OK to have your guests RSVP online?

alismack3

My invitation minibooks are costing a bundle and we are having a destination wedding that requires our guests to have a lot of information (which we have provided on our website). Rather than ordering RSVP cards (and postage), is it ok to reference our website on the invitation and ask them to RSVP on our website?

Snippylynn

It is okay, but if there are guests who are unfamiliar with the internet, they might have difficulties figuring out how to rsvp that way. Probably best to just include a regular rsvp card.

chelseamb11

I agree with Snippy, some people could have troubles RSVPing online.  I'd include a card in theirs just in case.

JoanE2012

I think with formal invitiations it is proper to include the RSVP card.  These (and the corresponding postage) should've been factored into the cost before you started.

If you do use online RSVP, I hope it's not theknot!  From what I've read on these boards, the RSVP system is not too good.

hoffse

My parents received a wedding invitation with an online RSVP request a couple of months ago and made me do it for them - they are both very tech savvy (my mom was actually a programmer before she retired), but they hated the idea of an online RSVP so much they didn't want to mess with it.  Personally I thought it was pretty tacky - as soon as the rsvp was submitted a message popped up that said, "thanks!  We're registered at X and Y."  I would suck it up and pay for RSVP cards.

Elle1036

I've gotten a few invitations that said something like "Save a tree; RSVP online" and came without RSVP cards, and I thought that was kind of neat.  I think it's a lame way to save postage, though.  Like a PP mentioned, postage costs for RSVPs should have been factored into your invitation budget.

If you do go the online route, at least include a phone number for guests who aren't as tech-savvy.

Annas2013

I actually had an invite to a wedding that said to RSVP to an e-mail address.  I'd include RSVP cards, and would have already factored them into the budget if I were you.  I just think they're nice, and like pp's have said, not everyone is capable of RSVPing online.  

OliveOilsMom

You could save a  little on RSVP cards by getting postcards.  No envelope and the postage is cheaper.

kimandjosh22

So far we've been very happy with TheKnots online RSVP system.  Grandmothers needed some help, but they called us and we were able to go in and RSVP and make meal choices for them.  I also like that for our plated dinner TK links meal choices with people and I can then build a seating chart online with accepted RSVPs.
Most people like getting all the additional information on our website with direct links to hotels and restaurant menus...and RSVPing online is driving them to our website. chosing to do it this way allowed our budget for the actual invitation to be more flexible because we had factored postage for response cards into our budget.  We still included a response type card with the RSVP information, but didn't have to buy little envelopes for that.  With the website we were also able to include more detailed information about our menu, we have several guests with food allergies and several vegans, so we found this extremely helpful.

pokepoke27

I think you'll probably be okay, but I personally really don't like them. 

JaxInBlue

I also think having an RSVP card is a good idea, particularly if your event is more formal.  If you're tight on budget, an RSVP post card might be a good alternative.  I just helped host a retirement party for a member of our family, something very casual, to which guests could phone or email RSVPs.  We had a number of relatives of a certain generation that chose to write RSVP notes - they weren't comfortable with e-mail and didn't want to call at a bad time.

Lisa50

To be honest, if your invitation has "R.S.V.P." in the lower left corner, your older guests will know what to do. They will write a short note and send it to you.  Reply cards are a recent (20+ or so years) phenomenon. 

kimandjosh22

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_ok-to-have-your-guests-rsvp-online?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:ce833f45-2d64-48f7-93bc-7dfa22c57939Post:4f69bc26-c846-4c28-b958-44b023d2eb43">Re: OK to have your guests RSVP online?</a>:
[QUOTE]To be honest, if your invitation has "R.S.V.P." in the lower left corner, your older guests will know what to do. They will write a short note and send it to you.  Reply cards are a recent (<strong>20+ or so years) phenomenon</strong>. 
Posted by Lisa50[/QUOTE]


...perhaps online RSVPs are the wave of the future?

KelaRenee

We did online RSVPs but included a phone number and email address that people could RSVP to as well.

We had a pretty informal wedding though.

sbelle85

We also did a mini booklet invitation and requested that people RSVP through our wedding website. It hasn't been a problem and we have actually had people tell us they appreciated not having to deal with the hassle of dropping an RSVP card off at the post office or worrying about it getting lost in the mail. It was easy for them to go to the website, click on RSVP, and indicate whether or not they planned to come. 

rkw0717

We too are requesting our RSVP's be done online via our wedding webpage. Our invitations are pretty modern and have a barcode scanner that can take our guests directly to our wedding webpage via their smart phones. We included the link underneath for those that don't have smartphones or need to use a regular computer. We did this because a lot of our guests are from out of town and there is a lot of important info. on our webpage that we want to make sure they read.

We will be calling everyone about 2 weeks prior anyway to get a headcount, so we didn't feel RSVP cards were necessary. Each situation is different I suppose, but for every other occasion I've ever used RSVP cards, I hardly ever received any of them back.