Number of invitations sent vs. number attending

maybride2011 · February 2010

I'm leaving for my scouting trip a week from tomorrow. I'm so excited!! However, to look at appropriate venues and get an idea of cost, I need an estimate of the number of people who will actually attend. Right now I'm telling vendors around 50 people, but that's just a random guess. How many invitations did you send out and of those how many are actually attending? I realize that every situation is different especially for a destination wedding, but is there a general rule about this? I would hate book a venue for 50 people and only have 20 attend or on the other hand have 70 attend.

kaburns1214 · February 2010

I'm in a similar situation. I booked at 50. We're sending out invitations for 100 people and hoping on a 50% return rate.

I explained this to everyone I booked with, and for both the ceremony and recption I have room to grow or shrink as the case may be.

I'm not sure what we're going to do budget wise if we get 100 yeses.

jccswl · February 2010

We sent about 100 invites, and had about 75 guests. Also, sending out STD, helped in determining how many were coming.

jccswl · February 2010

I'll be in Vegas, Feb 17-20th. I checked for the weather, and it's suppose to be in the 60s, I'm so excited, it never gets old. Good luck on your scouting trip.

meyerse · February 2010

Our guest list was at 118 and we have 60 people that have booked hotel/flights and the invites haven't even gone out yet but we did send out a save the date

RachNRich · February 2010

We sent out invitations to just under 60 people. We estimated 40 would come, and used that number when booking our reception location and ceremony site. In the end, there will 27 people total---including us.

When you book a venue, most places only ask for an estimate. For example, Maggiano's wanted to know how many we estimated would come--and booked our room off of that. However, our final guest count isn't due until days before the wedding. If it helps, check with each place about their policies--i.e. If you think 50 will come, and only 30 do--will they adjust the rooms/minimums to meet the different #?

aerinpegadrak · February 2010

There's really not a general rule. Can you go through your guest list and get an idea of who will or won't come? We're inviting about 50 and expecting maybe 35-40, but that's based on what we know of our guests rather than a random statistic...

If your guest list is that variable, it sounds like you need a contingency plan in any case. When talking to potential venues, let them know that you're not certain of your headcount and see what they can do for you. But if you book a venue that can only fit 50, inviting more than that is asking for trouble.

maybride2011 · February 2010

jccswl- I'll be in Vegas the 18th-22nd. I've been watching the weather too. I think the day we get there it's supposed to be 67, can't wait. I'm from Iowa and this winter has been sooo long...it just keeps snowing.

RachnRich - Right now, Maggiano's is my top choice for a reception venue. Have they been pretty flexible with number of guests?

I am also planning on sending out STDs, probably not until Sept/Oct as we're planning to get married in late April or May 2011. Did you follow up with a phone call/email or do people just start telling you they're planning to attend and start booking their trips?

Thank you all so much for sharing your advice and experiences!

RachNRich · February 2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_nevada-las-vegas_number-of-invitations-sent-vs-number-attending?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:91Discussion:1f63cb55-c1f5-4c77-9944-e5006bfc0534Post:c22d15c7-382a-412b-8a2f-b50587e0d75b">Re: Number of invitations sent vs. number attending</a>:
[QUOTE]. RachnRich - <strong>Right now, Maggiano's is my top choice for a reception venue. Have they been pretty flexible with number of guests?</strong> I am also planning on sending out STDs, probably not until Sept/Oct as we're planning to get married in late April or May 2011. Did you follow up with a phone call/email or do people just start telling you they're planning to attend and start booking their trips? Thank you all so much for sharing your advice and experiences!
Posted by maybride2011[/QUOTE]

The # we told them originally was enough to fill their largest room--and we are keeping the same room, despite not having the same number of people show up. I'm not sure how they would handle a situation if we initial said we needed all three rooms, and only ended up needing one---but, considering how popular they are with Knotties, I have a feeling they are reasonable!

We didn't follow our STD's up with phone calls---but, we obviously talked to all of those people in the meantime. A lot of people said they were going to come prior to us sending the invitations out, and now are not coming. The actual inviations (which we sent out 3 months prior our date) have been the most telling for us....and we've even had 3 couples RSVP as attending, and change their minds already.

kikibaby · February 2010

Do not expect people to RSVP no. If you send out invitations to 100 people, you better have enough room at the ceremony and reception for 100 people.

RachNRich · February 2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_nevada-las-vegas_number-of-invitations-sent-vs-number-attending?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:91Discussion:1f63cb55-c1f5-4c77-9944-e5006bfc0534Post:ff480eef-8db5-445a-b033-d33958f6e9f0">Re: Number of invitations sent vs. number attending</a>:
[QUOTE]Do not expect people to RSVP no. If you send out invitations to 100 people, you better have enough room at the ceremony and reception for 100 people.
Posted by kikibaby[/QUOTE]

I generally agree with this rule of thumb--but, for us, we invited a few people we knew wouldn't (or couldn't) come, just because they would have been upset not to get an invitation (i.e. Rich's elderly aunt....we knew she couldn't make it, but would like to receive an invite anyways).

The # we gave to Maggiano's was prior to having compiled a guest list...so, it was low compared to the number we actually invited.

That being said, ditto Kiki----don't invite 100 people and hope only 50% will come; you're setting yourself up for a possible disaster if you do that. Plan for the people you invite.

aerinpegadrak · February 2010

We have a small guest list, so we've been just finding out in the course of regular conversation whether people are coming. For instance, we knew right away that my grandparents couldn't come, because they've been ill and don't travel, but they're getting invitations anyway. Since we're just inviting our parents, the WP, and their spouses (plus a couple of other family members on his side), we had a pretty good idea right away that we wouldn't be getting a lot of declines.

If your guest list is larger, then you'd probably just have to use your best judgment, and make sure that you have a plan if the number is different than your initial estimate in either direction.

dvohnout · February 2010

We are inviting 84 people. We haven't sent out our invites yet, but 40 people have already bought flights and/or hotels. I have been estimating 60 people with vendors, but we were sure to get the largest chapel at Mandalay Bay (seats 100).

We sent out Save the Dates last October for our May wedding. I haven't called or emailed people, but most people have contacted me to tell me what their plans are.

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