Guest List Breakdown

I have always really enjoyed reading about the stats on RSVPs from other brides, so I figured I would share my information here.

To start:

Number of Guests Invited = 104
Number of Guests + Bride & Groom = 106

And the breakdown for that number is the following:

Bride's Family and Friends = 37
Groom's Family and Friends = 57
Bride & Groom's Friends = 12

In total:

Number of Invitations Mailed = 53
Number of RSVPs Received = 52 (Still waiting on one response, but their invitation was received late)

We received 36 RSVPs back in the mail by our September 1st deadline.  We spent the next week contacting our guests via phone, email, Facebook, and text message.

As of right now, we have all but one response back, and the reasoning for that was that the invitation was supposed to be delivered in person to our real estate agent at our closing, but that was pushed back for a few weeks, so she didn't end up getting it at the same time as our other guests.  We've told her that we just need a response by September 23, which is just before our final head count is due to the caterer.


Now, in terms of responses, here's how it panned out:

Number of Guests Accepted = 80
Number of Guests Accepted + Bride & Groom = 82

Bride's Family and Friends = 29
Groom's Family and Friends = 47
Bride & Groom's Friends = 4 (2 of which could be added still)

Overall, this is exactly where we wanted to be, no offense to the guests that we invited, but we were looking to land right around 80.  We are, however, upset some of our family members and friends are unable to join us, and hope that they know they will be missed.

And, for the record, here's our acceptance/decline percentage:

We're just over the wedding-standard rule of 20% of guests declining.  

Did you have numbers similar to this? Were you happy with the outcome of your RSVPs?

Leaf Us Your Well Wishes

Many brides have been finding alternatives to your traditional guestbook for their wedding.  Ideas such as benches, thumbprint trees, and rock messages give us brides inspiration every day.

Thumbprint Tree / Image via Weddingbee

A while back, when I was searching for guestbook ideas, I came across a link on Martha Stewart Weddings, where she listed out some different guest book ideas.  One of the ones that stuck in my head was this one:

Envelope Guest Book / Image via Martha Stewart Weddings

I thought that this was such a cute idea.  The one thing that I didn't like about it, however, was that the envelopes were still stuck in a book - something that I thought would never get opened after reading through it once, and would just collect dust on a shelf, or worse, get packed away in a box of sentimental items and never very infrequently seen again.

So, I brainstormed different ideas, and came upon one that resolved all problems.  I decided that since leaves were kind of our theme for the wedding, and we were using them on invitation paper amongst other things, that I would arrange the envelopes in the shape of a leaf.  This would allow the guests to write us little notes, put them in an envelope, seal them, and then give us the opportunity to hang the piece of artwork on the wall in our new house. 

For paper, I decided to go to my trusty website, Paper-Source, and peruse the envelopes they had available.  I was looking for some that I thought I could layer nicely, and that the flaps weren't too large, so I ultimately decided on coin envelopes, and to match them with everything, I chose the three main colors of our wedding: orange, yellow, and green.

"Baby" Envelopes in Poppy, Sunshine, and Clover / Images via Paper-Source

Today, since we still haven't moved, I figured I should take advantage of the long weekend, and get some wedding related tasks done.  So, after unpacking a few wedding boxes, I got to work with laying out my envelopes on a piece of foam board for sturdiness.  

I used some cans of tomatoes (even though I hate tomatoes) as a weight to hold the base in place.  The extra large cans were perfect for holding the envelopes where I put them.  I staggered the envelopes unevenly, making sure that each one was able to close and open without interfering with another.  

Starting the layering process (with tomatoes) / Personal Picture

I started at the bottom, and filled in the middle first, just laying everything out as I thought how it should be placed.  As you can see in the picture above, I also added a stem to the base of the leaf.

Getting towards the top of the leaf (and some more tomatoes) / Personal Picture

Towards the end, I had to remove some envelopes and replace them with different colors, that way the top of the leaf didn't end up being all yellow envelopes, which is what I ended up with at the end, despite having the same number of envelopes in each color.  

Finished layout / Personal Picture

Next, I used Uhu Holdit to place each envelope on the foam board.  Because I didn't want to remove every single envelope completely to put an adhesive on it, I decided to use this putty, and place little rolled up pieces of it on the corners and centers of the envelopes, where I thought would hold each one in place.

Uhu Holdit putty / Personal Picture

It took about an hour to get every envelope stuck down completely, but I didn't think it actually felt like an hour.  

And here's the finished product!

Finished Envelope Leaf Guestbook / Personal Picture

I plan on trimming the foam board to make a rectangle just around the leaf, and then I will place it on an easel at the wedding.  After the wedding, I will cut the foam board to match the lines of the envelopes in the leaf pattern, and then hang it on the wall in the office.  

I also bought coordinating business cards from Paper-Source, which fit perfectly in these envelopes, so our guests will be writing us little notes on the business cards, and then finding an envelope of their choose to put their message in.  I'll use glue dots, put on at the last minute, to seal the envelopes shut.

Anyone else doing a non-traditional guest book?  Where did your inspiration come from?

Love, Love, Love Our Friends!

Our friends are seriously the best.

This may not be as hilarious to you as it is to FI and I, but this is SO awesome.  We somehow received all three of these RSVPs in the same day, all from the same circle of friends, AND also from three different states: Massachusetts, Kentucky, and Indiana.

Awesomest Friends Ever! / Personal Picture

And in case you can't read it in the picture:

RSVP 1 - "I require 2 jagerbombs served w/each course."

RSVP 2 - "I will require yeast-fermented malt flavored with hops in drink form."

RSVP 3 - "I require your most expensive thing stuffed with your second most expensive thing."

The awesomest! 

And I don't even care if that's a word or not.

Don't Keep Me Waiting

Well, our invites officially went out on Saturday, as you may have seen in the fanciest drop-off ever!

And, we officially got our first RSVPs back in the mail today! 3 of them!!!

Woot!! PS - What a ridiculous amount of editing... / Personal Picture

So excited, in case you couldn't tell.

And to top it off, all 3 were YES's! Which means that we officially have 6 people coming to our wedding.  Only 98 more people to hear from.

Don't keep me waiting for those, wedding guests!

Sold Out

Yep, you heard me. Sold Out.

"What is sold out?" you may ask.  The favors/seat placement cards.

Yep, these adorable little bamboo pots are sold out.

Tapered Pot Favors in Orange / Image via Eastern Leaf

I first noticed this on the site two weeks ago, and since I was interested in just the orange ones, I contacted the company, who told me that they would be getting a shipment of new products in two weeks, and that they would contact me again once that shipment has arrived to determine whether or not the amount I needed would be available.  

Two weeks passed by, and I checked in with them, and they told me they would not be able to get the number of orange pots that I needed.  

Devastated. Absolutely devastated.

Luckily for me, (I mean, they are lucky bamboo plants, you know) they also have other options.  

White Saki Cup Favor / Image via Eastern Leaf

Mini Square Favor / Image via Eastern Leaf

I love the little white Saki cups, and I think we could decorate them really cute for the wedding, maybe with a stencil or something, but do I really want to be doing that two weeks before the wedding to approximately 100 of these? Not really.

So, we're going to go with the Mini Squares, and add in Orange gravel instead of the red that you see in the picture above.

I'm excited to order these, and see how they come. Apparently you have to assemble them when they arrive, so that should be a nice little project.  Good thing my mom and MOH E will be around when they arrive - I'll need the extra hands since we'll be getting so many!

Be Our Guest!

HUGE Disney fan - had to.

I have had a guest list spreadsheet created for about three years. Yes, I know that is way before being engaged, but when you know, you know.  So, when we first got engaged, I showed FI the guest list, which was small. About 40 people.  When we originally talked about getting married a few years ago, we decided on a small wedding and reception, with immediate family, and very close friends, and then a few months later, we would have a big party with more family and friends.  Unfortunately, we were not going to be able to go that route now that the wedding was coming sooner, and financially, it would be smarter to have more people attend one event than to have two different events.

FFIL has a large family, with four siblings, so each sibling and their spouses immediately added almost ten people to the guest list.  In addition to that, we made some great friends out in Indiana that we wouldn't imagine not having at our wedding.  Add in my co-workers (FI is still unemployed :( ), and a few close family friends, and our guest list quickly shot up to 80 something.  Not what we originally had planned, but I honestly can say that I can't imagine having a wedding without these people.

So, now that we have this list somewhat finalized, I can start figuring out the layout and approximate costs per person. Oh, and maybe I can actually decide on an idea for Save the Dates.  That would be good.