My Invitation Link

RSVP is an abbreviation for the French term “Répondez s’il vous plaît”. Literally translated, “respond if you please”. RSVP’s are often requested for any formal event, but are also common for many informal events. It is considered proper etiquette to RSVP when requested, even if you are not planning on attending the event. The guest list gathered from people who RSVP, gives the person hosting the event an estimate of how much food or supplies they should buy. It also confirms that the invitation was received and appreciated. It is polite to RSVP quickly after the invitation is received to make sure that the host meets any deadlines that they may have in the planning process.

Our new RSVP feature allows the wedding couple to compile a guest list all in one location. To use the function, just change the “Enable RSVP” option to Yes on the “Create My Invitation” page. Because you can use MyInvitationLink.com for more than just your wedding invitation, there is a brief form that appears to gather information about the event that you are requesting RSVP’s for. It includes the date, time and address of the event. This information will show up on the RSVP page when a guest views the invitation and clicks the RSVP button.

The list will get long and needs to be easy to manage. We created the ability to add additional guests who may RSVP in other ways than through your online invitation. This way, you can keep your guest list in one easy to access place. You can also edit your RSVP list to ensure that there are no duplicate or miscounted entries. Once your list is complete, you can export the list to Excel and print it as a count for your caterer or planner.

This new RSVP function will be a valuable feature for current and future users of MyInvitationLink.com. We are excited to offer this service without any additional charge. It is included for free with your invitation. I invite all users to use the new RSVP function. Taking advantage of this great function will be enough of an RSVP for me.

The day came and went and we did make a glorious haul. House décor, a bbq grill (from my friend and his family) a bunch of cash and there were three or four cheap toasters. As I was counting my riches, my wife came to me with a couple of pens and a stack of Thank You cards. NOOoooo! I had done the math, but I hadn’t calculated everything that I would pay for all of the gifts. The thank you notes took us hours, but I was glad we did it.

When you receive a nice gift, it deserves a genuine show of appreciation. Which leads me to the question, “Is it bad ettiqutte to send email thank you notes for wedding gifts received?” ABSOLUTELY! When someone gives you a nice gift, they should receive a hand written expression of your gratitude in return. An email is not appropriate. Withholding a gracious thank you is rude and unacceptable. As I tell my kids now, if you don’t appreciate what you get, I will just take it and give it to someone who will appreciate it. Showing gratitude is a form of appreciation. If you can’t take three minutes and send a hand written thank you to the people who spent their money and love on a gift for you, maybe I should take it away and give it to someone who will appreciate it!

So when is emailing a thank you appropriate in the wedding world. Here’s an idea. Send a thank you email card to everyone who attended the reception. Ask for people to sign the guest book with their email addresses. Then load some fresh pictures from the reception into your account at MyInvitaitonLink.com and send it out to everyone who came. Your thank you email can be full of pictures and expressions of love and gratitude for their support. They will love to see the pictures of the reception and honeymoon. Make sure you recall the highlights, the toast, the first dance, the cake, the decorated car, the first kiss as husband and wife, the wedding party and more. They will be delighted and moved to see and feel the emotion of the event that they were lucky enough to attend. But make sure that everyone who gave you a gift receives a hand written thank you. Except for the toaster givers, they all deserve it.

First, start with a picture with a clear image of your faces. Sure there are a lot of cute pictures of you both wrestling, but people really want a good look at that cutie you’re engaged to.  Remember that you have lots of slides to show your personality, but first give us a good look at your face.  Pick a picture where you both look great.  This should probably be the same picture you would send with your paper invitations.

Now it is time to show your creativity.  Your favorite pictures tell a lot about your relationship.  Find a good picture of you both at Halloween. . . or faces painted at a sporting event. . .one taken with a camera phone of your first date. . .this is the time to put in a good smooching picture.  Pictures can say, we have so much fun together or look how happy we are together.  In all of your fun, just remember one thing, this is still a wedding invitation.  Make sure that the picture is appropriate for everyone you send it to.

We have seen some really creative invitations.  One couple used pictures of themselves as kids and then used a photo editing software to add text to the picture.  Seeing the couple as children was fun, and it was nice to see their ages at the times the pictures were taken.  This picture is an example of what can be done with some software and a touch of design.

No matter what pictures you pick, make sure that they say what you are trying to tell about your relationship.  I don’t know if all pictures are worth ten thousand words, but you certainly can illustrate your story.  Pictures will excite the people you send the invitation to.  The right pictures will have them watching it over and over.

As we continue down the speed track towards the digital bend, it is inevitable that email wedding invitations are going to creep further and further into the center of the road. Many couples still have reservations about sending an eCard as a wedding invitation. For such a formal event, is an email appropriate? The answer is a resounding YES.

YES. Okay, okay, please don’t stop reading here. I am not suggesting that you should yell out “stop the presses”! Don’t dial up grandma and tell her to check her facebook page for info on your upcoming nuptials. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT clear your refrigerators of all of the cute sunflower magnets in anticipation that you will have nothing to hang next spring. Call the professional photographer, pick out the right paper, select a professionally designed invitation. Address the envelopes by hand, include your RSVP cards, seal, stamp and deliver the necessary traditional invitations. There, feel better now? Now that the traditional invitations are done, lets look at digital eVites. What about all of your friends that you only keep in touch with through email? Did you track down the address for your roommates that have moved off to Michigan? Missouri? Montana? Are your friends in Europe planning dropping a grand to cross the pond for the big day because you were willing to spring for the international postage? Introducing the solution. Digital Wedding eVites. Digital eVites make a great supplement to beautifully designed, traditional wedding invitations. Let’s face it, the world runs on email. The only mail that makes the rusty hinges on my P.O. Box squeak are wedding invitations and credit card offers (not that I would give either of those up). Now you can announce your love and commitment to more than just those you can scratch up addresses. Digital eVites are for your Web 2.0 friends. The ones who you have never met their sister, but you’re in their top 8 on MySpace. That friend who moved to South America and won’t make it, but will be upset if they are not invited.

No. Don’t cancel the traditional invitation. Don’t send out only a Digital eVite. Give grandma something to put on her fridge. Call the mailman and put him to work. Then, send your Digital eVite to everyone you know.