December 13, 2015

How do I reference divorced parents on a wedding invitation?


It's not very often that a divorced couple throws a big party costing thousands of dollars - if I had to take a guess, a wedding for their daughter is probably the only time they do it. :)


So, how do you address a wedding invitation from divorced parents?  Here are a few tasteful examples of how to word your wedding announcement.
  1. If the host parent is remarried, you can include the new spouse in your announcement.  In this example, the bride's father is remarried, and her mother is not.  The Groom's parents are divorced and are not remarried.

    Mr. and Mrs. William Kerns And Ms. Linda Rechtin Invite You to the Wedding of their Daughter Sarah Marie Kerns To Jason Alexander Brooks Son of Mr. Joseph Brooks and Ms. Dianna Brooks
  2. If both host parents are remarried, you can include them, along with their spouses, on two separate lines. It is not required to include the new spouses, but if they are floating some of the bill, you may want to consider it :) Mr. and Mrs. William Kerns And Mr. and Mrs. David Thomas Invite You to the Wedding of their Daughter Sarah Marie Kerns To Jason Alexander Brooks Son of Mr. Joseph Brooks and Ms. Dianna Brooks
  3. When referencing the groom's parents, you can again include the spouse of a remarried parent if you want to. If a parent's spouse was involved in your upbringing, it makes sense to include them too. Mr. and Mrs. William Kerns And Mr. and Mrs. David Thomas Invite You to the Wedding of their Daughter Sarah Marie Kerns To Jason Alexander Brooks Son of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Brooks and Mr. and Ms. Dianna Johnson