{Etiquette Thursday} Are mailed RSVPs still necessary?

I'm working on this lovely custom design for an upcoming bride who has chosen not to use mailed RSVPs.  Instead, she's asking her gusts to RSVP on her wedding website.  I must admit, this is the first bride that's asked for this so I had to do a little research myself.  Are RSVPs a thing of the past?

It seems with rise of wedding websites, RSVPing online is fairly common.  It's easier, it's cheaper and in a lot of ways makes much more sense.  Do people really take the time to send back RSVPs anyway? 

Any marketing person would tell you to consider your audience.  Are most of your guests older without online access?  Or are your guests techie-nerds obsessed with all things online?  If you consider who the majority of your invitations will be sent to, the answer will be clear. 

Are you a modern bride?  Did you use online RSVP?  How did it work for you?

{Etiquette Thursday} How much does it cost to send an invitation?

This week's question is one that isn't easily answered.  How much does it cost to send an invitation?

That depends completely on what's included in the invitation.

Small invitations with no additional enclosures generally fall into the 1-stamp category.  Unless the invitation is square.  Square invites always require additional postage. 

If your invitation has additional enclosures (Pocketfold, Layers, RSVP, Directions, etc.), more than likely you will be requred to pay extra postage.  How much?  That's a question only a mail-person can answer for sure. Your best bet is to take a completed invitation to the post office and ask them to weigh it for postage.  They will be able to tell you exactly the cost to mail each invitation.

It's very important to make sure you use the correct postage.  After all that you've spent on invitations and more importantly the wedding, you want to make sure the invitations actually arrive to your guests promptly and without error. =)

Happy Mailing!