Reply Cards? Yes or No?

If you are serving food and beverages and having chair/table rentals, etc, you need an accurate head count and reply cards are the only way to do that. While some will not reply no matter what even with you calling to track them down, they are the minority.


You mainly have to consider your guest demographic. Are there any elderly or non tech savvy people on your list? Just because someone is younger doesn’t mean they are automatically comfortable using technology. For those people you need traditional cards or at the very least the option to call or text a reply. Without a traditional card, you will have confused guests even if you think it’s completely self explanatory and more convenient to do everything online. It’s actually difficult for a lot of people. Many invite companies include the reply card standard as used to be how it was done. Places that still offer these are actually among the least expensive invite options: Annsbridalbargains.com and basicinvite.com.Purchasing individual pieces with envelopes separate is a recent advertising technique to make you spend more money.
If you want to offer online rsvps, you can do so via Withjoy.com and rsvpify.com. However if that is your only reply option, you will have a larger number of guests who don’t reply at all because they don’t have an option that is easy or convenient for them. Some brides have mentioned having the best luck with offering multiple methods for guests: traditional reply card, online link from your wedding website, phone call/text and email. You will still have to track down a few guests the evening of the due date up to a week before the deadline for your final headcount with the caterer and rental companies, but the number will be smaller with more options to reply. Many brides have mentioned in past posts that very few people read your website so don’t rely on that solely.

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Thank you so much. that does put in prospective. I will add the reply cards then.

You could totally just put the RSVP link to your website on the invites and save the cost of postage on the RSVP cards! If your guests need to select their meal options, be sure that your website has a way for them to do so. There are many people who skip RSVP cards and just have guests reply online.

I only had an online RSVP option. I had a sit down dinner, so it required guests select a meal option when they were attending. My wedding was the first of three weddings in 2021 that used entirely online RSVPs. I had no issues at all - no one had any difficulty with the website. Of course, I still had to chase some people down to get their RSVP but that's pretty standard regardless lol.


If you're worried, you can also include a text or call RSVP option on your invite as well. But honestly, I personally no longer see the need to send traditional RSVP cards. Weddings get expensive quickly - traditional RSVPs are an unnecessary expense to me. Hope this helps!

View Quoted Comment Yeah I went and added on my invites the rsvp card option and it added like $30 extra to it. Out of your guest list how many were older people who aren't technology people and still used the site?

View Quoted Comment That's what I was thinking of doing and just save the money cuz it'd be so much extra with the rsvps

View Quoted Comment Maybe a quarter of the guests are not technology savvy, they all still used the site. I used the knot for our RSVP and it was very clear and easy to use and set up. Our other friends, I'd say it was probably right around the same - maybe a 20-30% were not technology savvy. They have mentioned some older guests calling them with questions but at no point did it seem overwhelming for them to field those phone calls. One couple just added their phone numbers to the invite and have a call/text to RSVP option. Their guest list is supposed to be right around 150-175 people and they don't seem bothered by the calls either. You can expect some calls, however unless it's a very large wedding, I genuinely don't think it will be an issue.


Also - about price - you also have to factor in return postage on your RSVPs, plus the possibility that your invites may now be too heavy for just one stamp and may require additional postage costs.

We did an online RSVP to save money and stamps and we STILL had/have to harass people to tell us if they’re coming. It’s not like they have to put something in the mail, they have to click a link on their phone, and they can’t even do that. Save the $$$.

You can absolutely save your money and skip the RSVP cards, in favor of an online one. Although elderly people may not be as tech savvy as people in their 20s and 30s, most of them know the basics - they know how to go to a website address and navigate basic pages, utilize email, etc. Heck, my grandma is even on Facebook! Lol If you have a specific person on your guest list who you know does not have even the most basic of computer skills, you could always help that specific person out or ask a family member to assist them (something as easy as “hey, I was going to RSVP to Beth’s wedding; do you want me to RSVP for you as well while I’m on there?”)

We're skipping reply cards in order to skip the extra envelope, extra stamps, extra reply time, etc. and just going with an online RSVP using Joy.

A friend of mine reallyyyyy wanted reply cards for her details shots, and they were included in the cost of her stationery package one way or the other, so she got them but didn't include stamps or envelopes and put their website for online RSVP on each one. We're printing each item in our invitation suite through CatPrint so I'm actually thinking about throwing a few reply cards in the order for our details shots too!

Another friend sent reply cards in her invitation suites, but only to older or more old fashioned guests. She got to include them, but she didn't have to shell out the complete amount for extra envelopes and postage.

Ultimately I think it's up to you as a couple and your budget, and there are many ways to incorporate them in a cost effective way, but also totally acceptable ways to skip them altogether!

We did RSVP cards and listed our website for digital RSVP. We have some guests that are not too tech saavy. I expected about 50/50 but our RSVPs ended up being 95% reply cards and 5% online. I do not regret buying them, but I do recommend including a stamp!