International Invites - RSVP cards vs. online

Re: International Invites - RSVP cards vs. online

• laurad75 member

  

  January 2016

  I'm commenting because I also have two international invitations going out and I'm curious what the advice is.  

  

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• labro member

  

  January 2016

  I don't even remember anymore what I did for return postage. For all I know I was so caught up in stuffing everything that they were sent rsvp envelopes with US stamps on them already. I think it's totally fine to print out a unique rsvp card for these guests with special instructions on how to rsvp (website, email, phone, etc.) and you can probably find heavyweight cardstock similar enough to your invitations that the difference won't be very noticeable anyway.

  
  

  
  

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• ILoveBeachMusic member

  

  January 2016

  We included the RSVP with no postage (because it is difficult if not impossible to buy international stamps). We also included an insert that told the international guests that they could RSVP via email to me (MOB). A couple chose email and a couple just bought their own postage and mailed the RSVP card back to me. You are not required to provide RSVP cards and postage per etiquette; even though, in the US it is practically expected. I don't believe it is a common thing in Europe though.

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• Knottie1436436203 member

  

  January 2016

  This is a very good question, I hadn’t even thought about it!  Interested to see what others are doing?
  

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• [Deleted User] member

  

  January 2016

  Add0707 said:

  Okay - So I'm trying to get the invitations squared away so that I can give the international guests at least 10 weeks. Problem is, I don't quite know how to handle the return postage. How does one anticipate the postage from India to Germany? How have others dealt with this in the past? I'm thinking to do separate RSVP cards for our guests outside the US, and indicate the rsvp on the wedding website only. Most of these guests are friends and will figure it out easily, there are just 2-4 of the groom's family who might not be tech savvy, but certainly capable at least. 

  If you estimate the cost of international postage, you also have to purchase postage in the country of origin.  So, the RSVP coming back to you from Germany needs to be a German stamp, not a US stamp for $2.25 or whatever.  So, I'd do what PP said and give them other options for RSVPing, like an email address.  In fact, with international mail, I'd probably email the international folks right after you put their invites in the mail and let them know you did so.  And that they should contact you if they don't get the mail in a couple weeks.  You can scan and email them a copy of the invitation and inserts.

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• [Deleted User] member

  

  January 2016

  Well, I guess if I had thought about this long ahead of time, I could have ordered invites and RSVP's, mailed a copy to the groom's mother in India to have her get the correct postage calculated, had her send me the stamps to stick on, and then send them out. That kind of calculative planning is not my style, and seems like a lot of leg work to save your guests a couple bucks. But for anyone thinking ahead for their own wedding, I guess something like that could be an option if you have some close personal contacts in the country of origin. But if you just have one or two people in a country here and there, that wouldn't be practical. We've decided not to include an envelope for return postage and direct these guests to the wedding website or to RSVP via email at an email address we created just for the wedding. The save the dates have already taken 4 weeks to be delivered, which has turned into a mess, so a digital copy will be sent to everyone this weekend, so I'm not risking getting an RSVP taking 4 weeks to get back to me! I feel bad not giving the option for the less-than-tech-savvy guests, but the majority of these guests are young and capable of doing things that way. We might confuse one or two family matriarchs, but I think their family will help them out

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