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Honestly, I would need to see the card to fully say yes or no to being confused.
But at this point, just reading here, I would have been confused just a tad. Not to say you did anything wrong! It is a cute idea!
I don't think it's confusing, I think people just don't pay attention. We asked our guests to do the same thing, and most people just put an x or a check mark.
It's clear if you actually read each word, but I'm guessing most people just glance over it, and figure they know how to operate an RSVP card. Sorry it didn't go smoother for you!
The RSVP in its entirety reads:
RSVP by 08.06.11
We have reserved __ seats in your honor. (And I handwrote in the # in the party so they knew not to invite their whole family. So far, this has been clear and worked fine.)
Guest(s)___________________________ (where they write their name. This, I now know, is also confusing for the single people. They left it blank. I should have just wrote Name(s). Luckily, i took the advice of another bee and numbered the back of the cards so when they came in, I could cross-check my list to see which number corresponded. I highly reccomend this.)
___ accept with pleasure ___ decline with regret.
Please initial an entree choice for each guest.
___ pork
___ chicken
___ fish
__vegetarian (the options are much more descriptive than this, though.)
I think anytime you try to change something people are used to (like a check or X) it never goes well even if you've totally explained it.
@retroindigo: Ya it's not really confusing when you read it. But I agree with the PP who said people probably dont read it.
You're probably right. I think people are just accustomed to one way and don't think about it.
Maybe "please write your initials next to your entree choice" MIGHT have been clearer, but who knows.
Has anyone else had frustrating experiences with their responses?
I had a lot of people not understanding my RSVP either and it was probably the easiest RSVP I've ever seen. I think people just glance over and check things off....that's the main issue, people not reading!
We actually did this for our wedding also and i can tell you, only half the people understood. We got checkmarks, numbers to indicate how many people wanted that entree, full names, etc.
For couples, i spoke to a few who filled it out wrong and they didn't care who got what. they would choose different entrees in hopes that they would share with one another. or so they could swap if they didn't like it.
with more than two people, it gets harder. we had to call families and find out who exactly was having what. but its definitely something you can get your family to help out with. i had my father ask his siblings or my mother ask hers if they filled it out incorrectly.
that's almost exactly how I'm wording mine... would it be so terrible if for the couples or families who don't initial who is ordering what entree, to not worry about it, and just guess who ordered what, and then if they want to switch cuz I guessed wrong, they can?
I worded mine similarly. People just don't read directions, or think it doesn't matter (when it does when your caterer needs different escort cards for each individual indicating their meal choice. sigh.)
It's plenty clear, people are just silly and don't read/understand :)
It seems completely obvious to me. However, I've noticed that even the most intelligent people seem to lose all sense when it comes to RSVP cards. "M____? What does that mean? My name is Richard, there's no M in Richard!!!!"
When people see a space they automatically think of putting an X mark or check mark. I nearly made the same mistake for my friends wedding. Also the reason why people get confused is that if there is one RSVP card for a couple, then is hard to fit both initials in one space [if both of them want the same entree choice] so people just assume they should either just putthe number of people or put an X mark
@bells:oooh! that makes so much sense! Hm, now, I wonder if there is a better way to solve this issue without making *individual* cards for each person! (or at least a different card for every different # of people invited...)
It is/was confusing to me. The instruction is not very clear. Maybe say something along the lines of: "Would each guest please kindly write their initials in front of the entree that they wish to have."
Doh. I might have done that on a friend's RSVP. I was chatting with him the night before his wedding and he mentioned that they weren't sure which one of us wanted chicken/steak the next day. It worked out fine but it just occurred to me they must have had one of those RSVP cards and I just put 2 check marks, which is why he said that. So I guess I'm proof that some folks will just breeze over the card...*turns red*
I can read, but some people aren't capable of basic reading comprehension, lol. I don't see how much clearer you could make it. I also agree that people tend to skim the RSVPs, thinking they already know what is required of them.
Sorry that it's frustrating, I did the same thing, I guess I should expect similar results!
I was hoping to have people write their names but some did, some didn't...I'm thinking possibly the best way to encourage them to do so is to leave large blank next to each entree. That way a simple check mark looks wimpy and it might make them think to actually write their name or initials. Too late for me, but any thoughts for future brides if this would be a good idea?
People are born with RSVP inept genes. I'm convinced of it.
We did the same thing for the RSVP and about 30% of people did it wrong. We are just deciding who gets what meal and then they can trade or just deal with it because they couldn't follow simple instructions!
That sounds pretty clear to me. However there are some people who are completely incapable of following even the simplest directs. Most of these people are men. So yes to them it might be confusing.
We did the same thing except worded it, "Please initial next to your prefered meal choice." So far no confusion. Everyone is initialing. The only non initialers are couples who are getting the same entree. They've just put "2" next to the entree choice.
@philabride2bee:oh I like that idea! I just modified my invitations that will be sent to the printer soon, and I agree! It looks a little more awkward to just put a check mark next to it!
I have the same wording for my rsvp card!!! Seems pretty clear to me and about half my guests so far have not put initials. I think because using the intials is not the norm and guests just glance over it.
It's not confusing. People just ignore instructions.
There are actually studies on this. People will assume they know what to do and not pay attention to what's in writing.
Our guests were actually pretty good, but it probably helped that so many were pilots and used to following directions to the letter.
So us brides are left either 1) only offering one entree 2) having buffets or 3) contacting everyone to see what they wanted.
I've filled out RSVP cards like this before. It makes perfect sense to me.
I'm hoping my guests do okay with this; we're doing "Please initial each guest's entree choice" with little pictures (a chicken, a fish) and lines for the initials...
Sounds like I might be making a lot of phone calls; boo!
We did put a long line in front of each entree, thinking that would encourage them to write their initials, and leave room for multiples.
Regarding the M______, my fiance said the same thing. M What?! hahah
In the end, I'm facebooking the people who I have contact info for to clarify who got what. But, if its a couple, as a PP mentioned, they don't mind swapping or sharing and may even intend for this! My friend wrote back today that she and her hubby just marked down the 2 dishes they'd both enjoy and plan to share. It's the large families or more than 2 ppl that gets confusing.
Really, I will just be mad if people complain "oh the caterer/waiter got our dishes mixed up" when they are served. It's YOUR fault! and I tried to avoid this.
Our reception hall wants seating charts and wants to know what each guest is getting, and have us indicate this on the seating chart. I think, in addition to this, we're supposed to mark it on their escort cards, but I was only going to do one card per party.
How are the other bees handling escort cards if you need to specify dishes for each guest?
I was not planning on doing individual escort/place cards for people, and was just going to mark on the back of the escort cards like 1 chicken 1 fish, for example. But, i guess i will have to do thi
yeah, I did this too, and very few guests (could count on 2 hands) initialed.
Especially annoying with bridal party, where their guests are seated separately, and I don't know who wants what. Many irritating phone calls!
@retroindigo: we did individual place cards at every seat and placed a coloured circle sticker on the back of it to indicate choice. so red circle meant beef, blue for fish and green for vegetarian. the stickers just came from staples.
We asked people to initial, but most didn't. We just did our best to guess who wanted which entree, and figured they could always switch once they were served.
This is the entire RSVP for my wedding. We wanted to make it very clear how many guests were actually invited and that we want each guest's initials next to their entree choice:
RSVP
M________________________________________
____ out of ____ guest(s) will attend.
Please write each guest’s initials next to his or her entrée choice:
_________Chicken _________Beef _________Pasta
Please indicate any food allergies or other needs on the back of this card.
Kindly respond by the eighth of June
We put the directions in BOLD and we put "initials" in italic as well... Hope it works!
I know. I did this too. There's nothing wrong with your logic but people simply don't read!! They see a blank line and just put a check mark... very frustrating...
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So I found an idea on here from someone else to have the guests write their initials next to their entree choice. So smart! That way you know who is getting what.
I did this, and wrote "Please initial an entree choice for each guest."
Only about half our RSVPs so far understood I wanted their initials next to the entree! GRRRRRRRRRRRRR
Is it confusing the way I worded it? We had our invites done on Zazzle and the font we chose, for some reason, had a very weird character when you put in an apostrophe so we tried to write the card without an apostrophe in it. I think it was originally worded "Please initial each guest's entree choice."
I dunno, I thought it made sense. Or maybe, people are just so used to the old way...