4 Things You Absolutely Should Communicate to Your Wedding Guests

Recently we’ve been asking some of our users to let us know about their top wedding frustrations; the answers ran the gamut from MIA wedding RSVPs to people who show up the day of uninvited or unheard from, to re-gifters, to every potential Seinfeld episode in between. One thing we noticed as we sorted through the answers was a common trend; a lot of these things could probably be avoided ahead of time, with some carefully placed warnings and FYIs on your wedding invitation or digital wedding RSVP site. We’ve compiled a set of five tips that should help you avoid hitting these snags with your own guests as your special day approaches:

1. Give them addresses and contact info for EVERRRRRRRRRYTHING: Hotels, reception halls, churches, synagogues, airports, houses of the family: if it’s going to be important during your wedding celebration, make sure everyone knows how to get there and how to get in contact with the place as well. The more you can write your guests’ itineraries for them ahead of time, the less you’ll have to do it in the days leading up to your big day.

2. Make sure it’s clear to your guests what you need to know from them: If there’s one gripe we hear more than any other from our users, it’s the frustration in guessing the intentions and plans of guests who have refused to return their wedding RSVPs, online or paper. Now, obviously, we’re a digital RSVP site, so that’s a natural topic for griping but…..boy, do our guests share this issue. With that said, make sure you clearly (but firmly) notify your guests when you need to hear their response by: make sure to give yourself plenty of time as well. (If you want a guess on when you can expect to hear from guests, check out our handy-dandy RSVP calculator to see what you can expect based on our user data)

3. Registries, gifts – no one wants to be awkward: Gifts and registries are always awkward topics, because who wants to get in a tiff with a friend or family member over a wedding present? With that in mind, some people will miss the boat inevitably, and based on our users’ experiences, wild card gifters can lead to some pretty awkward conversations after the ceremony. Make sure you communicate to your guests who you’ve registered with, and make sure to be polite, even if the gift is off the reservation.

4. Set the tone for your event with your communications: Fun or formal? Wild or reserved? The tone of your wedding day is entirely up to you (or, to you and the respective friends and family members helping you plan) so you should make sure your guests know what to expect ahead of time. By choosing the design and wording of your wedding RSVP and wedding invitation properly, you can help set the tone for your friends and family and get the day you want. No one wants to show up with the wrong approach in mind.