Ugh. Please help me with RSVPs.

bridetobe71412 · February 2012

Hi ladies,

Super long, CN at bottom.

I could use some serious help with my RSVP cards. It's a quasi-destination wedding as 98% of our guests are OOT. They will all be staying at 3 different hotels. For the below, let's call them Hotel #1, Hotel #2 and Hotel #3.

Here's how the weekend goes:
1) People arrive Friday night because the hotel check-in is too late for people if they arrived on Saturday (for all three hotels, actually). Not everyone is invited to the RD, only bridal party and close family members. RD is hosted by the FILs, who have separate invitations. However, we want people to mingle/gather at the lounge located in Hotel #1 so that after the RD we can stop by to say "hi" to them. This will also emphasize the check-in issue. We will not be hosting this get together, but will put this info on the wedding website.
2) Saturday, Bridesmaids come to Hotel #3 for hair/makeup in my suite. They will get breakfast and will be transported to church. Ceremony at 3-4pm. At 5:15pm, buses pick people up outside Hotel #1, which is closest to the church (1.5 blocks). We are paying for the transportation and need to get a head count of people who will be using it (I think it will be 95% of OOTs).
3) Reception 6pm - We need everyone's entree selection ahead of time.
4) After-party at Hotel #1. We're not paying for this, but will be there afterwards. Will probably put this info on the wedding website too.
5) Farewell brunch at Hotel #3, hosted by my mom and his parents. Need headcount for this too.

So, we need: 1) reply for reception, 2) entree selection, 3) transportation reply, 4) brunch reply. How can we organize this on one RSVP card?

Sorry if this is confusing. I'm having some serious issues. I spent 3 hours last night searching for something that looked right and can't find anything. Our invitation designers are somewhat helpful, but they came back with something that doesn't work (the cute little icons for fish, beef, etc. aren't specific enough; we need it to say "Beef Tenderloin with Green Peppercorn Bordelaise" etc.).

CN: Anyone have any photos of their RSVP cards that involve multiple activities AND require entree selection ahead of time?

Thanks in advance!

butterflyjumper1 · February 2012

hmmmmmm. this is tricky! i will think about this one for you..

I definitely do not really like the idea of animals to describe what dish a person is requesting...we want to be able to describe the sauces/preparation of the meat in our RSVP as that might influence a person's choice. our invitation designer is going to list out the choices for us, but i don't know how exactly yet!

i THINK our plan is to send out a separate invitation/RSVP card for the day after brunch (BUT we are only inviting around 60 of our 250 guests to the brunch due to space constraints and an attempt to keep the brunch fairly low cost, so our situation is different). is that an option for you - to have a separate card? i know it would be a pain, but i would think there would be quite a few guests with travel plans or other plans the day after that will definitely be coming to the wedding, but not staying for the brunch, and this might be the easiest way to keep your RSVP cards clear and not jumbled (especially with all the language you are going to have to include on your reception RSVP card with the menu options and descriptions).

bridetobe71412 · February 2012

See, that's the thing. We're inviting all OOT guests to the brunch (this has been a major point of contention, but fiance insists, his parents think it's insane, my mom doesn't care either way...). Also, the invitation designer is doing the whole suite for us, so it's not a separate invitation/RSVP situation. If we sent a separate invitation/RSVP, it'll require us to basically send out two invitations at once and it'll double the postage for all 210 people, etc.

UGH. SEE!??! I'm going insane.

butterflyjumper1 · February 2012

I feel like in order for your designer to fit the meal options, the actual RSVP for the reception, and the RSVP for the brunch onto one RSVP card...it is going to have to be one really big card. I am not sure if there is an easy solution to this, other than having a really big card with lots of information and options on it!

the only other option would be maybe to include two separate reply cards in your suite? one for reception and one for brunch? perhaps the brunch RSVP could just be like a small business card to include in the envelope with the reception RSVP? i don't know if any of this makes sense, i am just trying to brainstorm for you haha!

sidenote: that is one REALLY BIG brunch party that you guys have planned!

bridetobe71412 · February 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_july-2012-weddings_ugh-please-help-me-with-rsvps?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding Club BoardsForum:066005ef-215f-48b1-8655-328b41e07c52Discussion:37f4dc15-5305-4381-83fa-d76ed4a35d2aPost:a6a7261e-58c3-4942-8c36-3c99e30eec02">Re: Ugh. Please help me with RSVPs.</a>:
[QUOTE]I feel like in order for your designer to fit the meal options, the actual RSVP for the reception, and the RSVP for the brunch onto one RSVP card...it is going to have to be one really big card. I am not sure if there is an easy solution to this, other than having a really big card with lots of information and options on it! the only other option would be maybe to include two separate reply cards in your suite? one for reception and one for brunch? perhaps the brunch RSVP could just be like a small business card to include in the envelope with the reception RSVP? i don't know if any of this makes sense, i am just trying to brainstorm for you haha! sidenote: that is one REALLY BIG brunch party that you guys have planned!
Posted by butterflyjumper1[/QUOTE]

It does! Thank you for the brainstorming, because I'm freaking the F out right now. LOL

And yeah . . . I know. I'm hoping many people decline otherwise it's going to end up being reception #2. Not that I don't want to see them the next day . . . it's just going to be really expensive. Since it's at the most expensive hotel, at which many people will not be staying, I'm hoping that people are like "Eh, don't feel like getting out of bed, forget it" and then not coming. The Four Seasons requires a minimum, but then they just do by actual attendance so hopefully it'll be somewhere around the minimum (60). Bridal party and close family is already 50 people, so hopefully it'll only be slightly more than that (we'll see).

butterflyjumper1 · February 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_july-2012-weddings_ugh-please-help-me-with-rsvps?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding Club BoardsForum:066005ef-215f-48b1-8655-328b41e07c52Discussion:37f4dc15-5305-4381-83fa-d76ed4a35d2aPost:f2183b1c-d397-4441-90c6-87bb7a34c844">Re: Ugh. Please help me with RSVPs.</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Ugh. Please help me with RSVPs. : It does! Thank you for the brainstorming, because I'm freaking the F out right now. LOL And yeah . . . I know. I'm hoping many people decline otherwise it's going to end up being reception #2. Not that I don't want to see them the next day . . . it's just going to be really expensive. Since it's at the most expensive hotel, at which many people will not be staying, I'm hoping that people are like "Eh, don't feel like getting out of bed, forget it" and then not coming. The Four Seasons requires a minimum, but then they just do by actual attendance so hopefully it'll be somewhere around the minimum (60). Bridal party and close family is already 50 people, so hopefully it'll only be slightly more than that (we'll see).
Posted by bridetobe71412[/QUOTE]

this is what we are trying to keep our brunch to....but it keeps getting expanded because we have a number of close friends from out of town who will be staying at the JW (our reception site and hotel #1 for us) and it might be awkward to not invite them...but once we start inviting friends it is hard to know where to stop! i am sure you understand this dilemma :)

good luck with your invitation! i would call your designer and tell them everything that you have told us in this post, and see what they come up with. they are the professional and hopefully have a good solution!

MeaganR12 · February 2012

We're sending out separate RSVP cards for each event (RD, wedding, brunch). We made our own everything in regards to paper, and the printing company does prints in groups of 25, so it just makes the most sense for us.

If I were you, I would do separate response cards for everything but in the same envelope. But I'm confused by something, you said you're inviting 210 people, not all of them are family or OOT, right? So I really wouldn't think you want EVERYTHING on the same card.

Madisonpenny · February 2012

Reply for reception and entree selection can go on the same card.
RSVP write:
"-------- Will gladly attend
--------- Regretfully declines

Choice of Entree
_________ Chicken Supreme Stuffed with Roasted peppers, sun-dried Tomatoes & Basil

OR
________ Stuffed Pork Tenderloin served with Apple and Calvados Brandy Sauce"

(of course those entrees are just an example)
If you have enough room on this same card you can also put a line that says "we are providing transportation to reception, would you like to take advantage of this?" or something along those lines.
Brunch should be a separate card.

bridetobe71412 · February 2012

Thank you for the advice, ladies.

I've been scheming. How does this look (bear with me with the formatting):

Edit: That sucked. Hold on...

bridetobe71412 · February 2012

REPLY
M _______________________________________

WEDDING CEREMONY & RECEPTION         Accepts _____ Declines _____
BUS TRANSPORTATION TO RECEPTION   Accepts _____ Declines ____
FAREWELL BRUNCH                                  Accepts _____ Declines ____

Please intiial reception entree choice for each guest:
~ Beef Tenderloin with Green Peppercorn Bordelaise ______
~ Sea Bass en Croute ______
~ Malaysian Vegetable Curry with Cous Cous (V) ______

The favor of a reply is requested by the Fourteenth of June.

Edit: This is so frustrating to show on here. The Accepts/Declines would be on the same line, kind of like columns. So everything would be in a row. Kind of like in this RSVP (if you can see it): http://isa2.stylemepretty.com/wp-content/submissions/uploads/kristin@bellafare.com/25505/jenhuanglc160s009916_r1_e01747$!x600.jpg

bridetobe71412 · February 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_july-2012-weddings_ugh-please-help-me-with-rsvps?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding Club BoardsForum:066005ef-215f-48b1-8655-328b41e07c52Discussion:37f4dc15-5305-4381-83fa-d76ed4a35d2aPost:f86e2a6b-4730-4da1-b7cb-0ee8859d97fd">Re: Ugh. Please help me with RSVPs.</a>:
[QUOTE]We're sending out separate RSVP cards for each event (RD, wedding, brunch). We made our own everything in regards to paper, and the printing company does prints in groups of 25, so it just makes the most sense for us. If I were you, I would do separate response cards for everything but in the same envelope. But I'm confused by something, you said you're inviting 210 people, not all of them are family or OOT, right? So I really wouldn't think you want EVERYTHING on the same card.
Posted by MeaganR12[/QUOTE]

Yes, they are. No one lives in my hometown anymore except my mom and my brother.

MeaganR12 · February 2012

Wow that's a lot of OOT guests!

I think the way you wrote it up sounds great.

Ugh. Please help me with RSVPs.

Re: Ugh. Please help me with RSVPs.

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