Planning a wedding is an exciting journey, but it can also be overwhelming with countless details to manage. One critical aspect is knowing when to send out your wedding invitations. Sending your wedding invitations out at the right time is crucial for ensuring your guests have all the necessary information to plan for and attend your big day. This blog post provides a detailed guide on when to send your wedding invitations, considering New Zealand’s cultural norms, to help you achieve smooth and stress-free wedding planning.
Ask any couple how their wedding planning is going with only a few weeks to go, and you’re guaranteed to hear a rant of some sort on guests, and RSVPing – or the lack thereof! As tempting as it is to spitefully leave them off the seating plan and pointedly mention they didn’t actually say they were coming… don’t. The thought of them turning up will stress you out and distract you from enjoying the guests who did RSVP!
How to follow up wedding guests who haven’t RSVPed by the deadline
Remember, they may think they have RSVPed. Perhaps they told your Dad at the rugby game, expecting him to pass it on (yeah right). Maybe they posted the RSVP card back and forgot to add a stamp. More than likely, one half of the couple thinks their other half has RSVP’ed already, and vice versa! Approach your guests with this mindset and you’ll avoid offending anyone who has done their duty.
If there are a lot of missing RSVPs, then consider enlisting a parent, your fiancé or bridesmaids to help chase. If they have a closer personal connection to the guest, they may have better luck eliciting a response when they reach out. I know I’d be more likely to flick back a casual “yep, just trying to sort the babysitter” to a close friend than replying to a message from my partner’s workmate’s fiancee that I’ve only met once.
It’s also likely that some guests will be dragging the chain because they can’t make the wedding. They could be shy or embarrassed about saying no directly. I know all you want is a response! But people don’t like to let other people down, and so they could be procrastinating. Following up with them is really doing them a favour… which leads us to…
Using the magic RSVP email
When all else fails and you still have stragglers, never fear! We have the solution. Once your RSVP date has passed, chase your slack non-RSVPing wedding guests with our magic RSVP email. Send out a blanket email (use the BCC function) and remind them firmly – but politely -: “Hey everyone, I really need to get confirmed numbers from our wedding guests ASAP – got to keep the caterers happy! If we haven’t heard from you by Monday, I’ll have to assume you can’t make it. Looking forward to catching up at a later date. Love, The Nearlyweds”.
This message is great because it gives you certainty for your final numbers, saves you from dealing with guests who ignore or ghost your message, and puts the ‘blame’ on someone other than you (the ‘caterers’). Give it a try and see how you get on!
Save the Date Cards are used to announce your wedding date to your wedding guests, giving your friends and family the best possible chance of attending. Today’s post shares everything you need to know:
Today we are sharing our best ideas for entertaining your wedding guests. These ideas work well for bridal showers, at hen’s nights or for engagement parties too! Give your wedding guests something fun to do at your wedding reception and allow them to share their memories from your wedding day.
Wedding Activity Cards
Activity Cards make a great ice breaker at your event. Date Night Cards, Fill-in-the-Blanks, Advice Cards and Quiz Cards are a fun way to entertain your guests, allow them to share some sentimental (or silly!) thoughts, and can provide a keepsake for the happy couple.
Simply pick your favourite design, and order however many you need. All these are in stock and ready to ship, so they are perfect for a last minute addition to your big day.
Our Advice Cards measure 105x148mm and each set is available in sets of 50, 75, 100, 125 and 150.
Some couples choose to order enough for each wedding guest, and then place an advice card at each seat. Your MC can prompt the guests to drop their cards off in a card box or ask your venue to collate them from tables at the end of the night.
Other couples order enough for each family unit that’s attending their wedding – this is where guests jointly fill out a card. In this situation, you would have a separate area set up containing a stack of your cards, a sign giving instructions on what you’d like them to do, a polaroid camera and pens.
Wedding Guestbooks
Wedding guestbooks are customised to suit your wedding day details. Each guestbook is printed to order, so you are able to change the wording to include whatever details are important – such as your wedding date, wedding location and anything else that you want included.
Capture memories from your wedding reception with a polaroid camera alongside your guestbook, and stick candid snaps from your celebrations alongside the messages and autographs from your favourite people. See our recommendations for guestbook pens here.
A blank guestbook page can be intimidating for guests. Add some activity cards, a polaroid camera and some washi tape to spark inspiration and creativity for when your guests go to share their memories of your special day.
Find a fun spin on an alternative guestbook for another way to entertain guests. Reflect on what you and your partner enjoy doing and how you could incorporate that. For example, if you enjoy games nights and puzzles, having guests sign a jenga set:
Your guestbook can double as a piece of art for your home as well. Our signing posters come in a variety of print styles:
Having kids at your wedding can be a hot topic, so if you are feeling a bit nervous about your smallest guests then having something to keep them busy should put you at ease.
Our Children’s Activity Packs will entertain a range of ages and allow their parents, and you, to sit back and enjoy the speeches!
Be My Guest Design LOVES when all your stationery pieces match! We try to have full sets of all design suites available. Select the Design Suites below to view the entire range of designs available.
If there is something you want that’s not listed within the Design Suite you’re using, that’s not a problem – get in touch with us. There are often have new pieces that haven’t quite made it to the website yet. If we know you’re after a matching piece, the team can prioritise getting it online for you.
