If you have ever been invited to a wedding or you are in the process of crafting invitations, you have probably asked this question.
The M on an RSVP card would seem to be pretty random, so we understand where people are coming from on this one. If it makes you feel any better, we are here learning right along with you.
In order to learn more about this tradition, it is important to know more about past invitation history. Way back when, it was actually very common for guests to write up their own responses to these invitations and mail them back to the couple. The hosts did not produce the card for them and it was the responsibility of those who wanted to attend to let people know what their plans were.
On the bottom right corner of the invitation, the phrase “Répondez s’il vous plaît” would be found. There was no separate card, so you had to do the grunt work yourself.
We were also today years old when we learned about this, so no worries there. Can you believe that you had to use your own stationery to reply back to these couples?
Times were much different then, we can tell you that much. We would have been perturbed. The prospect of having to pay for your own postage just to say that you will attend someone’s wedding is too funny to us. Now, things are a bit less strict and that makes sense because times have changed so much since then.
Once the shift took place, this is when the M came into play. It may seem complicated but the reasoning is actually quite simple. This letter is used to let people know that this is where they would add their proper title to the response, such as Mr., Mrs., or Ms. The guests should not need to be reminded to include their actual names but here we are.
Some may be abolishing the M on the newer cards, while others are making sure to keep the tradition alive. As a rule of thumb, those who are having more traditional style weddings will be quicker to add the M, while the more modern ceremonies could very well decide against it. As always, the choice is going to be left up to those who are in charge of the wedding!