Gathering addresses for mailing invitations

I messeges people in stages. Friends and bridal party, then aunts and uncles, then cousins. Now I'm just missing one address and my FH has gathered none lol.

Hi Megan!

We decided to delegate this task. My FH and I divided the list into “his” side and “her” side. We then gave our own lists to our mothers, who were surprisingly more than happy to help gather all of the information for everyone!

We then put all of that information into a spreadsheet. It includes name(s) of the guests, number in their party (good for keeping track of numbers), email address, mailing address, and phone number. I also included columns to track when we sent the Save the Dates and then for when we send our formal invitations. There’s also a column for their RSVP and for Thank You notes.

Hope that helps!

I messaged many on fb to get certain mailing addresses. We are also sending 2 different packs of invitations out east to 2 people and they are going to hand delivery some for us. It actually saves us on postage.

I just messaged people! I had my mom, FMIL and my Maid of Honour help me collect full names and addresses and then I sent a private message to some as well! I don't think you have to send a warning to people that you will soon be asking for their addresses... just ask!

If you're using WeddingWire's Guest List tool you can email all your guests with a request to send you their address, we have a template for just that. My worry with a Facebook status is you'll likely get replies from people you had not planned to invite which could create an uncomfortable situation. If you go the social media route I'd send DMs directly to your guests

If I knew how difficult this was going to be, I would have started collecting addresses asap. Once you have your Guest list set, I would start asking. My Mom and I kept notebooks in our purse so we could collect addresses when we saw future Guests as well which helped.

I just finished this long no very long and daunting process on Jan 1. Our Wedding is March 23, 2019. We asked our Parents for addresses in the Summer & they tried but we had many addresses with incomplete info, improper spelling & on & on. Using Canada 411 online was a big help. I ended up checking almost every address online to double check. If I'd only realized that months before. I thought I'd message People on Facebook but either People thought it was prank or I'd ask for their Sons address for example & there would be messages back & forth but with no address. I found the whole address finding process to be 1 of our most stressful Wedding planning tasks to date. My Fiance had to call all his Friends for their addresses. I know we are both relieved that part is completed!!!

I don't love the idea of announcing it on Facebook that you're looking to gather addresses, because there's bound to be someone who thinks they're invited (and isn't!).

What FH and I did were, we individually messaged our own friends, got the addresses of family members that were easy to reach (first cousins, aunts, uncles), and gave FH's mom an emailed list of the information that I was missing based on the guestlist (spouse names, addresses, phone numbers).

We put it all in an Excel spreadsheet to keep it organized. It's taken almost a year to compile all the addresses and we're still not done!

My FH and I sent a private group message (Myself + Him + the couple we were trying to reach) on Facebook Messenger and requested their address. That way if I didn't have them on Facebook but my FH did, they would still see the message from us and it wouldn't get tossed in that hidden "awaiting approval folder".

I've since deleted all the messages of course when I go to look for reference. I think we said something like "Hey, if you were maybe invited to an upcoming wedding and your family wanted to send you a save the date, what address should they be sending it to?" Something cute and lighthearted - joking that they may or may not have made the cut just yet.

I’m going to have my FMIL and my mom reach out to family/their friends and confirm addresses and I am going to reach out to my own friends and coworkers by phone or text to confirm

I am sending my save the dates via Paperless post and it give the option to request mailing address from guests. The bonus is that if you keep it simple it’s totally free!

I sent everyone an email asking for their mailing address.
For friends, we sent Facebook/WhatsApp messages asking them for the address and partners’ names.

I would avoid posting a facebook status about it, just in case someone sees it who's not invited and then wonders why they never got asked for their address/invited.

My mom actually still has a list of family and friends she uses for Christmas cards so I got that for my side easily. My FSIL got the addresses for my FH's side and he and I asked our friends in DM/PM/text/in person. I like Tori's idea of asking someone in the family who got married recently for a list - and I'll keep mine in case any cousins get engaged/married in the near future.

I went the route of asking whoever had the last wedding in the family if they still had their list - even if there are changes to the addresses, it's a lot easier to start with something. I will still be sending out DM's/PM's though to complete the list.

Other than that, I wanted to avoid posting on FB just in case somebody who won't be invited see's it.

I asked my family members all individually and had my Maid of Honour ask my friends individually. This was through facebook messenger or texting. It really did not take long as every family and couple we only had to ask one of the people. I feel like unless you're doing Save the Dates however I would wait a little longer before grabbing addresses. I had a few people move and it was annoying to keep up with the changes.