How many newsletters/announcements did you send to your guests?

[Starseeker1221]

With all the messages about invitations on the board today, I'm curious... how many newsletters/save the date cards/etc did you send out, and when did you send them out?

I want to be able to keep my guests informed, and also help them plan their trips to Florida, but I also don't want to send too much or have the info become repetitive if its in several newsletters, and so I'm wondering what everyone else did, and if you were happy with how that worked out?

Thanks!
~Vicky

 

[DVCGirl49]

We've sent/Plan to send:

A very non-official/preliminary Save The Date @ 2 years out.
Printed on tags attached to our favors at our engagement party

Newsletter #1 / Save the Date with Preliminary Response Card @ 12 months out
Why we chose Disney, a short thing about each of us and how we met, the general itinerary/calendar of events, FAQ's (do I need park tickets, can I bring the kids, etc.) Having sent the preliminary response cards out was SOOO helpful in getting a guesstimate on how many people to plan for.

The official Disney Save the Date @ 10 months out

Newsletter #2 @ 7 months out
Resort Info, how to book rooms, DME, flying vs driving vs train (pros/cons), rental cars, etc.

Newsletter #3 @ 4 months out
EMH, things to do that don't require a ticket, things to do in FL, dining/ADR's, Disney's transportation system, the parks, park tickets, photopass.

Newsletter #4 @ 1 month out
TSA requirements, reminders (make sure you booked DME, etc), bus schedule for day of the wedding, theme park tips, "Our Special Guests" (short blurb about parents/wedding party/etc), weather info, packing tips, wedding day itinerary.

Welcome Packet to be in the Welcome Bag
Itinerary/important info, what to do if you miss the bus, etc.


I know it seems like we're sending a lot of info, but for 70-80% of our guests, this is their first trip to Disney and from the initial questions/concerns we were getting before we started sending newsletters out, there were a LOT of people who were feeling overwhelmed by the notion of planning a trip to a destination wedding.

The key was to provide a short blurb of info about the given topic that provides the essentials and where to find more info if they want/need it.....not to have verbal 'throw-up' of Disney so to speak. Despite it seeming that we have a ton of info in some, we've kept each newsletter down to 2-3 pages total (using both front & back).

We've gotten nothing but positive responses and thank you's from sending our newsletters, and it's cut down considerably on how many times we are asked the same question over and over.

HTH

 

[JaxTeach]

We sent an e-Mail Save the Date to our guests at the end of April.

Our first mailing to our guests went out this June (we're getting married this December). It was our Save the Date and 1st Newsletter.

Since no one was giving us any clue about whether they were coming or not, the 2nd week of August, we sent out "Pre-RSVPs." I had a notecard explaining that we needed a preliminary head count for DFTW (really just for ME!). There was a postage paid postcard included for the guests to return to us indicating whether they "thought" they would come or they know they can't.

In September/early October we will send a 2nd Newsletter and our official Invitations.

If we need to, we will send out something else in November.

 

[lurkyloo]

DVCGirl49 - oh my goodness, you are organized. I'm five months away and so far all my guests have from me are two Disney Save the Dates (cuz we changed our date) and an email telling them why we changed our date. Yikes!

Could you please write all your newsletters now so I can steal them?

 

[DVCGirl49]

DVCGirl49 - oh my goodness, you are organized. I'm five months away and so far all my guests have from me are two Disney Save the Dates (cuz we changed our date) and an email telling them why we changed our date. Yikes!

Could you please write all your newsletters now so I can steal them?

LOL! I try to be organized...sometimes it actually happens too!

 

[Starseeker1221]

Haha! But seriously, like I've said before, I've alredy gone thru the DFTW process with my faminly before, so many things that need to be thought about/researched/done/etc, I already knew the answer/who to pick/where to get the info....so that's made quite a bit of the planning much easier and given me time to do stuff like writing newsletters and such!

Even with your prior experience, I agree that you definitely sound super-organized and I can only hope to get my act together to pull off most of those newsletters!

Thank you so much for your reply though, it definitely gave me some things to think about including that I wouldn't have otherwise thought of!

 

[hmgolden]

I was a bad bride, and didn't send any formal newsletters. Frankly, I knew my guests wouldn't read them, and that I would be luck if they read the STD from Disney and the invitation. I did send a couple emails out and let people know if they had questions, I would be glad to help plan their trip, but other than that, we didn't do anything.

 

[JonetteA]

We sent two newsletters and a save the date. We also had information in a folder in our welcome bags for when people checked in. I wanted to make sure that everyone knew where they were supposed to be.

 

[jnale]

I have already sent out a brochure announcing that we're engaged and that we plan to have the wedding in October 2008 in Disney World. It also gave them some general pricing info so they could start saving.

Within the next month or so I'm going to send a newsletter with information about our Accommodation choices.

After that, when we get our date, will be the official Disney Save the Dates.

I also plan to do 3 more newsletters after the Save the Dates:
- Disney Rides (ones we like and ones we suggest for different age groups)
- Disney Food (restaurants we like and suggest at different price levels)
- Our Disney Wedding (our bridal party, locations, and schedule of events).

I'm not sure yet when I'll send the 3 above out, it will be staggered - after the Save the Date and before the wedding.

I also plan to put an itinerary in the Welcome Bags.