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Kari
Master May 2020

Typical rsvp rate/timing?

Kari, on May 12, 2021 at 8:30 AM Posted in Planning 0 8

We are finally having our wedding celebration after canceling last year due to Covid. Our invites went out a couple weeks ago and we had a number of guests RSVP right away but response rate has dwindled. Our deadline is Monday (so in 5 days) and we are still waiting on responses from more than half of our guests.

I know its typical for about 15% of guests to decline during non-pandemic times and we are expecting a bit more than that to decline overall, but I'm just curious if there is a number out there for how many guests typically wait until the last minute to RSVP, or what percentage of guests usually need additional follow up (after the deadline) to get a response from.

8 Comments

Latest activity by Doxie Mom, on May 12, 2021 at 12:51 PM
  • Allison
    Devoted April 2021
    Allison ·
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    Did you do just physical response cards or also give an online option? With the way the mail is running, it's possible that people mailed their responses back weeks ago and you just haven't gotten them yet! I also RSVP'd to a wedding recently where my response card was returned as undeliverable but everyone else in my family had theirs mailed fine. But, for my wedding, my husband and I had to chase down a good number of people for responses and we did have a flurry of responses come in right under the deadline (we only did online RSVPs). I was also very impatient and texted a few of my friends who hadn't responded yet gently reminding them that the deadline was approaching and to please respond.

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  • Kari
    Master May 2020
    Kari ·
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    Good question! We are only doing online RSVP. Everyone who has RSVP'd already said it was super easy and they loved the way our site was set up. We have a couple of older guests don't have internet, but they've already responded so we aren't waiting on them. I've also had people say they aren't coming but not actually RSVP so I went ahead and put in the declines for them. With all that we are still waiting on responses from more than half of our guests, including three out of four groomsmen who we know are coming. I guess some people just wait until the last minute!

    Thanks for sharing your experience - its helpful to know what others have experienced and what to expect. I don't want to seem rude asking people to follow up, but at the same time it would be helpful for us for planning purposes and I know people are planning to come who just haven't bothered to RSVP yet. Maybe they just haven't decided what meal they want?

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  • Allison
    Devoted April 2021
    Allison ·
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    One other thing I'll mention, we did have a few people that we had to follow up with who thought they had already RSVPd. So the responses either didn't go through or they didn't actually submit their responses. And we also had a few out of state people who either didn't get their invites or got them super late. (A few were returned to us as undeliverable but too late to resend them so those were awkward conversations to have haha)

    It's also possible that there's a good number of people who haven't RSVPd because they just forgot! I know I personally have to respond to weddings as soon as possible otherwise it'll just sit and I'll forget to do it in time!

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  • Vicky
    VIP January 2020
    Vicky ·
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    Many, if not most, people RSVP right around the deadline. Don't follow up with people until after the deadline has passed.

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  • B
    Dedicated June 2021
    Blair ·
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    My RSVP deadline is 05/22. I invited 133 people so far 62 have rsvped. I'm actually fine with this number. I'm going to do reminders on 05/15. After that I'm closing it and moving on.

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  • Kari
    Master May 2020
    Kari ·
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    I wasn't planning to follow up with anyone until the day after. Our actual headcount is due that Friday, so it gives us a few days for follow up. I just tend to be a person who RSVPs as soon as I have made my decision (usually right away, since couples typically send an STD for a wedding so I know well in advance that it is coming up and have figured out all my plans for the day already), so wasn't sure how typical it was for responses to come it at the deadline vs in advance. We know we have guests who have made a decision already but not actually formally RSVP'd and it would be really helpful if they just did it!

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  • H
    Master July 2019
    Hannah ·
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    People are procrastinators. Pre-pandemic, we had a select few RSVP right away and then the bulk RSVPed right around the deadline. We did mail-in cards. Since you're doing online, I would imagine the bulk of them will RSVP on the day since it's an instantaneous thing.
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  • D
    Dedicated June 2021
    Doxie Mom ·
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    I did the online RSVP, I sent out 70-100 invitations (I didn’t keep track) for a total of 163 guests. We got a good about (maybe half) people respond on their own but for the rest the RSVP date just passed on the 7th so we reached out to the rest. I thought if they didn’t respond they would be a no but most of them were yes with a few still not responding
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