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Wedding Recap and Withdrawal
RSVP Question
I am just curious how many people everyone invited to their special day, how many didn't attend and how many decided to RSVP but then not show the day of.
We are at 75 right now. I am planning for everyone to come, however I have about 10 questionable people who I know will say yes and I am almost certain will not show up the day off. So just to feed my curiosity :-) figured I'd ask here.
This discussion has been closed.
Re: RSVP Question
There's not a whole lot you can do if those people say yes and don't come, so just try not to worry about it.
and yeah, by "special day" I meant your wedding
Being a meeting planner, you can guesstimate 20% of the RSVPs will not show.
[QUOTE]Being a meeting planner, you can guesstimate 20% of the RSVPs will not show.
Posted by baseballdrum[/QUOTE]
We had planned for 216 guests and had 7 no-shows so "20%" is not necessarily true. There have also been other posters who have repsonded to posts similar to this one who mentioned that they had 100% attendance. I would suggest not "over-inviting" with the assumption that 20% will not show up. Budget for the number of people you plan to invite.
I also highly recommend you budget for all the guests you invite. When getting estimates for things that were going to cost per person we had two sets of numbers, one for 100% (200) and one for 180 which we thought was a more likely high estimate based on how many people were out of town. As it worked out since we only had 125 we were able to save money we had originally planned on spending and add upgrades like a premium bar. It was way better to end up with money left over by over estimating the number of guests attending than underestimating and be hurting for cash or be over capacity. Never invite more people than your venue can hold!
Websites/blogs where our wedding has been featured:
http://www.dapperq.com/2013/11/a-very-dapper-wedding/
http://www.onabicyclebuiltfortwo.com/2013/10/wedding-christina-g.html
http://4realequalityweddings.com/2014/05/16/g-christina/
I forgot to add to my previous post that we were not happy either about the "no shows" but unfortunately it's almost expected based on the weddings I have been to.
[QUOTE]We invited 200 (over half of which would have to travel by plane for the wedding). We had 125 RSVP and only 4 no show. I also highly recommend you budget for all the guests you invite. When getting estimates for things that were going to cost per person we had two sets of numbers, one for 100% (200) and one for 180 which we thought was a more likely high estimate based on how many people were out of town. As it worked out since we only had 125 we were able to save money we had originally planned on spending and add upgrades like a premium bar. It was way better to end up with money left over by over estimating the number of guests attending than underestimating and be hurting for cash or be over capacity. Never invite more people than your venue can hold!
Posted by Tami87[/QUOTE]<div>
</div><div>Tami, We are doing the same thing. I have an Excel spreadsheet with full attendance and then another column with 15% less. I have a few people who I know will RSVP no, or just not show up.
</div>
Websites/blogs where our wedding has been featured:
http://www.dapperq.com/2013/11/a-very-dapper-wedding/
http://www.onabicyclebuiltfortwo.com/2013/10/wedding-christina-g.html
http://4realequalityweddings.com/2014/05/16/g-christina/
[QUOTE]I randomly just looked back at our rsvp list.. we actually had 17 no shows.
Posted by cmgilpin[/QUOTE]
Oh my, 17 is a high number of no shows.
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: RSVP Question : Oh my, 17 is a high number of no shows.
Posted by fperez7542[/QUOTE]
I know... I was reallllllly mad. we allowed +1s for everyone, and there were some people that replied with a +1 and I knew darn well they weren't seeing anyone and they would be coming with a random date. But, I let it go, because I was the one who made sure we had space for dates. But, then, some of those people who responded with a random +1 were some of the people who didn't show up.
Websites/blogs where our wedding has been featured:
http://www.dapperq.com/2013/11/a-very-dapper-wedding/
http://www.onabicyclebuiltfortwo.com/2013/10/wedding-christina-g.html
http://4realequalityweddings.com/2014/05/16/g-christina/
http://rusticweddingsc.weebly.com/
We invited 160, 135 said yes, 15 no-showed (10 were my family members).
For the record, they were an hour and a half out of town and it was the first snow storm of the year. Hence why I didn't let it get to me (and the card sent via mail made up for it).
Remember, most people are not vindictive! They have lives too, and you must have room inside your heart to forgive them. Otherwise, how will you forgive your husband for forgetting your anniversary down the line? Let it go and be happy for what you have.
I invited about 150, 110 RSVP'ed yes (for a Friday wedding), and we had 2 couples no-show. one of the couples actually sent a gift with another guest which was nice, as well. (honestly, it softened the blow of the no-show, actually...at least, I didn't lose out on the money of the plate)
58 invited
20 can't make it
RSVP Deadline: March 8th
The general rule of thumb is to expect 15% to not show or to decline.
However, I've noticed as of late that many guests are not returning their RSVPs in a timely manner, if at all, and yet are still showing up. For my own wedding, I was calling people the week of the event trying to wrangle a definitive answer out of them. I didn't want to count someone as not attending, have food prepared and seats arranged, and then... Extra guests. Sending out save the dates three months prior didn't do a lot of good with these "well-intentioned" folks.
My solution now is to not invite more people than what I can seat comfortably to any event. If someone declines, then perhaps that makes room for someone else, but you cannot assume that those who do not RSVP are not actually attending... Count them in your group just to be "safe".