Prices for weddings have been skyrocketing and will probably increase as time goes by. Weddings take months of preparation, and getting all the reservations together for a final list is very difficult. Getting people to RSVP by the given date can be a hassle especially when the non-RSVPs bring a date to the wedding!

Preparing for The Worst

It takes a long time for weddings to develop. Getting the guests to RSVP in time is one the biggest concerns. In order to prepare the invitations, the bride or groom have to decide on a way to allow their guests a plus one. If you had all the money in the world, you would let every single guest bring a plus one, but you are probably on a budget with limited amount of space. The easiest way to cutting down wedding costs is to put a limitation on wedding invites.

To prepare for the worst, you want to have at least a few extra spaces available for guests that will most likely bring a plus one even though they were told not to do so. Expecting a little more people than the initial number you suggested is a good idea to keep in the back of your mind. Staying on track with each and every single guest and writing out personal invitations to them is a good strategy to start off with.

Couples

Before making an executive decision on the plus ones, you must keep a few things in mind. What is the couple’s relationship status? Are they married, divorced, engaged, or just dating? All these factors have to be taken into consideration before officially sending out any invitations. If a couple is married, then you must assume they will be bringing their spouse. Instead of making a rule that will apply to all the guests, go ahead and make individual rules based on every single guest. Starting off your strategy on a case by case basis will make things easier.

Weigh out all the different relationships that your close cousins, friends, and other family members have. Think about whether the guest started dating before or after the invites were already sent out and start deciding from there. People from high school for example, with a boyfriend or girlfriend of two weeks, should not be given priority.

The Final Decision

After a long debacle of deciding which guests can bring plus one, your invitations are ready to be sent out. Unfortunately, anybody trying to attend the wedding after RSVPs have already been made can cause a huge problem and should not be allowed or accepted. For people that have been together longer than nine months or are already married, receiving a plus one shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. On the invitations make sure you write specifically who the invitation is for and if they can bring a date. Keeping track of families and how many people each guest can bring can help form a better idea of how many guests will be attending your wedding. Making an exception to the rules will become more difficult as the date of the wedding approaches.

The dreaded plus one questions shape and build the invitation list. Carefully analyzing who will be able to have a plus one will help maintain track of your budget. As the bride and groom, you have the final decision on adding plus ones or not. In most cases, some venues only offer a capacity of people which means you are limited to the amount of space. Remember, only send out plus one options to all the married couples and people that have been dating for over nine months, it will help lower the demands of plus ones!

Planning a wedding with all the intricate details and exciting events leading up to the special day can be draining. Couples find themselves in a predicament where they are unsure of exactly how much food the catering service will need to serve. Even up to two months before the wedding, it is common that a third of your invitees will not have responded to the RSVP yet. When all is said and done, it can be expensive if you have to make last-minute changes to your catering order or add extra party favors. It’s a good idea to brainstorm ahead of time on the ways you can get your guests to RSVP on time so that your day is set in stone early on, and following these simple tricks can help your RSVP response rate.

Invitation By Mail

One of the first things you must do determine which guests you’d like to have at your wedding. You have to make sure you send out the invitations on time. Wedding invitations should be send out at least eight weeks before the wedding. This time span gives the guests the opportunity to RSVP by the mandatory time frame of four weeks before the wedding. On the invitation, it must clearly state that RSVPs must be made four weeks prior to the wedding, allowing both parties plenty of planning time.

If you allow guests to have too much time to decide on whether they will be attending, it is possible that they will forget to RSVP. In other cases, some people may not be familiar with the concept of RSVPing. Look for different ways to remind them on the the invitations so that it is clear that they need to let you know when they plan on attending.

Plus One or Plus Two?

Before sending out your invitations, carefully consider the people you’re inviting. Some of your guests may be single but dating, waiting for a chance to take a significant other to a wedding. If the invitation is closed to plus one guests, then your guest is less likely to attend. Having a plus one on the invitation is much more appealing because people don’t usually like to attend weddings alone. They want to have companionship, whether it’s a significant other or a friend.

Remember, having a plus one doesn’t mean your guests can just bring as many people as they want. The invitation is extended for one more person other than the invited guest, so you won’t need to worry about going over capacity. However, this can make the planning and catering deadlines tenuous because of the uncertainty of how many total guests will be in attendance. (Hence, the importance of the early RSVP!)

Alternate Methods to RSVP Cards

Traditionally, printed wedding invitations are mailed to the invited guests and the return RSVPs are mailed back. This process can take up to four weeks for everything to be sent and returned. Since we are living in a time of innovative online wedding apps, expanding your methods for RSVPing should be easy. There are a few alternative ways your guests can RSVP, and one great, simple option is though email. Instead of mailing out the invitation, you can send out emails to confirm the availability of seats at your wedding and get a good head count on how many people will be able to attend. In some cases, guests might lose a physical invitation and have no way of responding back to you. This eliminates that possibility.

Another alternative way to get RSVPs is through text messages or phone calls. There are different apps and tools available that can help send reminders to guests and let them know the time remaining before they need to RSVP. These notifications can increase the amount of people that RSVP before the deadline because they will be reminded daily.

Creating a free website is also another good idea. This method can actually be amusing to guests, people spend much of their time on cell phones or computers, both for fun and for work. Creating a website where guests can RSVP is a good idea for the more technical or computer savvy guests.

If for some reason, your guests fail to RSVP by the deadline, then you can count on one less person for your catering order! As the bride to be, you should not have to stress and worry about such implications weeks before the wedding. Having a friend or loved one in charge of this specific task can be of great help to you.

It’s a nightmare waiting to happen. Having to uninvite a guest goes against all rules of wedding etiquette, but sometimes it just has to be done. It sounds like something that never happens, but brides all over the world have stories to tell about when they had to uninvite a wedding guest. If it has to happen, there are ways to break the ice and tell them they are no longer welcome at the wedding.

Stand Up and Be Tough

Your wedding is your own dream come to life. It’s truly up to you to decide who you will invite. Sometimes a certain guest gets invited, and you end up wondering how they ever got an invite in the first place. Maybe you will get lucky and realize the potential mistake before the invites are sent out.

You can tell the cut guests the truth to ease the pain when the invite never comes. They may know deep down they are being cut, but you still have to tell them. You don’t want them wondering and waiting for the invite. Or worse, showing up at the wedding because they think they are still invited. You don’t want anyone causing a scene at your dream wedding, so you’ll have to talk to all uninvited guests about why it’s best for them not to attend the event.

Do it in Person

Sometimes unforeseen circumstances cause you to cut the guest list after you send out the invites. Uninviting a guest should be done in person. It can be very difficult to have to tell someone they are no longer welcome at one of the biggest events in your life. You probably would rather walk on broken glass, but sometimes it has to be done. You cannot do it in a casual way via text message, e-mail, or social media. That’s something that can be seen as mean and disrespectful.

The truth is they probably know it’s coming if they’re not on the best terms with you. The tough times are caused because of your budget restraints or because you ran out of room at the event space, and you have to explain why they didn’t make the cut. It might cause some hard feelings, so be gentle and respectful.

Circumstances out of Everyone’s Control

If a guest is being taken off the list due to things like budget restraints or lack of room, you must tread lightly. The guest is going to wonder what they did wrong if they didn’t make the cut. Were they not close enough to you? Were they not a good enough co-worker? It’s up to you to explain to them that it’s nothing personal, but you had to put family and closest friends at the top of the guest list because of planning issues. They will know if they aren’t your closest friends or family members.

We’ve all received a wedding invitation and wondered how we made the list. It happens to everyone, so those people will probably understand when you have to rescind the invitation. You will still have this person in your life, so it’s best to be honest and gracious as you tell the person the reason for taking off the guest list.

Circumstances Because of the Guest

If a guest is being taken off the list due to fear of confrontation or past wrongdoing, it’s a little easier to break the news. In all reality they were probably never going to attend if they felt guilty about something they did. It might ease their minds to know they don’t need to worry about it anymore. You may be angry at the person and not even want to tell them face-to-face. Before you write an angry e-mail or mean text message, stop yourself. One day this may be water under the bridge, so be kind and direct. Explain why you aren’t happy with their actions and you are choosing not to have them at your wedding.

Be Ready for the Fallout

Odds are that a cut guest is no longer going to be a happy friend. You may get lucky and people that were cut out of the list may be very understanding of the situation. You may be the future bride that had to cut numerous co-workers that got invited pretty much out of obligation. Uninviting friends and family is another story. There may be some bad blood. They may feel since they aren’t good enough for your wedding, they aren’t good enough for your life.

It will only make them even angrier to watch the event unfold on social media or hear others talk about the upcoming wedding, when they know their invite was retracted. Be ready to respect their response and move forward. You may lose that friend, so you need to decide if it is worth it to uninvite them. Some people take wedding invites personally, so respect their feelings when it come to making cuts on your guest list.

Pulling a beautiful wedding invitation out of a smooth envelope is a joy for the wedding guest and for the person who designed the invitation. As you consider how to make an invitation that reflects your personality and the hopes for your wedding, think about some of the ways in which you can make this invitation different and special for you and your guests.

Along the way, you can use these additions to create a practical and helpful set of information for your guests that will help them feel confident about sending a rapid RSVP of “yes.”

Multiple RSVP Options

One of the biggest changes to sending wedding invites in recent years is the ability to send an RSVP online. Certainly, one of the easiest items to include for your guests is a small card with an RSVP option on it and a return envelope, pre-addressed and pre-stamped. However, if your guests don’t want to bother with a paper RSVP, you can include a link to your wedding website or another site that you are using for collecting RSVPs.

You can make the RSVP a separate card or mention it on the same note that contains the RSVP information. If someone keeps looking at the RSVP card and thinking they really ought to send it, they can choose to easily visit the wedding website and respond immediately. At the same time, non-tech-savvy guests will appreciate the simplicity of dropping something in the mail without having to scrounge for your address or a stamp.

A Note On Lodging Details

Use your creativity to make a small note for the invitation that gives information about where to stay and a map for guests. This should be separate from the proper invite card. One of the biggest expenses after transportation for wedding guests is finding a place to stay, so if you’ve scouted affordable options for them, let your guests know.

Perhaps there is a limited amount of free space to stay with friends and family, or your wedding venue comes with a number of rooms already paid for. Use these invitations to offer free lodging to the exact people who you really want to attend, but perhaps cannot afford it. For instance, you can choose to get a house rental for the group of bridesmaids to defray their costs, and one house rental is far cheaper than multiple hotel rooms. Renting a house can keep your bridesmaids together for the entire wedding experience.

Fold-out or Pop-up Invitations

Want your invite to stand out even more? Find a dynamic element to add. These days, papercraft can be designed to have a fold-out option, a pop-up option, or anything else you desire. Look on Pinterest to see some of the most lavish versions of these invitations. Think about how you can either order invitations or DIY the invitation that would best fit the style of your wedding.

Bundle Together Invites to the More Exclusive Events

Much like the note about lodging, it is possible to use the invitation “bundle” to make a more personalized invitation for those who are part of the wedding party or close family for exclusive event invitations. If you plan to have a girls’ lunch, a rehearsal dinner, or a post-wedding brunch to celebrate, you can use a small card added to all the right invitations to invite the right guests to the experience. The nice part is that, if not everyone is attending all of those events, it is fairly easy to fill in their places by asking around among other confirmed guests of the wedding. Most of your cousins and college buddies would love an extra chance to interact with you and get some delicious food out of the deal.

Paper Punch Accents, Confetti, and Foil

Receiving an invite with confetti inside makes you feel like you’ve won something or received a gift, and little bit of colored paper can quickly make a wedding invitation feel festive. An inexpensive paper punch from a craft store can be a great way to turn simple invitations into a fancier option by punching the corners with an intricate design. Just put the stack of invitations and a paper punch on the coffee table while you watch TV, but make sure you have a box for the paper bits that come out of the punch. Lastly, adding a thin sheet of foil or using foil-covered invitations can really make your invitations look luxurious. It will help to catch your guests’ eyes and remind them that they still need to RSVP.

Tied Up with Twine

If you end up choosing multiple smaller pieces to include in the invite, find some thin twine or ribbon that you can use to package it all up. Make sure nothing slips out before you can fill the envelopes and then get them to the post office. There are plenty of options that will lie flat inside the envelope, so use those instead of bulkier or more rigid twine that will make your envelopes look lumpy and overly full.

Eco-Touches Like Reversible Envelopes and Plantable Paper

If less is more for you, you can now print or order reversible envelopes, which allow your guests to flip the envelope over and send it back to you. An RSVP postcard can be another way to save a little on paper expenses along the way. Another fun option is plantable paper, which is made with natural fibers and flower seeds. Your guests can get the details of the wedding and then start a little flower patch in a pot or garden with the invitation.

Regardless of the level of simplicity or extravagance you use in your wedding invitations, one or two of these touches will add flair and personality to your invites and make the experience of receiving them more fun.

I remember when wedding invitations were only available to purchase at a store, with a designer, or through a printing company. Fast forward to the internet age when invitations of any kind are available at your fingertips. A future bride can spend days pinning, searching Etsy, and requesting invitation samples.

What are today’s standards for wedding invitations? Is a physical invitation still necessary?

Deciding Whether to Use E-vites or Paper Invitations

An important questions to ask: How formal of a wedding ceremony are you going to have? The invitation is the first external notice received by your guests regarding your wedding celebration, and it is an expression of the engaged couple’s personality. It gives the first impression of the event to guests and bodes for what they should expect at your wedding.

Traditionalists and etiquette experts maintain that printed wedding invitations are custom. While online RSVPs are quickly gaining popularity, it seems like society is continuing the tradition of mailing a paper invitation.

Here are some of the pros and cons of paper invitations and e-vites:

Paper is More Time-Consuming and Expensive

The cost of custom invitations depends on a variety of factors. Paper choice, color, weight, and inserts can influence the final cost of the wedding invitation. Before you know it, the cost of an individual wedding invitation can quickly rise by several dollars or more. There are a lot of examples and information on what’s included in paper invitations available online.

When planning your budget and timeline, the invitation design, printing, and approval process should be taken into account. The shipping cost and turn-around time for ordering invitations may also be elements to consider.

Paper Options Have Become More Affordable

With many stores selling invitations, an engaged couple can usually find printed invitations within a reasonable price range. Superstores like Michael’s, Costco, and others carry pre-printed wedding products and boxed invitation sets. It’s amazing how a beautiful font and ribbon detail can transform an off-the-shelf invite into something special.

Mailing out invitations can become a fun event to do with your significant other, bridesmaids, or family members. The actt of sending the invitations tends to mark the commencement of wedding festivities.

Digital E-vites Are Easier, Low Cost, and Eco-friendly

Times are changing, and e-commerce is changing the way we send wedding invitations. There are multiple websites that offer beautifully designed and customized digital invitations. Some websites include a guest database and organize RSVPs for you. If the wedding date is coming up soon, the formal paper invitations may not be an option. In this case, an electronic version is more realistic and convenient.

Paperless invites can be an excellent choice for an environmentally-conscious couple. If this is a theme of the wedding, then digital invites are a natural option.

The cost of paperless invites are significantly less than paper invitations. Some websites even offer free electronic invitations. As wedding planning begins, the large-ticket items in your wedding budget should be prioritized. Invitations tend to fall somewhere near the bottom of the budget. E-vites are a great option for couples on a budget.

There are a variety of scenarios for sending digital invites for the wedding. Etiquette experts agree that paperless invitations for pre-wedding and post-wedding activities are widely acceptable. Showers, bachelor or bachelorette parties, and engagement soirees are popular uses for e-vites.

Digital E-vites Offer No Guarantee of Delivery

Some of the issues you will have with sending digital e-vites include spam filters, changed email addresses, and older generations who don’t have access to a computer. These are all factors that can impact the delivery and execution of digital wedding invitations. Keep in mind, like any email communication, it is possible for the content to be misunderstood or forwarded incorrectly.

Invite Essentials to Consider for Your Wedding Event

Regardless of which invitation is used, it’s important for couples to formally address the invitation to the guest. It should be understood who is invited and if plus-ones are included. The same goes for guests receiving a paperless or paper invitation. Pay careful attention on how the invitation is addressed to the recipient.

I think we can all agree that the paper wedding invitation is quickly disappearing. Some of the best advice I got when planning for my wedding was: It’s about the quality of the marriage, not the quality of the wedding day. In this case, we have presented some great options to make your invites as easy as possible!

Why do we love DIY? Because it’s a great way to make things yourself without spending a lot of money. This DIY spirit can apply to almost anything to do with your wedding, and invitations are no exception. You may think that you don’t want the look of handmade invitations for your wedding because they won’t look as good as professionally printed wedding invites, but you’d be wrong.

The greatest thing about making your own invitations is that there are simple ways save money on supplies while easily making them look elegant and classy.

With a combination of good supplies, creative help from others, and a can-do DIY spirit, you too can make the fancy invitations of your dreams on a budget. Have I convinced you to make your own invitations yet? If so, read on. If not, read on anyway because these ideas are great enough to change your mind.

Handwrite Your Wedding Invitations

Printing invitations can become expensive quickly. If you’re looking for a fancy style, but don’t want to pay the printing fees, writing your invites out yourself might be a good option for you. True, this option will be tedious and take up a large amount of time. But if the money saved is worth it to you, writing them out becomes a great option. You could even find a calligraphy pen and try out some nice fonts or find a friend with nice handwriting you can convince to do them for you.

Use the Right Equipment and Supplies

A great way to make any quality paper look more elegant is to use fancy paper cutting equipment. There are a few high-quality paper cutters on the market, but it might be worth thinking about purchasing one. At the very least, you can grab some nice, small-scale paper cutters of differing designs from a craft store near you. These tools make working with paper easier and the cuts will be close to that of a machine paper cutter with a little practice.

Just Add Lace to Your Invitations

Accessories are important if you want your invites to look elegant. Lace is a great way to class up an invitation if it is only a plain piece of paper with some writing on it. There are many ways you can build your invitations with lace. You can paste some lace to the bottom or background of your invites. You can also attach paper lace doilies cut in half to each side of the invite so that the lace opens like a door to the invitation. I’ve seen this done on several invitations where they tied off the invitation with a piece of ribbon so that it opens like a gift. It is a classy look with a creative use of lace.

Use Flowers in Your Invitation Design

Flowers are classy and romantic. You know what’s even classier? Flowers on your wedding invitations. Flowers make everything look more delicate. They are another great design accessory you should use in your invitation design. Find a beautiful picture of flowers you like and use it for your invitation background. Here’s another thought: You could also use real pressed flowers and attach them to your invites. You could probably find these pressed flowers wholesale online or you can also start early and press wildflowers yourself.

Find a Invitation Template

There are a lot of places online selling wedding invitation templates. Most shops will charge a small fee for the rights to the design. You can then print them out or use the template design however you choose. You can even find free templates online. Spend some time searching the internet for those great template deals and find the perfect invite design.

Use Stamps to Add Design Elements

You can do a lot with stamps. If you’re a no fuss kind of person, or not to good at DIY, stamps could be the perfect solution for you. After you’ve printed the template or written your invitation, if you feel it just needs a little something more, find a beautiful stamp to class it up. Stamps are inexpensive, and you’ll likely only have to buy one ink pad for the whole lot! Stamps are a really inexpensive design element that can turn out looking great.

Go Wholesale for Your Supplies

If you can, try to find your supplies wholesale. If you can find a quality cardstock for a wholesale price, you have hit the wedding invitation jackpot. It’s likely your supplies will be your biggest expense when it comes to the invitations. Any way you can cut down on the cost for cardstock will help your overall budget for the invitations. The best way to make sure your invitations are elegant yet inexpensive is to gather good quality supplies from low-priced sources. Put the invitations together in a way that looks really great. You can save money and you won’t have sacrificed on the design appeal of your invites.

When it comes to DIY, most people either love it or hate it. You can make these invitations yourself, or find some creatively inclined friends who are willing to help. Use the supplies and designs that are easily accessible to you. If you use the accessories in the right way, even the cheapest invites can turn out looking elegant and beautiful.

Every couple knows the hardest place to start planning a wedding is with the budget. There are a lot of things that go into creating the perfect day that you and your partner have been dreaming of, and it can be frustrating to make concessions to avoid breaking the bank. Luckily, there are cost-effective ways to create the picture-perfect day. That’s why we’ve been having fun creating custom designs for wedding paper goods for free using Wedding Chicks, and you can too. In addition to their free options, they also have a stellar shop filled with affordable, and most importantly, fun and trendy designs for everything from wedding favors to bridal party swag.

Free Printables

Sometimes free means basic designs that don’t feel as magical as your wedding should be. That’s not the case on Wedding Chicks’ printables page. These designs are gorgeous. (To be honest, we definitely spent way too much time browsing through them and picking out our theoretical wedding themes.) They have everything from delicate floral designs to bold art deco patterns and quirky sketches.

If you’re looking for a professional-looking invitation, simply pick the one you like and fill out the form with all your wedding details. It updates the design in real time, so you can perfect the exact look you want. Many of the designs also let you customize the colors as well, so feel free to get creative!

Pretty much all your important paper goods can be designed here. There are invitations, of course, but also save- the- dates, labels, signs, monograms, and will-you-be-mys maids of honor, groomsmen, etc. After you customize the design, simply save the file and you’re done!

One Stop Bridal Shop

Get in the wedding mood with apparel, totes, and accessories for your bridal party or yourself on the Wedding Chicks store. We couldn’t believe some of the things we saw on here (in a good way). There are things like a hilarious design of a t-rex brides and some pretty punny phrases.

Keeping your budget in mind, getting swag for your whole group can add up, but everything in the shop is priced competitively. This is seriously welcome when we all know some stores like to hike up prices a little bit for stressed out brides… but here you can get totes for $10 each (or if you want to buy them as wedding favors, the price comes down to $5 if you buy 20 or more).

These cute designs are even lent to functional favors like kitchen towels and canvas bags to hold candies, etc. Just like the printables, these are fully customizable and come in lots of designs, so it can truly match your wedding’s vibe.

And right now, you can get 25% off your whole order by using the code WEDDINGBEE. So, it definitely doesn’t hurt to start browsing.

Overall, we were impressed by the quality and offerings of both the Wedding Chick printables and online store. Everything was easy to navigate and customize and was budget-friendly. Designs were fresh, modern, fun, and, did we mention, gorgeous? We’re not planning a wedding right now, but these invites were enough to inspire all of our whole dream wedding looks. Whether you want to DIY your big day or are just looking for ways to save, this website definitely deserves a look.

A map is a great piece of extra info to include in your wedding invites for any friends and family coming in from out of town. If you’re already planning on DIYing your invites, you’ll be happy to know it doesn’t take an expert map maker to DIY a map insert as well! While this map wouldn’t be impressive to a pro with professional grade software, I think it looks pretty good and will be useful to your guests. … read more

When you start crafting your invitations, the wedding really starts to take shape. You now know when the event will be and what time you’ll be saying “I do.” With so many choices to make—from colors, design, and text—the invitations are among the most important and time sensitive item to check off your planning list. … read more

Image source: Shrine Invitations

Wedding invitations might be the thing that finally sends you over the edge during planning. From choosing fonts and layout to picking your favorite design and color, wedding invitations are full of choices. The wording on invitations is also full of choices, as you can go traditional or trendy. … read more