RSVP's via e-mail - are they taboo or okay?

bnwitthuhn

In today's economy I must ask, are asking for responses via email or my knot website not formal or to etiquette? I have found two sites saying that its alright, one all viral, one saying in addition to a response card which if I do that its a waste of postage. The rest have left me with nothing.  Please help!

naomikb

It depends on the formality of your wedding.  I have been invited to 3 weddings where the RSVP was by email or phone and I didn't side-eye them.  But for more formal weddings traditional paper RSVPs are generally expected and are nice to use.

sister2groom

It's completely fine but it wouldn't go with a black tie affair. And I would send traditional response cards to those not comfortable with the internet, like probably your grandparents.

ckonidak

I'm not sure, etiquette-wise, how to respond but I will say that most of my FIL's friends said they were completely uncomfortable with an online RSVP (sad, I know). :-( Just something to consider as some people aren't very tech-savvy.  We aren't chancing it and just figured that I'd rather pay the postage for RSVP's, but we also are only sending out about 80 invites, so your situation may be different than mine. GL.

SaraAndrew2010

I wouldn't do email RSVPs, unless the wedding was really informal.  If you are sending out paper invitations, I think it makes sense to have paper reply cards.  To be, online seems more impersonal and I feel like people take it less seriously.

sister2groom

Oh yeah, I didn't think about them being less serious. Make sure you don't use something where they can change their RSVP, like on standard evites.

ekilzer1

IMO, they are completely acceptable if the wedding isn't too formal.... but you also need to take into account the people you are inviting.... 

Another idea if you want to save on postage- do reply postcards instead of the card and envelope! 

squirrly

Not everyone has access to a computer, surprisingly.  It's one thing to provide the OPTION to RSVP via email/the web, and another for that to be the ONLY option. 

shlni

I don't think it's taboo, just a new concept for some people. But add it anyway, and if you don't get a response you can always call them.

jaytee16

the last two weddings i went to were RSVP by email or phone and i didn't think twice about it.  i think having the option for non-computer, i.e. phone, is important because you may find some are not email people, as mentioned above.  i'm going to use email/phone RSVP because we've already told people one of our themes, which is to be as eco-friendly as possible!  (i'm also using plantable invitations, so i think this option works extra well for our theme!)

aerinpegadrak

We used our website to RSVP, and only got about a 50% response rate.  However, since there were only 50 invited guests, it wasn't a problem for us.  But for a larger guest list, I'm not sure I'd recommend it.

GeauxTigers17

One of my friends did it and only got a 20% response rate - aerin was lucky by that standard! It was an incredible pain, 200 people were invited. I think it's fine as an option, but not the only option.