To get an accurate guest count for food and seating preparations, you are likely to include response cards with your wedding invitations. There are several things to keep in mind when it comes to proper response card etiquette.

A return mailing envelope is always included with a response card and is printed with the mailing address of whomever is keeping track of the replies. As a courtesy to your guests, a postage stamp should also be placed on the response envelope.

If you happen to be including a response postcard, a return mailing envelope is not included since the return postage is placed directly on the postcard. Seal n send wedding invitations are a familiar invitation style that have a response postcard attached for easy removal by guests as pictured here.

A reply-by date will also need to be chosen and printed on the response cards so guests know by when they need to mail back their completed card. The date is typically 2-3 weeks before your wedding but be sure to check with your reception venue to see if they may need more time for their preparations based on your final guest count.

The purpose of including response cards with your wedding invitations is to give you an accurate count on how many guests will be attending your wedding for proper food and seating arrangements. You will need to be organized to make sure all of your guests return their response cards. A copy of your complete guest list will help you.

You will want to keep track of who does and who doesn’t send back their RSVP card. To do this, lightly mark a number on the back of each response card before including them with your wedding invitations. Place that same corresponding # next to that name on your guest list. It’s easy to check off guest names as their cards come back but this numbering will come in handy for any names that you can’t read from their handwriting as well as for any cards that come back without the guest’s name. In those cases, simply match the number on the back of the card to that corresponding number on your guest list.

Once the date passes that you had printed on your response cards, you may want to contact by phone any guests whose names you didn’t check off your guest list to make sure they received their wedding invitation.