Monday Manners: The Formal RSVP

April 19, 2010

RSVP is an abbreviation for the French phrase répondez s’il vous plaît, which means ‘please reply.’  I don’t know about y’all, but occasionally I will receive a wedding invitation, without a “check yes or no” reply card included.  It is rather rare nowadays, but usually this means that the wedding is very formal.  I learned how to reply to a formal invitation back in junior high, when most of us took Cotillion each week.  But like many things in my life, I have since forgotten the exact wording on how to respond.  I thought this would help many of you, especially with all of those summer weddings approaching.  My hubby and I thought our wedding craze would be over by now, and babies are in full swing, but we already have 10 weddings booked this year!  So crazy?!  Alright, lets get started:

A formal RSVP follows the format of the formal invitation, which is to say, in the third person.

Here’s an example:

INVITE
Mr. and Mrs. John Williams Doe
request the pleasure of your company
at a reception in celebration of Earth Day
on Tuesday, the ninth of May
at half past seven o’clock in the evening
at the Westin.
RSVP
YOUR RESPONSE
Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Adams are happy to accept
the kind invitation of Mr. and Mrs. John Doe
to the reception in celebration of Earth Day
on Tuesday, the ninth of May.
One thing I did remember from Cotillion was an interesting fact.  Did you know that in most cases you are never supposed to RSVP to attend a wedding at the church?  You are supposed to respond to an invitation to the reception, but since most wedding are at churches, the church is a public place, anyone is allowed to attend the ceremony, so no need to reply to that.  So interesting!  Yes, we had people that came to our wedding, and were not invited to our wedding.  A little awkward for some yes, but we were so caught up in the moment, we didn’t really care.  The more the merrier right?  Unless it’s an ex!  Haha!
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I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend.  I got to spend a nice relaxing weekend with my girls.  So fun!  We went to a neighborhood picnic on Saturday, and the girls had the best time!  I forgot my camera, but here are a couple of pics from the weekend.  Hope y’all enjoy them.

Sisters:  Before Bathtime
CHEESE!  W loves macaroni and beef, can you tell?
P.S. I’m up to 50 followers now.  Time for a giveaway!  I’ll announce the details in tomorrow’s post.
Happy Monday!

19 thoughts on “Monday Manners: The Formal RSVP”

  2. Love the fun facts on the manners, I don't think I knew about the RSVP to weddings at a church?!

    Those girls of yours are TOO CUTE. Baby cheeks & legs NOM NOM NOM!!! XOXO

  4. So true!! Great post. The weddings in Mexico are the same way, baptisms, too. Anyone can attend a church service, only the reception is private. Have a great day! xoxo

  9. Great pics! I was setting the table for when the in-laws were here on Saturday, and had to refer back to one of your other Monday Manners hints. Thanks 🙂

  11. A very interesting post! You'll be such a busy bee with ten weddings this year!

    The girls are beautiful, I'm sure you all had lots of fun together this weekend!

  15. I just absolutely loved Cotillion growing up!

    I had no idea about that anyone could just show up to a church wedding! Crazy! Most weddings I've been invited to lately all have a response card. Of course, all of them had sit-down receptions, so I suppose that is definitely required.

    Those girls are just precious!!

  17. People who do not RSVP drive me crazy. 😉 Your cuties are adorable. My 2 are 15 months apart & your photos really bring me back. My 2 are 4 & 5 now. Thanks for posting the great pics!! xox MBM

  18. Awwwwwww, love the kiddo pics. That last one looks like a photo I took of my lil' dude the other day. He had used yogurt as moisturizer and hair gel. Ah ha ha

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