Things I wish I had known before I sent out my invites!

[gresley]

1) Some people will think your boarding pass invites are real boarding passes! D:

I worked AGES on our boarding pass invites, and everyone loved them. Apparently they looked so real that people thought they were *actual* boarding passes, and that we had already booked their tickets for them. Then they were confused as to why they had to RSVP, and were so grateful we could pay their way. This led to several awkward conversations. If I'd do it again, I'd say to put EVERYWHERE that it's just an invite and not a ticket, even if it seems super obvious (we had this on the back, but people still got confused!)

 

2) Online RSVPs weren't nearly as convenient as I thought they'd be.

Several people I had talked to said they had "mailed back the RSVP". But, I'm not sure what they mailed back, because we didn't have RSVP cards. I'm wondering if they were just saving face and forgot, because we haven't actually gotten anything in the mail.

Also, up to 2 weeks before the deadline, we still had 150/200 people who hadn't RSVP'ed. I'm not sure if it's because online RSVPs are too "new" or if it was because it was easier for people to forget if they didn't have a card on their fridge. Either way, it's a huge pain to call and track down everyone. I probably ended up RSVPing manually for > 50% of invitees who told us they couldn't make it in some non-RSVP form. I'd definitely recommend including cards, since people seem to "get" how those work.

 

3) Travel agents are great, but some people still won't use them!

It's been really hard to keep our RSVP list in sync with the Travel Agent's actually-booked list. We have a bunch of people who have RSVP'ed but haven't booked their travel. Or people who booked "through the website" but haven't RSVP'ed. Worse, we have people who haven't talked to the travel agent, haven't RSVP'ed, but we've heard through the grapevine that they have their rooms booked. Where? Through who? Those people are the hardest to track down, oy! This problem I'm not sure how to avoid for a DW, ah well

 

Good luck on planning your future destination weddings, girls!

[babystace1985]

Thanks for the info! #1 and 2 are surprisingly common as my TA told us she experienced the same. I'll be on the lookout for #3 as well. Thanks!

[LukyJ]

Do your travel agents update you when guests book?  Mine doesn't and I wish she would.

[gresley]

My travel agent doesn't either, and it can be frustrating. I've gotten into the habit of emailing and asking for updates about once a week. 

[shanandcal]

Thank you for the tips. My TA is working my last nerves. I think my TA and I are breaking up soon. I am giving her one more chance!

[mckievme]

Thanks for the tips!

 

@shanandcal I'm sorry to hear about your rocky relationship with your TA! Hopefully it gets resolved quickly!

[csho]

1) Some people will think your boarding pass invites are real boarding passes! D: I worked AGES on our boarding pass invites, and everyone loved them. Apparently they looked so real that people thought they were *actual* boarding passes, and that we had already booked their tickets for them. Then they were confused as to why they had to RSVP, and were so grateful we could pay their way. This led to several awkward conversations. If I'd do it again, I'd say to put EVERYWHERE that it's just an invite and not a ticket, even if it seems super obvious (we had this on the back, but people still got confused!) 2) Online RSVPs weren't nearly as convenient as I thought they'd be. Several people I had talked to said they had "mailed back the RSVP". But, I'm not sure what they mailed back, because we didn't have RSVP cards. I'm wondering if they were just saving face and forgot, because we haven't actually gotten anything in the mail. Also, up to 2 weeks before the deadline, we still had 150/200 people who hadn't RSVP'ed. I'm not sure if it's because online RSVPs are too "new" or if it was because it was easier for people to forget if they didn't have a card on their fridge. Either way, it's a huge pain to call and track down everyone. I probably ended up RSVPing manually for > 50% of invitees who told us they couldn't make it in some non-RSVP form. I'd definitely recommend including cards, since people seem to "get" how those work. 3) Travel agents are great, but some people still won't use them! It's been really hard to keep our RSVP list in sync with the Travel Agent's actually-booked list. We have a bunch of people who have RSVP'ed but haven't booked their travel. Or people who booked "through the website" but haven't RSVP'ed. Worse, we have people who haven't talked to the travel agent, haven't RSVP'ed, but we've heard through the grapevine that they have their rooms booked. Where? Through who? Those people are the hardest to track down, oy! This problem I'm not sure how to avoid for a DW, ah well Good luck on planning your future destination weddings, girls!

I totally agree with the RSVP's , but we also sent out paper rsvp cards for people who didn't have computers or who we didn't think would use them and still haven't received any of those back... I think people think oh I am not going so I don't need to RSVP. Which is totally frustrating! I don't care for our wedding in Cuba because I know if they have booked with my travel agent (and since we're having ours in Cuba- most people just go with the packaged deals and go for a week rather then a weekend type thing- so we don't have the problem you do with #3 on your list). But we are also having a ceremony here and people still haven't rsvp'd either and its like we do need to know how many people are coming... So closer to the date I will just have to find out... and yes I have RSVP'd for people online because I know they are coming or they aren't and they haven't bothered too... like we can remember everyone who says yes or no!