Why not host your wedding RSVP online to make planning your wedding a little bit easier? Here’s an honest tip: There are so many things to plan for a wedding, something is going to go out late.

Unfortunately, one of the pieces of the puzzle that happens late more often than not is the invitations. If this is the case, you’ll want to have your guests RSVP online, so you don’t have to wait for the RSVP cards to come back to you in the mail. Even if you’re not running late with your invites, you may still want to do your wedding RSVP online to save time and money.

Creating Your Wedding RSVP Online

While there are some sites out there just for wedding RSVPs, the truth is there are plenty of general event RSVPs that will work just fine. Below are two options that make it easy to customize your online wedding RSVP to fit your wedding theme, colors and designs — some of them even let you upload engagement shots as well.

A) Send Guests to the Web from a Paper Invite

In many cases, you’ll want to send out an old fashioned paper invitation, and direct people online for the RSVP. There are lots of ways to create a quick site to collect RSVPs. The basic formula you’ll want to follow involves including a URL to your RSVP website in your invitation. Some options even include an emailing system, in case you want to use it to send reminders to those guests who aren’t getting back to you. (TIP: Save your guests effort by making the URL as short as possible.)

Eventbrite is super customizable, and is simple to set up (completely free; mailing system included)

SurveyMonkey offers easy-to-build custom RSVP forms (completely free; mailing system included)

EventSpot by Constant Contact has customer support (free for 60 days; mailing system included)

Google Templates offers wedding RSVP forms made by other brides (completely free; no mailing system)

B) Do Your Whole Invitation and RSVP Online

If you’re interested in doing your whole wedding line of communication online, you’re going to want to send your guests something that’s really classy. Paperless Post is free and you can pick a virtual stationary for it, so it looks as good as the real thing. The RSVP process is integrated, so the whole experience will be clean and pretty with Paperless Post.

What to Ask Your Guests

Even with all this online convenience, you won’t quite get the job done if you forget to ask the important questions. Here are a few that are found on every wedding RSVP, whether it’s online or not.

• how many guests are attending
• how many guests are not attending
• meal choice (if necessary)

If you’re trying to save time on your wedding, or better, money — you might even be committed to having a debt-free wedding — putting your wedding RSVP online is a great idea. If you’re running late with your invitations, it’s a must-do. Good luck!

What do you think of online RSVPs for a wedding? Did you host your wedding RSVP online? Share your thoughts below.