RSVP postcards are a wonderful alternative to traditional wedding response cards. They’ve been gaining in popularity over the past few years and for good reasons!
1. Spend less money on RSVP cards
RSVP postcards are way cheaper than traditional RSVP cards. Depending on your invitation cardstock and printing style, using postcards instead of flat cards with envelopes can save you around a quarter to half off your RSVP cards – so if you’re sending out 200 wedding invitations at $1 / traditional RSVP card, using postcards instead can save you an estimated $50-$100 – now that’s a good deal!
2. Cut costs on postage and envelopes, too
Don’t forget that you won’t need to buy envelopes for those postcards, either. Depending on your vendor, that could save you about an additional $50 on those 200 invites.
Perhaps an even bigger deal is the postage stamps. It’s good etiquette to provide postage stamps for every RSVP card, so guests don’t have to buy any themselves – and stamps for postcards happen to be about three quarters of the cost. You can go from $.49 a card down to $.34 a card. That’ll save you an additional $30 on postage alone.
Extra bonus: if you’re going with a vintage stamps, you’ll find it easier to come up with enough stamps for RSVP postcards, since you don’t need as high of a denomination.
Total savings: $100-$200.
3. Fewer envelopes you have to address
This is another huge one. For most RSVP postcards, you can get your address printed on the back as part of the design – and it looks fab. Which means? You have 10s-100s fewer envelopes to address – yay for avoiding hand cramps!
Maybe you’re using a calligrapher to address your invitation envelopes – in that case, the money argument applies again and you can save on postcards in yet another way!
4. Makes it even easier for your guests to mail back their responses
If you use postcards, guests won’t even have to put their response card in an envelope and seal the flap. You may laugh, but keeping the RSVP process as simple as possible will help ensure that your guests reply on time. All they have to do is mark their response, and they’re done! No messing around with addressing, postage stamps or envelope stuffing – it will seem like an effortless breeze to them!
5. Charming vintage feel
Often, RSVP postcards seem to evoke a bygone era. It’s so easy to get a cute vintage feel with these postcards – with just a fancy “POSTCARD” design at the top and a few design ornaments, you can achieve a totally adorable vintage look.
6. More environmentally friendly
If you’re worried about the environmental footprint of your wedding, but you’re not prepared to go entirely paperless, RSVP postcards are a great middle ground – just think of the piles of envelope paper that you won’t be tossing in the trash or recycling bin!
7. Be as formal or informal as you want
Popular opinion might hold that RSVP postcards are less formal than traditional cards – but they can look just as formal and classy as the traditional cards. On the other hand, they can be as fun and whimsical as you want – it’s really all about the design.
8. Stand out from the crowd!
Using postcards might be gaining in popularity, but it’s still not the typical and traditional choice. Choosing postcards for your RSVPs will show that you’re on trend, savvy and don’t take your wedding too seriously. Trust me, everyone except maybe your great grandma will think it’s clever and cute that you’re using postcards for your response cards. And she’ll probably like them too.
A few possible downsides to consider
On the other hand, before you do switch to RSVP postcards, there are some potential downsides to consider:
- Postcard may become dirty or smudged in the mail on the way back to you – in the case this makes some of the replies impossible to read (such as number attending) you may have to contact the guest directly to confirm.
- Mail officials can read whatever wedding details are on the card.
- Colors, ink and paper type may not exactly match your wedding invitations – this is probably the biggest caveat for those of us with slight OCD tendencies. Check with your invitation vendor to see just how differently the postcards will print.
If you’re not overly bothered by any of these possibilities, and you’re intrigued by the idea of using RSVP postcards for your wedding, then I say go for it!