According to Emily Post, RSVP comes from the French, it is short for “Répondez, s’il vous plaît,” or, “Please reply.” In today’s “social-media-text-messaging-instant-response” culture, the meaning and importance of the RSVP has clearly fallen by the wayside. It has become something of a “lost art” like cursive handwriting or love letters. In the business of weddings and milestone events, the importance of the RSVP cannot be understated…nor is it more evident how little love and respect the RSVP receives. We hear from our clients time and time again the measures they must take to obtain the seemingly simple answer for the RSVP. (Did we mention the RSVP comes replete with stamp and envelope?) We won’t even get into the required RSVP response for the bride planning a plated dinner.
Why is the wedding RSVP important? Two reasons. First, the bride and groom have included you on their list of very important people with whom they want to share this momentous life-changing occasion. Second, practically speaking, each RSVP represents an impact on the budget and contracted due dates.
For the modern bride, there are ways for technology to work for her. Those brides often include an RSVP response on the couple’s wedding website eliminating the need for additional paper, stamps, and all the rest. In more formal circles, there is no viable replacement for the actual RSVP enclosure included with the formal invitation. Paper is the only way.
The moral of the story is simple…take a moment to complete the RSVP, immediately if possible.