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# of Guests

amylee545amylee545 member
First Comment First Anniversary
in Massachusetts-Boston
I'm starting to get really nervous about how many guests will actually come to my wedding. We have about 160 on the list, and we can afford it all. We wouldn't have that many on the list if we couldnt. They say that about 20% will decline the invite, which would bring us to about 130 guests which is where we want to be.

Did you find that this rule of thumb was true, and about 20% of your guests said no? I know it's different for every one and it depends on your list, but i'm just looking for a general reference to make my anxiety go down!!

Thanks :)
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Re: # of Guests

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    bostonbride214bostonbride214 member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    edited December 2011
    we invited 200 and ended up having 180 guests...so we only had 10% decline keep in mind that we had a Sunday wedding, on a long weekend in February...the majority of the guests that declined were OOT'ers who didn't want to travel due to the bad weather the northeast experienced last Feb...HTH
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    noodle_oonoodle_oo member
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    edited December 2011
    We had a very low decline rate, maybe 5 or 10% max. But we also had a relatively small wedding (about 75 guests) with mostly local guests and very close family/friends.  If you are inviting more out of town guests and more distant family, you might get more declines.  But as long as you can afford all 160, I'd try not to worry about it.  After all, you have no control over it, so why worry about it?
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    Galaxy8227Galaxy8227
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    We had 12 people out of 350 say no--and that was in October which is prime wedding season in MA--so don't be surprised if you don't have a set number say no
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    AlwaysABridesmaid...AlwaysABridesmaid... member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I was shocked by the number of declines I had. We invited about 260 and about 40 declined. I couldn't think of anyone on the list that would decline, so there were a lot of surprises.
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    Calypso1977Calypso1977 member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its First Answer Combo Breaker
    edited December 2011
    we invited 120, had 75 show.  but we also didnt do STD's and we didnt invite kids.
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    njlfrednjlfred member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    We invited about 185 and ended up at 125ish.  That being said, we had a lot of out of town folks, including many that were on the older side.  So, the decline rate may depend on the demographics of your guest list. 
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    Karen's MOHKaren's MOH
    First Comment Combo Breaker
    edited December 2011

    We invited about 160 and had about 120 come. But ours was semi destination-- on the Cape with guests from Boston, NY/NJ, and CA. Due to the distance we had a much higher no rate than usual.

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    FtMrskramFtMrskram
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    We invited 198 and had 150...so we had about a 25% decline rate
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    amylee545amylee545 member
    First Comment First Anniversary
    edited December 2011
    Okay thanks everyone!! I think I have a better idea of what to expect now!
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    cdlnmfcdlnmf member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I invited about 130, and had about 128 accept, and then only 2 who were no shows the day of.
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    october010brideoctober010bride
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    We had way more no's than I thought.

    We invited 225 and had 145 at the wedding (and that was after having 2 tables cancel on us the night before). I really really thought we were going to have at least 200.


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    booboo1978booboo1978
    First Comment
    edited December 2011

    As long as you can afford them all, then don't worry about it. It is beyond your control, so just let the rsvps come in and don't worry about anything.  Every event is different.  I do events for a living, and events we think will have a high turnout sometimes melt off at the last minute, and events we think no one will come to end up looking like they're over fire code.  It's not a science by any means. As long as the important people are there, just enjoy it!

    4/29/12
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    karmellahkarmellah
    First Comment
    edited December 2011

    I have 130 on our list right now going to our cousins house to see if theres anyone that hsouldnt be on there (aunt added people because there would be war if we didnt add these people even if we didnt know them). So Hopefully, it'll be 120 by the end of tonight. im praying only 100 come since i dont like big crowds.

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