average number of guest that come to the ceremony

dedering · February 2010

Does anyone know if there a "rule of thumb" for a percentage of your guests that will show up for your ceremony? (Example: If we have 300 people RSVP they are coming for dinner how many of them will show for the ceremony?)

trix1223 · February 2010

People will tell you to count on 20% declining. Don't listen to them. As duckie said, plan for 100%. It would be awful to invite people to your ceremony, only to have them arrive and find out that they can't get in because of seating/size, etc.

kristinanddan · February 2010

Actually, you may have more people at your ceremony than will even be at the reception. One of my cousins brought her kids to the ceremony, the mother of one of our groomsmen came, people from the church may come, etc etc. Plan on everyone coming to the ceremony.

Catwoman708 · February 2010

No, there is no reliable rule of thumb to predict attendance.

You just have to know your guests well enough to make an educated guess. The bigger the guest list, the harder that is to do.

emmy82087 · February 2010

I would think that people that are coming to the reception are going to come to the ceremony. Unless you have a friend of family member that already tells you they cant make the ceremony but will be at the reception. Also, don't forget that on average, 15-20% of invited guests to the wedding with RSVP no. So if you invite 100 people, assume that only 80-85% are going to come.

mbcdefg · February 2010

Also, if you're marrying in a house of worship, don't forget that some places remain technically open to the public during your ceremony. (I used to be an altar server for my church's weddings, and my mom would sometimes sit quietly in the back so she could wait to give me a ride home.)

Also ditto on kids attending, even if they're not going to the reception. My parents sometimes took us along to the ceremony (we were quiet) and then left us with a sitter if we went to the reception. Sometimes so that it'd count as our weekly Mass, depending on what time it was held, so that we didn't have to go to church again during the weekend.

Catwoman708 · February 2010

It might also depend on if the ceremony and reception are in the same venue, nearby and easy to find, or across town.

Some people might show up only for the ceremony, some only for the reception. It doesn't really matter how many show up for the ceremony (unless you invited more than the venue's capacity). The more critical part is how many show up for the reception/dinner.

Choose venues that can accommodate the total of guests invited. And plan for your dinner/reception based on how many "yes". The old adage "prepare for the worst, hope for the best" comes to mind. You wil know more when you get your responses.

Back when I got married, we had a smaller guest list with about 87% attendandace, and I think all that came to the ceremony also attended the reception.

At my daughter's wedding we had a larger guest list and about 65% attendance. There about 10 people that attended the ceremony and not the reception.

trix1223 · February 2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_ceremony-ideas_average-number-of-guest-come-ceremony?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:10Discussion:98ca3394-e159-4b90-8882-25775cd479a0Post:dc43031e-5f5b-4a11-8c78-1c2101436e22">Re: average number of guest that come to the ceremony</a>:
[QUOTE]I would think that people that are coming to the reception are going to come to the ceremony. Unless you have a friend of family member that already tells you they cant make the ceremony but will be at the reception. Also, don't forget that on average, 15-20% of invited guests to the wedding with RSVP no. So if you invite 100 people, assume that only 80-85% are going to come.
Posted by emmy82087[/QUOTE]

This is NOT good advice. I can't tell you the number of posts we've had on these boards from brides who used this advice. They come on saying they have a venue that only holds x amount of people, but they invited y because they knew that they'd have a 20% decline, and guess what? They now have more guests than they have room for or budget for.

Invite the number that your room will hold.....your budget will allow. DO NOT, do not, do not assume that any % will decline. They might. They might not.

And yes, it is entirely possible that you'll have more at the ceremony than the reception, particularly if you're holding it in an open venue.

duckie1905 · February 2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_ceremony-ideas_average-number-of-guest-come-ceremony?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:10Discussion:98ca3394-e159-4b90-8882-25775cd479a0Post:dc43031e-5f5b-4a11-8c78-1c2101436e22">Re: average number of guest that come to the ceremony</a>:
[QUOTE]I would think that people that are coming to the reception are going to come to the ceremony. Unless you have a friend of family member that already tells you they cant make the ceremony but will be at the reception. Also, don't forget that on average, 15-20% of invited guests to the wedding with RSVP no. So if you invite 100 people, assume that only 80-85% are going to come.
Posted by emmy82087[/QUOTE]

BAAAAAD advice.

And, please please PLEASE reduce your siggy size. It is massive.

trix1223 · February 2010

Duckie-from your mouth to emmy's ears.....I asked her to reduce her siggy a week ago. Hasn't been done. Emmy-PLEASE reduce it.

CCBelle · February 2010

I, too, had more guests at my ceremony than at my reception. All of the guests attended both, but then some of my mother's friends (who were not close enough to be invited to our reception) wanted to see the ceremony. Plus some family children attended with their babysitters, who took them home afterward.

Lasairiona · February 2010

Anyone who rsvps to the wedding will attend both the ceremony and reception so expect 100% attendance. Most people are fully aware that it is highly rude to skip the ceremony. Just like it is highly rude to not invite people to the ceremony which is the most important part of the day if they are invited to the reception.

Also only in the direst of emergencies will someone who attends the ceremony skip the reception. Never count on that happening at all. Contrary to popular belief, the ceremony costs nothing in comparison to the reception so anyone who tells you to only invite people to the reception to save money has no clue whatsoever as to what they are talking about.

Lasairiona · February 2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_ceremony-ideas_average-number-of-guest-come-ceremony?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:10Discussion:98ca3394-e159-4b90-8882-25775cd479a0Post:8f772b07-ce6e-4ce0-8d23-4ae56c34a0ee">Re: average number of guest that come to the ceremony</a>:
[QUOTE]It might also depend on if the ceremony and reception are in the same venue, nearby and easy to find, or across town
Posted by Catwoman708[/QUOTE]
Location is irrelevant. Unless the distance is something ridiculous (30mins is not and is actually normal despite what the majority on this site will tell you), everyone who attends the ceremony will attend the reception too. Even the most spread out city in the country is not that far from one location to another so the argument is moot. Obviously if someone rsvped, they wanted to be at your wedding instead of doing something else on their Saturday so they will happy to do whatever it takes to get from one location to another or whatever the case may be as long as your requests are not unreasonable, which nothing mentioned sofar is.

rahowell2013 · May 2012

I think that your number should be based off of your "yes" rsvp's. My guest list is larger than what I plan to accomodate because I know that everyone is not going to coincidentally be available or even want to come. However, I have a grace period and a big enough venue that I can add to my number if necessary. I guess you could say I have a back-up plan. I also plan to have a list at the door of the reception. Those that did not rsvp will have to wait until all rsvp'd guests have been accomodated before they are seated. Some may feel its cruel but I honestly think its fair. I think its rude not to rsvp, call, text, email, or something and let me know you accept my invitation or not. If they can't take that 2 minutes out of their time to rsvp, why should I pay $30+ for their dinner?

I also agree that its crazy to invite someone to the reception and not the ceremony. If anything, I would do the opposite. However, I would feel slighted (though still considering that people DO have to put out a considerable amount for the reception) so I am trying to avoid "you can come to this but not to that" scenario.

kmmssg · May 2012

rahowell2013 - you just posted to a thread that has been dead for over 2 years. OP's wedding was over a year ago.

average number of guest that come to the ceremony

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