How to collect / store addresses for save the dates; invites; thank yous?

Smitten2012

Hi everyone,

Would really appreciate if someone can advise on your experience: its a rather silly dilemma but we have 145 guests and i have no clue how to even start collecting everyone's mailing address. In today's world i realize I am one of those people who always use e-mail and i barely remember my grandparents address (please don't judge) 

Any hints or tips/tricks on how to ask people for their info? Where can i store these addresses (excel? database websites?) I would really appreciate your help!!!

Thank you! 

audrewuh

I have a spreadsheet (in Google Drive) where I keep everything. I can also edit it on any computer with internet access and my phone. 

I graduated college two years ago and FI gradutated in May, so I still had some addresses that our mom's gave us for announcements. Have anything like that laying around to start filling in the gaps?

Ask your parents and FIL's for an address list and then call/text/email/facebook the rest of your friends. I started doing that last night and it's really NBD. People don't expect you to keep track of their address. 

cevans11

FI and I are using Excel and saving the spreadsheet in our Dropbox, so that we can both edit it as we get addresses, and can access it from any computer (as long as Dropbox is downloaded). 

jessicabessica

There's a way to make a form in google docs so you send guests a link, they enter their address into a form, and it automatically does into a spreadsheet in google docs.  I think Glamour weddings had instructions, or I'm sure you could find instructions somewhere in google docs.

Smitten2012

You are all amazing! That is very helpful

Im going to explore the whole google excel - that sounds helpful that it will be available at every computer. I had no idea about that and your comments are very helpful!!!

I am definately going to be harassing everyone via FB & Parents hehe

@ Edie Bee haha very good point! We havent finalized the guest list just yet so i will only request info from the VIPs for now

Thank you!!!

heroeswearbrown

I've been keeping ours in an excel file on my dropbox folder as well. You can access it from any computer that has the proper program to open the file. regardless of whether drop box is installed on it not.

cwaggoner07

Our parents had a pretty substantial list, and we just filled in the gaps by emailing and facebooking.

ETA: We kept it in an excel sheet, which we now have for Christmas cards!

TurtlesAllTheWayDown

I asked my parents for family addresses and asked friends through email or facebook.

We also used an excel sheet that we shared in Google docs. This also let us record phone numbers, if we sent an STD, what their RSVP was, and what gifts we received.

And we also now use it for Christmas cards.

B2Z728

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_how-to-collect-store-addresses-for-save-the-dates-invites-thank-yous?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:0c132620-035b-47ab-a812-ee28c7d7619bPost:267633c1-bce9-45b2-9527-fd425bda8e5b">Re: How to collect / store addresses for save the dates; invites; thank yous?</a>:
[QUOTE]There's a way to make a form in google docs so you send guests a link, they enter their address into a form, and it automatically does into a spreadsheet in google docs.  I think Glamour weddings had instructions, or I'm sure you could find instructions somewhere in google docs.
Posted by jessicabessica[/QUOTE]

<div>This is great. I didn't know it existed! </div><div>
</div><div>For our wedding, I kept track of anything I needed to keep track of on Google Docs, now called Google Drive. I made spreadsheets for the wedding guest list, made a budget spreadsheet, all different ones for different things. It was super helpful because I always had it available to me and I could share it with my mother and husband who also had Gmail accounts. </div><div>
</div><div>Fortunately, for collecting addresses, my brother got married two years before me, and my SIL was very organized and gave me her guest list which had 50% of the addresses we needed. For the rest my MIL gathered their side of the family and any friends addresses I needed, I contacted through Facebook and email. </div>

libby2483

My mom and my H's grandma still keep paper address books, so I copied most of the addresses from them.  For our friends, I just sent out a FB message.  We kept track of everything in an Excel spreadsheet.

derksenriley

I had everything in Excel... and then my computer got stolen.  So now I've had to re-do everything. (Very much hoping no one got lost in the shuffle!)  I recommend Google Docs (Google Drive now) as a backup, if not as your primary spreadsheet.  I'm now using google spreadsheets for everything.  That way either you or your fiance can enter RSVPs as they come in, track gifts received/ thank yous sent, etc.  I may even send the RSVP spreadsheet to FMIL after the RSVP deadline so she can help with tracking down non-responders. 

You should be able to get family addresses from your parents or if you have a family member who's recently married, they may have it already in a spreadsheet.  Friends will have no problem texting or emailing or facebooking you their address - as PPs said, it's good to finalize the guest list before you ask people.

lovesclimbing

I have the addresses in a spreadsheet.  A lot of them were collected from my parents and his parents but for most of our friends, we didn't have addresses!  We've just never needed them.  So all of my friends, I just facebooked them with "Hey, I want to invite you to our wedding.  Can I get your address?"

Make sure you're not doing this too terribly far in advance because if you ask this, it would be terribly rude to decide later not to invite them.